totally confused...need help

tripleup05

tripleup05

Member
Alright well i know i've posted here about brown algae before, and I got like a billion different opinions on how to get rid of it. Gobies, star fish, snails, crabs, better circulation, and so on. Well...i've heard positives and negatives on all of these critters and methods, so until I decided whether I want a goby and risk killin my live sand and so on and so forth, could I just take my hand or a powerhead and stir the very top of the sand for now? I'm thinkin that would bury the algae some. But i have no idea if this is a good way. Any ideas? Thanks!
 
arkey.d

arkey.d

Member

Originally posted by tripleup05
Alright well i know i've posted here about brown algae before, and I got like a billion different opinions on how to get rid of it. Well...i've heard positives and negatives on all of these critters and methods. I'm thinkin that would bury the algae some. But i have no idea if this is a good way. Any ideas? Thanks!
Make sure your not using tap water. That will fuel the silicate eating diatoms. Fighting Conches and Margarita Snails are great for cleaning off diatoms and other algea on your rock and glass. If this is a new tank getting diatoms is normal phase that the tank will go through and they should go away on there own. If not try using the snails, they won't hurt your sand bed critters...........
 
arkey.d

arkey.d

Member

Originally posted by tripleup05
Actually...I am using tap water. Ofcourse I'm treating it, but it could still be a problem?
:yes: That's why you have diatoms because of the silicates in the water. You need to use distilled water from the grocery store for about 75 cents a gallon for top offs and water changes or RO water.....
 
evaray3

evaray3

Member
Hello, I has the same problem when I first started my tank and I kept vacuuming it out and the guy at the LFS told me not to do that. He said to just run my fingers through it when it started to look bad and eventually it would cycle itself out on its own. I was told not to keep vacumming it out because then the cycle would have to start all over again. Anyway he must have been right because it is all gone now.
 
ctgretzky9

ctgretzky9

Member
I too vacuum every couple of water changes, just to get the accumulated junk off the bottom if there is any. I don't go crazy with the vacuuming, just a light poke around.
Since I've been doing this, I don't seem to ever have any algae blooms, and my overall tank seems clearer.
I am using crushed coral as my base, so this may not be usefull for the "sand people".
 
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