Algae

[aseminolelady]

Hi all
Well I finally got the tank up and running and even got as for as putting in the rocks!!
NOW I have ALGAE(reddish brown in color).It only came up AFTER I put in the rocks.
Can anyone help as to what to do to get shed of it ,as it is taking over my tank?!
Thanks
PS I also have te snails , but I think they are not doing the job.
Thanks ever so much

 

[JC_UF_ITK]

I had the same thing happen with my 29g during the cycle period. I just turned off the lights and let it be for 2 weeks and now it's just fine.

 

[Aquarist007]

it will eat itself out of nutrients(probably getting alot from the live rock) and then disappear
this is normal in the cyling period--called and algae bloom

 

[aseminolelady]

ok ty
I was told to turn off my lights also.
NOT only did I do that, but I also put foil on eas end and a towel on top and drapped down the front.
Just hope it doesn't kill the snails or rocks because of no light .
Thanks again

 

[drummereef]

Sounds like diatoms. This is a very normal algae bloom that most new tanks go through. Give it time and it should go away on its own. The use of RO/DI water is recommended.

 

[aseminolelady]

Thanks for ur help
and where/what is ro/di water??

 

[sir_dudeguy]

rocks do not need light. Very common misunderstanding with people just getting into the hobby. Only thing you need lights for is corals and such. None of the animals need light...well not snails anyways.

Anyways...you just started the tank. This is perfectly normal. Just wait it out. During the cycle you're gonna get a few different algae blooms probably, and they can still occur every now and then for around a year. All you can do at this point is just make sure you've got a good cleanup crew.

Personally, i wouldnt turn off the lights. Well i would run them shorter, but turning them off isnt going to do anything IMO...the algae is just gonna come right back when they come on. So now i just run the lights normal(ish) hours during the cycle...the algae sure comes right away, but then it also seems to go away quicker too than when i dont run the lights during the cycle.

What snails do you have? Chances are you dont have enough/the right kinds or whatever...

 

[aseminolelady]

I have 3 zebra turbo snails.

 

[sir_dudeguy]

ya those wont do. I personally dont like turbo's. I've got 1 mexican turbo and thats it. All the rest i've got is TONS of ceriths and about 20 astreas or so. I forget how many total i've got, but its way more than people would normally recommend...

I HIGHLY recommend cerith snails. They'll really help with diatoms...they dig in the top layer of sand, go on the glass, and will go on the rocks too. The astreas are pretty good too but stay to the rock and sometimes the glass...they cant go on the sand though, and have trouble flipping back over if they land in the sand. But i've only had a couple die that way out of like 60 in 2 different tanks.

And not for this sake, because they wont eat algae, but i recommend getting a few nassarius snails as well. They'll eat whatever gunk and especially meaty stuff that is in the sand. They like dieing stuff as well

 

[aseminolelady]

thanks on the snails.

 

[aseminolelady]

where is the best place online to buy these?
Thank you

 

[sir_dudeguy]

I like reeftopia.com the most. But shipping is gonna suck. Well, unless you get over 100 bucks, because orders over 100 from them have free shipping. Your best bet would be to find a few people near by you (look in the texas forum for that) and say that you want to order some snails and need to get an order of over 100 bucks...do a small group buy like that and you'll get free shipping easily. Usually when my local club orders from them we go well over like...a thousand bucks haha. You can also get lot prices, so check those out. Their shipping is very good IMO...never had anything die from them.

But many other places its better to just buy in stores, because online you got shipping which is always gonna be over like 30 at the least for live stuff...But like i said...try to get the free shipping and then you're in business