loveaddressbox
New member
I feel I have been feeding the feather duster too much... Or is too much light... But I appreciate any advice on how to fix this:
Brown algae all over?
- Thread starter loveaddressbox
- Start date
jordon.l
New member
Looks like diatoms usually an indicator of high nitrates and phosphate or high nutritions in the water. Where do you get your water from is it ro/di or tap? If tap I would recommend getting and ro/di unit it purifies the water or your lfs might sell it. Protein skimming will also help keeping the nutrients in check. Over feeding may also be the problem
Good luck
Good luck
Dkuhlmann
New member
It's all part of the new tank nasties. From the looks of your rock that is a newly setup tank. They will go away on their own and then comes the GHA and Cyano.
I don't see any clean up crew in your tank. Many snails will eat the diatoms and hermit crabs as well. Word of caution on hermits is IMO and IME only get the scarlet legged hermits. The blue legs will kill snails just to kill them because they think they need their shell and then don't even use it.
If you need a suggestion of which snails to get let us know as you will need a mix to eat different algae as well as wast from fish, and others to burrow in the sand to keep it clean.
I don't see any clean up crew in your tank. Many snails will eat the diatoms and hermit crabs as well. Word of caution on hermits is IMO and IME only get the scarlet legged hermits. The blue legs will kill snails just to kill them because they think they need their shell and then don't even use it.
If you need a suggestion of which snails to get let us know as you will need a mix to eat different algae as well as wast from fish, and others to burrow in the sand to keep it clean.
loveaddressbox
New member
Hello! Yes please!
What kind of snails should I get?
Any advice to know what is a scarlet hermit compared to a red hermit?
I need glasses, but I don't wear them (I sit on them, so they are gone)
The fish store has them super small and they have no idea what a hermit crab is... I'm serious about it... They call them crab snails... Blue ones are quite popular here, but I will better be safe with the scarlet...
Then I guess it is fine this way... Just waiting and cleaning...
loveaddressbox
New member
No... Well you see... Not being mean with my lcoal fish store guys or anything...
But in their mind things like skimmers and addional filters are not need...
They see things in a different way...
I want a skimmer when I could find a way to get one... A friend from two cities away promised to send me one for Christmas...
Oh and I use bottled water... It is not that expensive if you buy it directly to the place that makes it and buy in big.
I tested the water and seems fine, it's made by pepsi.
But well I don't know for sure...
Maybe should I buy other kind of water?
I might be able to get a reverse osmosis thing in Christmas too.
geekengineer
Member
I had a lot of this diatom problem when I had a 10 gallon tank and didn't realize I had so much gunk (nutrients) in my tank that I really needed a protein skimmer. So if you don't have one I would recommend it from experience at least as mentioned.
I have a blue legged hermit crab and a zebra crab in my little tank they seem to do OK. I think the zebra is the more aggressive one. I am good at killing my fish or I getting sick ones (not sure). So I am waiting till I get my bigger tank setup.
I have a blue legged hermit crab and a zebra crab in my little tank they seem to do OK. I think the zebra is the more aggressive one. I am good at killing my fish or I getting sick ones (not sure). So I am waiting till I get my bigger tank setup.
loveaddressbox
New member
Hey there! I'm no pro at this... But when I was younger, more dedicate and beautiful... Well...
Years ago! I had a 20 gallons tank and I swear it was the best thing ever.
But yeah it had a skimmer and two filters...
About the fish you mention, have you try online stores?
Maybe it is that. And not something to do with your tank...
geekengineer
Member
Ah ok well It could be your water then if you have a skimmer, but im no expert. I use RO/DI water but you need a special filtration setup to make the water. You almost need to buy distilled water I guess it be almost the same thing I thing.
I do get my fish at the a PetSmart here cause well it's convenient and one of the guys at the store knows what he is doing.. However, how healthy their fish are well who knows? I really probably need to have a QT tank and make sure the fish get treated first before they go into the tank.. I'm thinking I got some of those large Rubbermaid tubs that might do the trick. hehe. Anyways Im sort of a newbie at this so im kinda learning.
Dkuhlmann
New member
As far as your tank setup and how to do pretty much anything with a saltwater tank whether it be a full reef or fish only can be found in this link http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1031074
It's laid out like a book with many chapters so the information you want is easy to find.
For snails you want a mix I won't give numbers since I didn't see what size tank you have. Also if you purchase too many they will die once there isn't enough food to feed them. But this mix will cover you from top to bottom on the rocks, glass and even deep in the sand.
Do not get any of these until your tank is cycled. Do you have water test kits? If not for now you will need the following kits.
Do you know what happens in a saltwater tank cycle? If not the answers are in the link I gave you above. If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask.
Test kits
PH
Ammonia
Nitrite
Nitrate
Snails
Cerith snails
Nerite snails
Mexican Turbo snails
Astrea snails
Nassarius snails
Hermits
I only keep the scarlet hermits and you can purchase them online at the same time you order the snails. The blue leg hermits are murderous bastards for the most part but they do a good job of cleaning, just not as good as the scarlet hermits IMO. But again do not get any of this CUC (clean up crew) until your tank is cycled. There is a good chance that it is since you are having the diatom bloom. But need to make sure and you will need to test the water with the 4 tests that I listed.
This is a good mix and again I'll give you some numbers once I find out the size of your tank.
There are many good online sellers like Live Aquaria, Vivid Aquatics, Blue Zoo Aquatics, just to name a few. You can also do a Google search for saltwater clean up crew and find many places that have clean up crews as a package deal, although many that do this suggest way too many IMO.
Read that link I posted, it's located in the sticky section under the New Members forum.
geekengineer
Member
Hey actually thanks for the link that actually helps me a lot too.. What do the blues murder by the way? snails? I have one blue and zebra in my tank.. (worry) I don't have any snales just hermits tho..
If you're tanks big enough get a sea hare it'll get rid of the diatoms within a couple of weeks ime or you could get a small one wait till he eats all of the diatoms and trade him in for something else if your tank size doesn't permit and generally speaking most good stores will let you do this
loveaddressbox
New member
I will read all that... I guess I'm still getting used to all this...
loveaddressbox
New member
I love sea hares! But I have never seen them on the local aquariums...
I would also think it would be hard to send it back to another tank with food.
But thanks for reply!
timnem70
New member
There is zero info about this tank and all of you are telling this person to ad LIVE CREATURES to the aquarium? I have much more faith in this site than to watch people give horrible advice. The pictures, show that his lighting is what appears around 6500k and bottled water manufactured by Pepsi is not an accceptable water source. All contributing to the overall problems he is facing. I am glad however a link was given for educational purposes and should be read and followed before any other creatures are put in that tank. Good luck to you
