brown algae

~sp0ok~

New member
hi...

im having a prod with brown algae...i have t-5 108 watts total ,its a 55g tank 50lbs of (LR) and 50lbs of (LS) i have a seaclone (HOB) for right now and my fish are in the QT, all my test r ok no coral e.t.c and i have my light on about 4hr a day and i still have brn algae



chris:confused:
 
Chris - how long has the tank been set up? It's normal for a new tank cycling to go through a diatom/algae bloom or two. How's your flow? How's that seaclone working - they don't have the best rep..
 
tank has been up fpr about a 1yr 1/2..and my flow is fine i think ..i hav 1 (powerhead at the top to make the waves) 1 in the middel to blow over the rock.. 1 to blow on the back of the glass..and the skimmer is going ok ..its been skim a good thing if green slim

chris
 
could you give us some more information:
I am wondering about the number of fish/inverts that are in your tank when the problem began. Am I right that you moved them to a QT tank until your problem is solved?
also amounts and types of feedings.

also how often you change the filter media in your hob. I have had trouble with a couple student tanks where the kids were trying to use this type of filtration and the floss became a serious nutrient trap.

How often and what % do you do water changes?
A sand bed without the propper cleaning crew can become a proble too.
Right now I don't know enough about your set up to make an educated guess as to what the problem is.
Without doubt it is related to nutrient management. But what source(s) and how to cope are not yet clear

your pal
Briney Dave
 
well the fish i hav r 2 tomato clowns,3 yellowtail damsel,1blue damsel..yes they r in QT..i feed once a day just (tetramin flakes) i dont use filter mediain my tank ..20% water change 2 times a week..the only thing i have in the tank is a (hermit crab) bont know the name of it gf got it for me ,and about (5 turdo snails) for right now
 
o do u think that i had to moved my tank ..cuz i had to bulid a my stand and a new canopy for the tank that my tank is going through a new cycling?

chris
 
How much disruption did the sand bed have?

Hopefully some one who uses sand will chime in here, I am bare bottom and only know sand by reputation
sand sifting stars, cukes, and burrowing snails and worms really keep the bed healthy, if we can't find any other sources that is where I would look at.
But first...
do you use R/O water. Some times city water and well water can really be loaded with nutrients (even above or near health limits for us) which will trash out a tank's algae level almost over night
I don't know about particular brands of flake food but I have heard that some contain large amounts of N and P which of course is re-fueling the algae between water changes.
My guess is either your water or food
but I have not eliminated the sand be yet either.
It sounds like you are doing a good job with the water changes but if they have nutrients in them, you are not making progress.

briney
 
no i dont use R/O water ...i will go the LFS to pick up so water to see if that helps..maybe the water cuz i hav no fish in the 55g


ty

chris
 
stop using tap water asap, that is probably where most of your problem is coming from. that and the fact that you have 6 fish in a 55 gallon tank...they can really put out a lot of poop. I used to buy purified water from a grocery store before I bought my ro/di unit and when i ended up testing that stuff it had something like 19 ppm, so that water wasn't even all that pure...for the price you are best off getting an ro/di unit, I got a really nice one for $120 online came with a TDS meter and everything.

also, is your tank near a window? natural sunlight will make nuisance algea grow like gang busters.

here is a list of things you should examine that might be causing brown algea:

-unpure water, should be no more that 5 ppm TDS maximum, fish store can test whatever water you are using if they have a TDS meter, and if they don't...stop shopping there

-natural sunlight...too much will contribute

-too much power lighting...you have about 2 watts of t5 per gallon in a fish only tank, you may want to reconsider this unless you are trying to cultivate coralline algea on the rocks b/c nothing you listed there needs this much light

-too much nutrients...how much are you feeding your fish each day? that has to come out somehow and if the water change water is already high in nitrates you will have a problem

-too many fish, not enough skimming...I have 2 fish in my 55, a clown and a royal gamma, and I use a large in sump ASM skimmer and still have too much nutrients...your seaclone probably just can't keep up with the amount of dissolved organics in your water

-pH and alkalinity...too low of either can contribute to nuisance algea

-flow...poor flow is a massive contributer to nuisance algea, you should be looking at something like 10 to 15 times the total tank volume in turnover per hour minimum, if not much more so something like 850 gph of flow at least

-cleanup crew... you need some stuff that eats algea and you don't have nearly enough for a 55...may I suggest about 20 to 30 astrea snails, at least 15 hermit crabs, and possibily an emerald crab...since you don't have a reef your options are wide open.. and your could consider some type of sea urchin as well

final piece of advice: since you have a fish only tank, if the algea gets too bad, scrub it off, here's how I did it when I had a similar problem a few years back....

you don't want the rock out of water for more than a few seconds and it can't go in fresh water...otherwise either way you will lose bacteria...when you do your water change, keep the old water in a bucket...takes some of the rock out and into the bucket, scrub like mad with a new toothbrush until all algea is in the water...use a second bucket of change water and rinse rock in that to minimize spread of algea spores, then put rock back in tank...once you have all the algea off the rock, the additional cleaners and other steps will help keep it from coming back

good luck, nuisance algea is by far on of the most annoying plagues to all new saltwater tanks, and even us experienced guys sometimes, but you can succeed in getting rid of it
 
also I see you are in euclid...if you need greater assistance in tackling this issue, PM me, I live near Cleveland Heights and would be happy to stop over sometime and see if i can help you figure out what might be causing the trouble
 
to add to the long lists of things to check, what sand are you using? when i started my reef tank a year ago, i did it on the cheap side, and a local FS ( the owner even!) told me that play sand was ok to use. HUGE problem. playsand and in small amounts, tap water have silicon in it, that will feed algee in a saltwater environment. just keep in mind to ask alot of people alot of qustions, and if they say some thing, ask "why?" if they don't have an answer why, ask someone else. and use RO water for saltwater tanks. i can dump basicly raw sewage in my fresh water tank and everything is fine, but put any tap water into my reef tank (just to top off)............, let me just say, i'd rather let it go dry. good luck
 
yeah I agree take some sand out, let it dry, put in vinegar, if it does not dissolve you have silicate sand and that WILL cause MAJOR algea problems...if you bought packaged reef sand from a LFS odds are that you have good sand though
 
ok i will try that ...and what kind of vinegar? i forgot what kind of sand it is i will look it up and yes i got it at the LFS
 
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