Brown stuff all on my tank and sand! what do i do?
- Thread starter 3fins
- Start date
Illuminati
Premium Member
Yep, diatoms. Part of the tank maturity phase, all new tanks have it.
A skimmer, water changes and a cleanup crew (hermits and snails) will alll help.
Do you have a cleanup crew now?
A skimmer, water changes and a cleanup crew (hermits and snails) will alll help.
Do you have a cleanup crew now?
Hah! Sounds like you've got diatoms, cyano, and hair at the same time. I did too for a while 
Unfortunately there is no cleanup crew for this.
-The best cure is time, often taking months and up to a year.
-Next best cure is lowering the amount of nutrients you put in (ie. food) if possible.
-You can also physically remove hair algae from rocks by scrubbing and pulling.
-You can physically remove cyano from rocks and sand by siphoning or red algae remover (be aware that it'll be back in a day or two)
So the bad thing, i2go, is that there is no easy way or cleanup crew to fix this.
The good thing is that as your tank matures you'll get by it and not have to (knock on wood) deal with it anymore... at least I haven't.
Unfortunately there is no cleanup crew for this.
-The best cure is time, often taking months and up to a year.
-Next best cure is lowering the amount of nutrients you put in (ie. food) if possible.
-You can also physically remove hair algae from rocks by scrubbing and pulling.
-You can physically remove cyano from rocks and sand by siphoning or red algae remover (be aware that it'll be back in a day or two)
So the bad thing, i2go, is that there is no easy way or cleanup crew to fix this.
The good thing is that as your tank matures you'll get by it and not have to (knock on wood) deal with it anymore... at least I haven't.
Last edited:
