How long

DiSkuStiNg

New member
I know that brown and hair algae is all part of a cycle your tank goes through and it will go away eventually. But. How long does it take for this phase to pass? Is there anything i can do to speed up the process? I also got a mushroom rock that had a little slime algae on it and now i am getting a little on the sand bed. I scrubbed it off the rock with a tooth brush but now im seeing it on the bed still. Will this go away eventually? Why so much bad algae? I am so bad at this reefing thing.
 
Although your tank may go through different algal cycles early in its life, I believe that green hair algae (if that is what you have - pic?) won't just "go away" by itself. It is usually caused by too much phosphate, nitrate, or some of each.

Michael
 
i added photos to give you a better idea of what im talkning about. The water is a little merky cause i just got done scrubbing all the brown crap off the sides and floor.

alg4.jpg


alg3.jpg


alg2.jpg


alg1.jpg
 
I can't quite tell from your pic's exactly what kind of algae that is even though the pics are good. In one it almost looks more like green spot algae to me (on the return at least) than brown. If it is just your typical algae that comes and goes as a new tank matures, then I would give it some time to see if it goes away.

Something is feeding the stuff. You might try less food, or less light (gradually...) or a few more snails.

Michael
 
Do you have a sump? If so do you have a macroalgae growing in the sump? If you don't I would grow some cheato or some other type of macro algea. The macro will compete with the pest algae and make it harder to live and grow.

What about a skimmer? Do you have one and is it functioning well?

Regards,

Pat
 
I may be mistaken as the picture isn't that great, but I believe on the last picture towards the top to the rock might be some bubble algae. Emerald crabs would take care of that little bit if it is. Anyone else see it?
 
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