that brown stuff

[cowdust9]

how do i get rid of that brown stuff you know that stuff that grows like a slim skin kinda and its dark brown and it grows on the sand and taking over some of my rocks

 

[saltwater6900]

how long has your tank been set up?

 

[cowdust9]

like a week and a half

 

[BigHack2006]

id say wait it out, get crabs and snails, they will eat most of it off. do you have a filter on it? When i first set my tank up, i had the same stuff, it should go away once your tank is established. The crabs will eat alot of it.

 

[cowdust9]

ok i will get some more crabs

 

[kau_cinta_ku]

in a new tank it is all part of the process. things that will help are:

more flow to those areas
nitrate and phosphate - 0ppm
run a fuge with macro alage
use rodi water

but again, this being a new tank, it will go away with time. not much stuff will eat it either.

 

[cowdust9]

its crazy cause this is my 4th tank also my biggest and i have never had it before in anyother tank but i only have had nano tanks in the past

 

[Dave Dunbar]

What kind of rock did you use? Did you cure it or just put it in the tank? Also ? about the sand? Lots of rock has much PO4 and needs to be really cleaned. Use some GFO and a good carbon and change it out about once a week for 3 weeks and that should help
Good luck
Dave

 

[phishcrazee]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12538803#post12538803 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by kau_cinta_ku
in a new tank it is all part of the process. things that will help are:

more flow to those areas
nitrate and phosphate - 0ppm
run a fuge with macro alage
use rodi water

but again, this being a new tank, it will go away with time. not much stuff will eat it either.

He/she pretty much said it Diatoms/brown algae is a normal part of setting up a new tank and most people will get them to some degree. As a tank matures, it will go away. Nothing to my knowledge, will eat diatoms, certainly not crabs. Be careful how many crabs you get into a tank, as it may limit what you put in there in the future. Even if a crab is deemed "reefsafe" they are still opportunists for the most part, and if hungry enough may decide to taste something you don't want them to. If you get anything, I'd suggest snails vs. a crab/crabs.