Brown Algae on Live Sand Bed?

smaier6 · 04/20/2008, 07:12 PM

Hello,
I am curious to know if what I see on the bottom of my live sand and reef tank is brown algae. My sand use to be white in color now I see areas where its not a dark brown but more of a light or gloden brown look to my live sand.

My Nitrate is at 10PPM and Phospates = .03

I do water changes twice a week in the amount of 8-10G per change.

I am thinking since my sand sifter is not out as much he is not sifting the sand like he use to do to the lawnmore blenny being territorial.

I would liketo know if adding cleaner crews such as Naserith Snails and red hermit crabs will help remove the problem? I was also thinking about purchasing another sand sifter fish for the opposite side of the tank. Which suggetion would you go with or do you have another recommendation?

scaryperson27 · 04/20/2008, 07:52 PM

How old is your tank?

smaier6 · 04/20/2008, 07:57 PM

My Reef Tank is 13 months old.

low riderr · 04/20/2008, 08:37 PM

i had the same problem untill i hooked up my uv sterilizer but i was going after parasites(ick and what not) but after about a week of running my coral life at the lowest recomended flow rate my sand bed looks 100% beter , i dont think it was a coincedence but who knows ,maybe someone else with more experience can verify this, good luck

bertoni · 04/21/2008, 08:05 PM

Moved to New to the Hobby for more views.

What kinds of snails are present? Some cerith might help, if there's no snails to work on the sand.

Such blooms tend to be caused by adding more food to the tank than the filtration can process out of the system. Typical solutions are better skimming, growing and harvesting a macroalga, or a phosphate reactor.

04/20/2008, 07:12 PM	#1
smaier6 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: RSM , California Posts: 70	Brown Algae on Live Sand Bed? Hello, I am curious to know if what I see on the bottom of my live sand and reef tank is brown algae. My sand use to be white in color now I see areas where its not a dark brown but more of a light or gloden brown look to my live sand. My Nitrate is at 10PPM and Phospates = .03 I do water changes twice a week in the amount of 8-10G per change. I am thinking since my sand sifter is not out as much he is not sifting the sand like he use to do to the lawnmore blenny being territorial. I would liketo know if adding cleaner crews such as Naserith Snails and red hermit crabs will help remove the problem? I was also thinking about purchasing another sand sifter fish for the opposite side of the tank. Which suggetion would you go with or do you have another recommendation? __________________ Thanks, Steve Current Tank Info: 2 Cleaner Shrimp, 4 Zoo, , 1 BTA Pink, cleaners snails and red hermit crabs, 1- candy coral 1 - Pink Button, 1- Porite Xmas Worm, 1-Leather, 2- brains, 1- green torche, 1- sun coral, pulsating exina, live plants,

04/20/2008, 07:57 PM	#3
smaier6 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: RSM , California Posts: 70	My Reef Tank is 13 months old. __________________ Thanks, Steve Current Tank Info: 2 Cleaner Shrimp, 4 Zoo, , 1 BTA Pink, cleaners snails and red hermit crabs, 1- candy coral 1 - Pink Button, 1- Porite Xmas Worm, 1-Leather, 2- brains, 1- green torche, 1- sun coral, pulsating exina, live plants,

04/21/2008, 08:05 PM	#5
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	Moved to New to the Hobby for more views. What kinds of snails are present? Some cerith might help, if there's no snails to work on the sand. Such blooms tend to be caused by adding more food to the tank than the filtration can process out of the system. Typical solutions are better skimming, growing and harvesting a macroalga, or a phosphate reactor. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

04/20/2008, 07:52 PM	#2
scaryperson27 Moved On Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Cape Coral, F.L. Posts: 2,106	How old is your tank?

04/20/2008, 08:37 PM	#4
low riderr Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: cayuta,NY Posts: 906	i had the same problem untill i hooked up my uv sterilizer but i was going after parasites(ick and what not) but after about a week of running my coral life at the lowest recomended flow rate my sand bed looks 100% beter , i dont think it was a coincedence but who knows ,maybe someone else with more experience can verify this, good luck