ID Please..brown stuff

Aquaman101 · 06/08/2010, 05:36 PM

I returned home from work to find some brown algae type stuff had developed on my live rock and sand bed.

This is a 55 gallon FOWLR system that I bought and recently transferred to my house. I replaced the existing sand with new aragonite sand and put a small layer of existing sand over it.

Here's a pic of the brown gunk

http://s924.photobucket.com/albums/a...t=IMG_4479.jpg

Can anyone id that? Good / Bad...any corrective action need to be taken?

Ammonia = 0 ppm
Nitrite = 0 ppm
Nitrate = 5 - 10 ppm
pH = 8.4

koranAngel · 06/08/2010, 06:14 PM

welcome to rc!!!
diatoms is the name caused by po4/silicate
search for it on here

cheers

S.A. Trev · 06/08/2010, 06:18 PM

That is cyno its a bacteria, did you cycle the tank and for how long, have you added any livestock, did you cycle the tank with the lights on or off ? there are many reasons for this but these would be the most obvious but also bear in mind that cyno is a normaly stage that almost every new system will go through but answering the above questions will help to predict what will follow or how bad it will get and ultimately should you worry about it or let it take its course.

Trev

dan223 · 06/08/2010, 06:20 PM

Do you have a cleanup crew, snails love the stuff. If you already have a decent amount of snails then you have excess nutrients, diatoms are probably the best or easiest algae to deal with.

eric@tampa · 06/08/2010, 06:23 PM

And make sure that you are using rodi water.Good luck,eric

Aquaman101 · 06/08/2010, 08:35 PM

I sure hope it's a mini-cycle and won't cause any harm to the existing inhabitants.

This was a fully setup system I bought. It had been running for approx 3 years. I have a Blue Tang, Mandrin Goby, Angelfish, Pajama Cardinal, and damsel that came with it. Also a spiny starfish and a sea urchin.

I transferred it to my house 4 days ago. I kept all the live rock submerged, but pitched the existing sandbed except for a small layer I put on top of the new sand.

I used 20 gallons of new saltwater and filled it up the rest of the way with existing water from the tank.

Everyone seems to be happy in it.

I did buy two Astrea Snails and 2 Nassarius Snail. I did bring along a small hermit crab

S.A. Trev · 06/09/2010, 11:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aquaman101

I sure hope it's a mini-cycle and won't cause any harm to the existing inhabitants.

This was a fully setup system I bought. It had been running for approx 3 years. I have a Blue Tang, Mandrin Goby, Angelfish, Pajama Cardinal, and damsel that came with it. Also a spiny starfish and a sea urchin.

I transferred it to my house 4 days ago. I kept all the live rock submerged, but pitched the existing sandbed except for a small layer I put on top of the new sand.

I used 20 gallons of new saltwater and filled it up the rest of the way with existing water from the tank.

Everyone seems to be happy in it.

I did buy two Astrea Snails and 2 Nassarius Snail. I did bring along a small hermit crab

Very often if you start using a new brand of salt mix you will get this bacteria, is the salt mix the same as the old one used?

Aquaman101 · 06/09/2010, 01:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by S.A. Trev

Very often if you start using a new brand of salt mix you will get this bacteria, is the salt mix the same as the old one used?

Yeah, the previous owner used Instant Ocean and that's what the new water was mixed with.

I'm wondering if it's occuring because I replaced 99% of the DSB upon transfer.

S.A. Trev · 06/09/2010, 04:03 PM

Yip that is exactly why, the reason would be that the dsb is now not able to keep up with the bioload from the tank and this will mean an increase in nitrates and the cuase of the bacteria, just do water changes regulary like 10 % weekly and it will take time but the system will reach a ballance possible in about 4 - 6 months but it all depends on the bioload,

BTW wha did you replace the dsb ?

Trev

Aquaman101 · 06/09/2010, 04:07 PM

I replaced it for 2 reasons:

1.) Kept getting advice that since the tank was a few years old, it would be best to replace the DSB as to not stir up potentially bad stuff when adding it back to the tank....even if I washed it out.

2.) The existing sand bed was extremely fine sand. I wanted to use a substrate that was a little larger, so I got reef ready aragonite sand.

Thanks for the info!

06/08/2010, 05:36 PM	#1
Aquaman101 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Posts: 420	ID Please..brown stuff I returned home from work to find some brown algae type stuff had developed on my live rock and sand bed. This is a 55 gallon FOWLR system that I bought and recently transferred to my house. I replaced the existing sand with new aragonite sand and put a small layer of existing sand over it. Here's a pic of the brown gunk http://s924.photobucket.com/albums/a...t=IMG_4479.jpg Can anyone id that? Good / Bad...any corrective action need to be taken? Ammonia = 0 ppm Nitrite = 0 ppm Nitrate = 5 - 10 ppm pH = 8.4

06/08/2010, 06:14 PM	#2
koranAngel always on ** at work Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: sydney Posts: 436	welcome to rc!!! diatoms is the name caused by po4/silicate search for it on here cheers __________________ y did i start this hobby Current Tank Info: 500lt main tank 39g fuge sump....sohal tang purple tang 2clown,coral beauty banana wrasse coris wrasse royal doty cleaner shrimp coral banded shrimp flame angel bicolour angel sphinx goby cuc mixed corals

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06/08/2010, 06:18 PM	#3
S.A. Trev Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Cape Town South Africa Posts: 58	That is cyno its a bacteria, did you cycle the tank and for how long, have you added any livestock, did you cycle the tank with the lights on or off ? there are many reasons for this but these would be the most obvious but also bear in mind that cyno is a normaly stage that almost every new system will go through but answering the above questions will help to predict what will follow or how bad it will get and ultimately should you worry about it or let it take its course. Trev

06/08/2010, 06:20 PM	#4
dan223 Custom User Title Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: WI Posts: 675	Do you have a cleanup crew, snails love the stuff. If you already have a decent amount of snails then you have excess nutrients, diatoms are probably the best or easiest algae to deal with.

06/08/2010, 06:23 PM	#5
eric@tampa Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Tampa,Fla Posts: 322	And make sure that you are using rodi water.Good luck,eric

06/08/2010, 08:35 PM	#6
Aquaman101 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Posts: 420	I sure hope it's a mini-cycle and won't cause any harm to the existing inhabitants. This was a fully setup system I bought. It had been running for approx 3 years. I have a Blue Tang, Mandrin Goby, Angelfish, Pajama Cardinal, and damsel that came with it. Also a spiny starfish and a sea urchin. I transferred it to my house 4 days ago. I kept all the live rock submerged, but pitched the existing sandbed except for a small layer I put on top of the new sand. I used 20 gallons of new saltwater and filled it up the rest of the way with existing water from the tank. Everyone seems to be happy in it. I did buy two Astrea Snails and 2 Nassarius Snail. I did bring along a small hermit crab

06/09/2010, 04:03 PM	#9
S.A. Trev Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Cape Town South Africa Posts: 58	Yip that is exactly why, the reason would be that the dsb is now not able to keep up with the bioload from the tank and this will mean an increase in nitrates and the cuase of the bacteria, just do water changes regulary like 10 % weekly and it will take time but the system will reach a ballance possible in about 4 - 6 months but it all depends on the bioload, BTW wha did you replace the dsb ? Trev

06/09/2010, 04:07 PM	#10
Aquaman101 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Posts: 420	I replaced it for 2 reasons: 1.) Kept getting advice that since the tank was a few years old, it would be best to replace the DSB as to not stir up potentially bad stuff when adding it back to the tank....even if I washed it out. 2.) The existing sand bed was extremely fine sand. I wanted to use a substrate that was a little larger, so I got reef ready aragonite sand. Thanks for the info!