New problem - brown algae or something

xpace · 01/30/2012, 05:13 AM

Hi guys,

Have had few problem since I started my tank about 3-4 months ago, but when I look back those seems like nothing compare what I have now.

tank 59G, LR, Caribbean moon sand, and just about 4 weeks ago after almost 3 months of cycling I have added two small clawnfish. all readings of PH, Ammonia, nitrite and nitrates are perfect, temperature is 80F, but after a week after adding the fish a brown algae or something of brown color had attacked the tank. started with few spots here and there but spread ultra fast, have changed water read some opinions on the net and some people say it will go by it self and some say switch of the lights for 3-4 days and it will die. have tried that - it seemed to be going dead but after returning the lights it had covered the whole tank in just 2-3 day. I'm feeding the fish only every other day and just only a pinch of dried food and the lights are on for 7 hours - moon light (blue is on 1h before and after the full light) I do have CREE LED light specially made for SW fish tanks with corals.

description of the algae:
looks very brown, on the rock it looks bit yellowish in some areas.
It does not seem to be hairy nor slimy - it looks like brown dust fallen from the skies directly into my tank, it's even on the glass.

hopefully I have given you plenty of info

any advise what to do is much appreciated.

thanks

please check these :

Ron Reefman · 01/30/2012, 06:41 AM

I didn't see a single snail... or for that matter, any Clean Up Crew in your tank. Where do you expect the algae to do? Just die off from starvation? Your trying to make a reef, not a desert. Even corals want a small amount of nitrate and phosphate, but I didn't see anything that would use these other than algae. Do you have a refugium or a sump (any place to put some macro algae?

xpace · 01/30/2012, 07:04 AM

hey thanks for reply. well i don't have any CUC yet simply because this was not a concern to anyone i spoke to in my LFS. I started to look and ask for CUC about 2 weeks ago and I got some ideas but I did not think that the algae I have would have something to do with that. I have sump and I'm after some macroalgae but in Australia its quite a problem to get one as Ive heard and read. anyway would you know what algae I have and if CUC will get rid of it ?
thanks

---
I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=-33.757875,151.296371

Ron Reefman · 01/30/2012, 07:22 AM

I don't know what kind it is, but I know there are several kinds of snails that will clean it off your rocks and glass. And don't go overboard with how many you get. Here in the States a LFS would tell you that you need 1 snail per gallon of DT water. That may be OK if they are really small snails. I use snails that are about 2 or 3 cm in diameter... hows that, I converted inches into centemeters! I set up my 20G QT and it was starting to get a fair amount of algae growth. So I brought 10 snails home from a snorkel trip and they cleaned the entire tank up in just 3 days, then I moved half of them to my DT so they wouldn't starve. For a 59G tank, I recommend 30+ if they are small and only 20+ if they are about the size I find.
Good luck

bumski667 · 01/30/2012, 10:04 AM

Get a good CUC, turn off your lights for 3 days. Have you checked your phosphate levels? If they are high, see if you can run some phosphate remover media at the same time.

jsvetlik · 01/30/2012, 10:17 AM

A few Turbo Snails would probably help clean that up. Mine keep the glass and rock pretty clean. They are big so don't get too many. They don't go onto the sand much so i'd get some snails that burrow. The
Nassarius Vibex will stir sand and eat detritus before it contributes to algae growth. They are also fun to watch pop out of the sand in a frenzy during feeding.

Playa-1 · 01/30/2012, 11:10 AM

I suspect that you may have a water movement problem. What are you using to move water in the tank? Do you have a sump, skimmer, RO filter, powerheads, canister filters, hang on back equipment. More information would be helpful. The brown stuff looks like a bad case of diatoms which is normal for a newer tank and will likely go away on it's own. Sometimes that takes longer then you would expect. I'm a bit concerned about the severity of it though and it makes me wonder if you have enough water movement.

xpace · 02/01/2012, 05:58 AM

guys,

thank you.
well I'm not sure about my water movement as the flow from the pump that goes from the sump is quite strong, and no I don't have any power heads if you are referring to wave makers. I do NOT have any skimmer nor canister filters, just simple sump. I use RO/DI water which should be perfect.
Please define the water movement in more details if you can.
Also I'm wondering if this stuff is harmfull to my fish or it's ok.
I'll be getting some turbo snails very soon, but somehow I can't imagine how they going to clean it all off

thanks

please advise if you have any more suggestions.

Marcalo · 02/01/2012, 06:46 AM

you will want some hermit crabs as well, dwarf blue leg or scarlet. As for water movement you need to add a power head to keep the water moving around in the tank, you'll want to keep the nasties moving so they can get sucked into a filter and not just sit on the floor/rocks. For the last question yes this build up is harmful or can become harmful really fast not trying to scare you just letting you know.

Playa-1 · 02/01/2012, 06:51 AM

You need to get a better grasp of the whole water flow, circulation and water movement thing.

It's a critical component of your success.

What pump are you using as a return pump from the sump?

tony53176 · 02/01/2012, 08:03 AM

you should also give some serious thought about picking up a decent protein skimmer, you would be amazed at how much stuff they pull out of the water.

steve888 · 02/01/2012, 11:07 AM

Here's what I would add to your tank:

A powerhead (perhaps two)
A protein skimmer
3-4 Astrea snails
3-4 Margarita snails
3-4 red-leg Hermit crabs

I have a setup similar to this in my 14G BioCube (but I only have 3 snails and 3 hermits) and my sand and live rock are very clean for the most part. There are a few areas where there's a bit of algae but I'm working on that by removing it manually and adjusting the powerhead to change the direction of the water flow. A lot of algae problems are caused by poor waterflow in your tank but they can also be caused by high nitrates, high phosphates, and too much light.

There are a ton of good books on maintaining a reef aquarium as well as lots of resources online so take advantage of them and you can find the answers to algae problems like this...good luck getting all of that out of there!!

xpace · 02/01/2012, 02:33 PM

hm , so waterflow might be the issue as well as missing snails. with protein skimmer I'm not sure. I believe it does a good job but in my tank with 2 fish only so far I dont think it would help that much. Im getting the snails probably today but the issue is they over $20 each which is not funny at all. I didnt see any hermits in LFS so I cant get those yet, I'll see how I go with snails for now and also a powerhead and I'll keep you posted.

thanks

---
I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=-33.757809,151.296445

steve888 · 02/01/2012, 08:22 PM

Holy Cow! $20 for a snail...man, that's bad. They only cost about $1-$3 here in the states. It's hard to believe that in Australia (with so much water nearby) that they would cost so much.

I hope you can get the algae problem under control either way...remember, read as much as you can on this website and others and find some books if you can. There's tons of information out there if you just look for it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by xpace

hm , so waterflow might be the issue as well as missing snails. with protein skimmer I'm not sure. I believe it does a good job but in my tank with 2 fish only so far I dont think it would help that much. Im getting the snails probably today but the issue is they over $20 each which is not funny at all. I didnt see any hermits in LFS so I cant get those yet, I'll see how I go with snails for now and also a powerhead and I'll keep you posted.

thanks

---
I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=-33.757809,151.296445

Playa-1 · 02/01/2012, 11:44 PM

It's not enough just to get a powerhead. You will likely need two and they will need to be the right powerheads or you might as well flush some more money down the toilet.

01/30/2012, 05:13 AM	#1
xpace Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Sydney, AU Posts: 74	New problem - brown algae or something Hi guys, Have had few problem since I started my tank about 3-4 months ago, but when I look back those seems like nothing compare what I have now. tank 59G, LR, Caribbean moon sand, and just about 4 weeks ago after almost 3 months of cycling I have added two small clawnfish. all readings of PH, Ammonia, nitrite and nitrates are perfect, temperature is 80F, but after a week after adding the fish a brown algae or something of brown color had attacked the tank. started with few spots here and there but spread ultra fast, have changed water read some opinions on the net and some people say it will go by it self and some say switch of the lights for 3-4 days and it will die. have tried that - it seemed to be going dead but after returning the lights it had covered the whole tank in just 2-3 day. I'm feeding the fish only every other day and just only a pinch of dried food and the lights are on for 7 hours - moon light (blue is on 1h before and after the full light) I do have CREE LED light specially made for SW fish tanks with corals. description of the algae: looks very brown, on the rock it looks bit yellowish in some areas. It does not seem to be hairy nor slimy - it looks like brown dust fallen from the skies directly into my tank, it's even on the glass. hopefully I have given you plenty of info any advise what to do is much appreciated. thanks please check these :

01/30/2012, 06:41 AM	#2
Ron Reefman Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Cape Coral, FL Posts: 10,431	I didn't see a single snail... or for that matter, any Clean Up Crew in your tank. Where do you expect the algae to do? Just die off from starvation? Your trying to make a reef, not a desert. Even corals want a small amount of nitrate and phosphate, but I didn't see anything that would use these other than algae. Do you have a refugium or a sump (any place to put some macro algae? __________________ The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it. (Neil deGrasse Tyson) Visit my build thread http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2593017

01/30/2012, 07:22 AM	#4
Ron Reefman Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Cape Coral, FL Posts: 10,431	I don't know what kind it is, but I know there are several kinds of snails that will clean it off your rocks and glass. And don't go overboard with how many you get. Here in the States a LFS would tell you that you need 1 snail per gallon of DT water. That may be OK if they are really small snails. I use snails that are about 2 or 3 cm in diameter... hows that, I converted inches into centemeters! I set up my 20G QT and it was starting to get a fair amount of algae growth. So I brought 10 snails home from a snorkel trip and they cleaned the entire tank up in just 3 days, then I moved half of them to my DT so they wouldn't starve. For a 59G tank, I recommend 30+ if they are small and only 20+ if they are about the size I find. Good luck __________________ The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it. (Neil deGrasse Tyson) Visit my build thread http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2593017

01/30/2012, 11:10 AM	#7
Playa-1 Moved On Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Laguna Niguel, CA Posts: 7,497	I suspect that you may have a water movement problem. What are you using to move water in the tank? Do you have a sump, skimmer, RO filter, powerheads, canister filters, hang on back equipment. More information would be helpful. The brown stuff looks like a bad case of diatoms which is normal for a newer tank and will likely go away on it's own. Sometimes that takes longer then you would expect. I'm a bit concerned about the severity of it though and it makes me wonder if you have enough water movement. Last edited by Playa-1; 01/30/2012 at 11:17 AM.

02/01/2012, 08:03 AM	#11
tony53176 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Auburn, MA. Posts: 268	you should also give some serious thought about picking up a decent protein skimmer, you would be amazed at how much stuff they pull out of the water. __________________ Go Patriots!! Current Tank Info: 75gal AGA, reaction 4 canister filter with UV sterilizer, 80lbs live sand, 55lbs dry live pukani rock, 2 1300gph circulation pumps, aquamaxx HOB-1 skimmer, 216 watt T5 lights

01/30/2012, 07:04 AM	#3
xpace Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Sydney, AU Posts: 74	hey thanks for reply. well i don't have any CUC yet simply because this was not a concern to anyone i spoke to in my LFS. I started to look and ask for CUC about 2 weeks ago and I got some ideas but I did not think that the algae I have would have something to do with that. I have sump and I'm after some macroalgae but in Australia its quite a problem to get one as Ive heard and read. anyway would you know what algae I have and if CUC will get rid of it ? thanks --- I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=-33.757875,151.296371

01/30/2012, 10:04 AM	#5
bumski667 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Posts: 49	Get a good CUC, turn off your lights for 3 days. Have you checked your phosphate levels? If they are high, see if you can run some phosphate remover media at the same time.

01/30/2012, 10:17 AM	#6
jsvetlik Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Posts: 23	A few Turbo Snails would probably help clean that up. Mine keep the glass and rock pretty clean. They are big so don't get too many. They don't go onto the sand much so i'd get some snails that burrow. The Nassarius Vibex will stir sand and eat detritus before it contributes to algae growth. They are also fun to watch pop out of the sand in a frenzy during feeding.

02/01/2012, 05:58 AM	#8
xpace Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Sydney, AU Posts: 74	guys, thank you. well I'm not sure about my water movement as the flow from the pump that goes from the sump is quite strong, and no I don't have any power heads if you are referring to wave makers. I do NOT have any skimmer nor canister filters, just simple sump. I use RO/DI water which should be perfect. Please define the water movement in more details if you can. Also I'm wondering if this stuff is harmfull to my fish or it's ok. I'll be getting some turbo snails very soon, but somehow I can't imagine how they going to clean it all off thanks please advise if you have any more suggestions.

02/01/2012, 06:46 AM	#9
Marcalo Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Des Moines Iowa Posts: 24	you will want some hermit crabs as well, dwarf blue leg or scarlet. As for water movement you need to add a power head to keep the water moving around in the tank, you'll want to keep the nasties moving so they can get sucked into a filter and not just sit on the floor/rocks. For the last question yes this build up is harmful or can become harmful really fast not trying to scare you just letting you know.

02/01/2012, 06:51 AM	#10
Playa-1 Moved On Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Laguna Niguel, CA Posts: 7,497	You need to get a better grasp of the whole water flow, circulation and water movement thing. It's a critical component of your success. What pump are you using as a return pump from the sump?

02/01/2012, 11:07 AM	#12
steve888 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Northern Virginia Posts: 241	Here's what I would add to your tank: A powerhead (perhaps two) A protein skimmer 3-4 Astrea snails 3-4 Margarita snails 3-4 red-leg Hermit crabs I have a setup similar to this in my 14G BioCube (but I only have 3 snails and 3 hermits) and my sand and live rock are very clean for the most part. There are a few areas where there's a bit of algae but I'm working on that by removing it manually and adjusting the powerhead to change the direction of the water flow. A lot of algae problems are caused by poor waterflow in your tank but they can also be caused by high nitrates, high phosphates, and too much light. There are a ton of good books on maintaining a reef aquarium as well as lots of resources online so take advantage of them and you can find the answers to algae problems like this...good luck getting all of that out of there!! __________________ 30G Long, Aqua-C Remora HOB Skimmer, Cobalt Aquatics MJ1200, Vortech MP-10, Koralia 240 GPH, Talbot's Damsel, Forktail Blenny, 2 Skunk Cleaner Shrimps, 2 Snails, 2 Hermits Last edited by steve888; 02/01/2012 at 11:28 AM.

02/01/2012, 02:33 PM	#13
xpace Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Sydney, AU Posts: 74	hm , so waterflow might be the issue as well as missing snails. with protein skimmer I'm not sure. I believe it does a good job but in my tank with 2 fish only so far I dont think it would help that much. Im getting the snails probably today but the issue is they over $20 each which is not funny at all. I didnt see any hermits in LFS so I cant get those yet, I'll see how I go with snails for now and also a powerhead and I'll keep you posted. thanks --- I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=-33.757809,151.296445

02/01/2012, 11:44 PM	#15
Playa-1 Moved On Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Laguna Niguel, CA Posts: 7,497	It's not enough just to get a powerhead. You will likely need two and they will need to be the right powerheads or you might as well flush some more money down the toilet.