diathom????????????????

[tmkx3]

I just recently was given some JBJ lights. It was 2 36inch strips. I am currently only using one strip.(the other has a short) The end of the tank that has the JBJ lights has brown algea growing on the sand. I have read that it will go away on its own but it has been a month. I have vacummed the sand and it comes back. What do I do??????

 

[melosu58]

If you are talking about diatoms they stick around for a while. I `ve been in it for eight years and still get diatoms on my glass and sand if thats what you`re talking about. Is it dusty brown or brown sludge like?

 

[elephantshoeyou]

i have that all over my rock too. my hermit crabs and snails and stuff like to eat it which is good. im getting a starfish soon though so i'm hoping that he'll eat up the algae on the lr.

 

[tecwzrd]

Keeping a starfish in a 12 gal tank is going to be difficult considering their intolerance of sudden changes in oxygen levels, salinity and pH of the water. They require pristine water quality all the time and maintaining that in such a small tank is quite hard. I’d reconsider or at the very least read up on all the requirements of keeping starfish.
Sea Stars on liveaquaria.com
wetwebmedia.com has pretty good overall info on sea stars in general.

 

[elephantshoeyou]

what would you recommend to eat the algae quicker than what i have got in my tank currently? i have about 10 little snail guys, 3 hermit crabs, 2 snails that are orange w/ a black stripe.

 

[tecwzrd]

What you have now is pretty good. Some other inverts you may want to consider are the
Sally Lightfoot Crab & Nassarius Snails which are quite hardy once properly acclimated.

 

[seaham358]

How old is the tank?

 

[elephantshoeyou]

its 4 weeks old. i'll definitly go get some more crabs and snails and such. i hadnt acclimated my exsisting members that way and they were fine but i'll start doing that from now on (previously i just floated the bag for 20 minutes then emptied the water from the bag and put the fish/invert into my tank) thanks alot.

 

[tecwzrd]

(previously i just floated the bag for 20 minutes then emptied the water from the bag and put the fish/invert into my tank) thanks alot.

That’s usually somewhat successful for FW fish since the lfs ph is rarely that far off from your FW tank. With SW it can lead to death within hours because most lfs keep their sg around 1.018-1.020 and the rapid change in both sg & ph causes osmotic shock. Shrimp & other inverts are especially sensitive to quick changes in sg\ph\temp so I drip acclimate them for 4 hours but once finished put them straight in the tank and not a qt tank.

I drip acclimate fish for at least 2 hours personally and use a qt tank that is kept at the same sg/ph level as my lfs and slowly over the course of 3+ weeks raise the sg level to my main by replacing the evaporated water (1.025) You will find much better long term success by utilizing the drip method. I also always request an extra bag of water from the same tank that the fish are pulled from at the lfs so I have enough to start the drip acclimation procedure in a 5 gal bucket. This thread goes into more detail.

Edit: Forgot to add that you should never put any other tank’s water (like from a lfs) into your main or qt tank. That’s a quick way to infect your tanks with possible disease. After acclimating net fish out of the bucket and quickly place into the main or better a qt tank. You can place snails/hermits in with hands. With shrimp I use a small glass and scoop them up and drain as much water from the cup as I can back into the bucket then dump into the tank.

 

[Salttanker]

Brown algae is common in a tank that hasn't been established very long. There is not much that will eat it in my experience. Eventually it will go away as long as you maintain good water quality. Mine has been setup for almost 2 years and I am coming out of an hair algae problem that I have battled for the past 2 months. what ever you do, don't stir it up! It will end up all over the place. I made the mistake of trying to get it out and forgot to turn the ph's off, so it spread all over the place. :-(
Just be patient. It is an ugly site though, isn't it?

Mike

 

[seaham358]

I asked the age for the reason stated above.. New tanks go through stages and the diatom algae is just part of the aging process. Do not run out and buy lots of crabs and snails, they may end up dying because there is not enough food when the diatom is gone. Read up on tank cycle and acclimation. Improper acclimation is a sure fire way to kill fish and inverts.. Tank things SLOW and read, read and read more bofroe rushing into anything.
Ask questions here and don't take what the LFS says as being correct..