Brown algae?¿

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beccabecca101

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Oct 20, 2017
Messages
11
I've been really busy lately and haven't had found much time to relax and enjoy the aquarium. Luckily today I did but I did find some brown/black algae or dust on the rocks?¿ Haven't tried scrubbing it off or testing my water quality yet but is this some sort of dust deposit or algae? 20171022_125011.jpg
 
new tanks go through this phase I call it the ugly brown yes this is normal. your sand is releasing silicates which in turn into diatoms/cayno . a simple turkey baster for blowing off the rocks works ,

you can also use the power heads aimed towards the rock and sand to help as circulation is your freind
.
a trick I learned back when I first started up run your fingers through the sand this helps release those silicates faster helping to shorten the ugly brown stage , I used to blow off the rocks and rake the sand with my fingers 2x a day .

to this day I still blow off my rocks as part of my daily maintenance , it helps keep any food deposit and crud off the rocks , if left alone overtime you will encounter other algae issues, green hair , red slim

1 time a week during water-change I will do a extra thorough cleaning blowing off the rocks and sucking up the crud during siphoning , doing this helps reduce nitrates/phosphates that other wise would fuel algae .

Welcome to AA glad to have you with us ,

remember 1 key rule everything with saltwater should be done in baby steps never throw everything at it all at one time , only add 1 or 2 fish at a time , this helps give your bioload a chance to rebuild. inverts should be added in moderation snails/hermits especially this helps reduce chances of die off. plus it helps in keeping your bb building as it reduces the load.

hope you enjoy your tank for years to come
 
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