Seachem products / brown algae.

[AZdogpatch06]

I'll keep it short. I'm running an aquaclear 50 hob with a filter sponge, seachem sea gel, and seachem purigen. No skimmer. Will this be enough on my 25 gallon tank? I'm having a brown algae bloom on my sand bed that won't go away. I've reduced lighting, feeding, and added the sea gel to get rid of the silicates and phosphates that it uses to grow. Help!

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[Mebbid]

Could you post a picture?
How old is your tank?
Are you using ro / di water?

 

[AZdogpatch06]

No Rodi water. Using de-clorinated tap (probably misspelled that). It's about a month old. Straight upgrade from a ten gallon.

Livestock:
-2 convict damsels (never will get these again- they are mean)
-2 emerald crabs
-2 peppermint shrimp (had an aiptasia outbreak- they took care of it)
-9 Kenya trees (fed with zoo plankton
-1 hitchhiker polyp coral (I think; it's green and bulbous)
-assorted hermit crabs and bristle worms that were hitchhikers.

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[Mebbid]

It's most likely that its just one of the growing pains that a tank goes through. You will have cycles of algae in your tank, the first one is diatoms and it will continue on to a few different types as time goes on.

If the diatoms don't go away in a few more months then I would look at your tap water as a possible cause.

 

[AZdogpatch06]

Alright. So *hopefully* it will decrease with age? Not sure if the brown stuff is diatoms or not. I'm not an expert in that area

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[AZdogpatch06]

PS- Thank you!

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[jeffaquarius]

It is a NO NO to ever use tap water (even dechlorinated) in salt water tank specially if you plan to have corals. For fish only you can buy RO water from grocery store vending machine at 25 cents per gallon.

 

[Mebbid]

It is a NO NO to ever use tap water (even dechlorinated) in salt water tank specially if you plan to have corals. For fish only you can buy RO water from grocery store vending machine at 25 cents per gallon.

Most of the time you would be correct. However it really depends on your source water. Personally, I've had my mixed reef tank running on tap water for over a year with everything from zoas to acropora. All that without a single algae bloom other than the original diatoms. However, my quality tap water is a rarity. Most often there is a large algae bloom resulting from the use of tap water.

 

[AZdogpatch06]

What about if I have coral? Cause you said ro for fish only...

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[mr_X]

Stop the zooplankton. It's unnecessary. Kenya trees do not need supplemental food. Lighting and fish poop is plenty for them. I would also suspect the tap water to be part of the problem. As stated, diatoms are just a stage the tank must go through, but they will linger if there's plenty of available food.
On another note, I would add a lot more rock.

 

[dmolavi]

You definitely need more rock in there. If the "brown stuff" is powdery, it's most likely diatomes. If you ever decide to go bigger (or even if you don't), a small RO system will most likely be more economical than driving to the store and buying jugs of water (not to mention a lot more convenient). A basic RO (no DI) can be gotten for as little as $90 at BRS (Reverse Osmosis Systems - Bulk Reef Supply), and even less during a group buy (I plan on running one in a week or two).

 

[AZdogpatch06]

Is the DI not necessary?

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[dmolavi]

Not for fish only.

 

[AZdogpatch06]

Well I've got a coral as well

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[dmolavi]

eventually, you'll want to use RO/DI water if you want your corals to thrive. all the junk in most tap water is detrimental to their growth.

 

[AZdogpatch06]

That's for the info guys!

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[AZdogpatch06]

And or girls lol

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[Gregcoyote]

Even if your tap water test at 20ppm, it still concentrates those materials. Your water supplier could also replace pipes and cause a shift in water quality without you knowing it. I don't drink tap water and do not expose my corals to it either. A RO/DI unit is a bargain.


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[mr_X]

I don't drink tap water

Me neither. You should see this stuff they force me to buy. I'm afraid to put it in the dog bowls!

 

[AZdogpatch06]

I think I'll start saving for a Rodi system. FYI I donated my damsels and got a clown fish (the peaceful kind- he's mostly black with a little orange) and a dotyback just thought I'd share

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