BROWN ALGAE

[KMyers18]

I just started a 20 gal. reef tank and the LR i have was not cured and i have had it running for allmost 2 weeks and the LS is coverd with brown algae. My 125gal. gets it a lil'' but i only leave the lights on for about 6hr's a night in that tank. The reef has a timer set for 12hr's a day. Which from what i read is the norm. So is this something that goes away in time or is there somthing wrong? I've had a SW tank (fishonly) for allmost a year but this is the first go at a reef!!

[gear-head]

Sounds like diatoms. It will go away once the tank matures.

[MattP725]

The reef doesn't cause the algae (diatom) it is the water and lights... tap water and possibly distilled water have silica compounds in them that feed the diatoms. They will continue to bloom until the silica runs out. In a 20g that shouldn't take all that long but better to use RO/DI water... I have a descent outbreak in my 55 that has been running for 2 months. I just started using RO/DI about a month ago and the algae is beginning to starve out.

[MattP725]

Also scraping/vaccuming and cutting the lights down a bit will help. If all you have is LR in your tank you don't need 12 hrs a day. Especially if you have good lighting.

[KMyers18]

I have a aquamaxx RO that makes 100gal. a day thats what i use for water changes in the 125gal and thats what i filled the reef with also! I have a 130watt Current USA light dont know if thoes are good or not like i said im new to the reef seen? Why do they call it diatom whats the difference between that and algae?

[MattP725]

It is just a dif type of organism... not really sure why... Ya if you have a RO/DI system you shouldn't get much of an outbreak. You could always have the filtered water tested. Maybe your filters are shot...

[KMyers18]

I dont think there shot yet its fairly new but you may be on to something. It's not that bad of outbreak its not even on the glass just on the sand and looks like crap. Im going to let my LFS test some ro water thats not a bad idea

[MattP725]

Good luck with it... I am dealing with the same prob.

[KMyers18]

Yeah i may need that luck if reefing is anything like gardening..... No even hint of green thumb here LOL if it's alive and i touch it it dies...not sure whats up with that

[PiscesLou]

I had that problem for awhile also, so I cut down on my lights, used RO/DI water for every water change and added Phos-X in my filter for about a month and a half.
slowly but surely the diatoms are almost gone.So try Phos-X, its good for the fish,good for the tank and good for your piece of mind. .



seriously it works! good luck!

[Berzer]

Best idea for ridding the tank substrate of brown algae is getting a Dragon sifter Goby/Brownbarred goby. They sift all day and keep it stirred up. I have 2 tanks, one with tap water, one with RO. The one with Ro gets brown algae only on the sides of the tank, and thats only after like 2-3 weeks and its only in very small patches. I run a Coralife compact on it and leave the lights on for probably 8-10 hours a day and only have to scrub with a mag-float. The tap water on the other hand...that gets brown algae everywhere. I am always scrubbing it. Your probably wondering why not just use RO in both right? The area the one with tap water in evaporates the water very quickly, much faster than the other tank, so i have to top it off every other day or so, and i don't have alot of room to store water so i keep a 5 gal bucket of RO for the one tank with the LR in it and let the Dragon Goby sift the sand to death. It's just easier to use tap in the other one, i have to fill it so often it'd take numerous trips with buckets during the week to keep it full. Really just a convenience issue.

[boardsurfer]

Best idea for ridding the tank substrate of brown algae is getting a Dragon sifter Goby/Brownbarred goby. They sift all day and keep it stirred up.

Currently, I have CC...So I wouldn't be able to get a critter like that, would I?