brownish algae growth for a long time!

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davidmaguirre

Aquarium Advice Activist
Joined
Feb 19, 2011
Messages
155
Location
WI
Hello I've had my tank set up for about 3 years and I still am having a brownish algae taking over my tank I've got a fluval fx5 ,remora pro skimmer, 125 lbs live rock which all the brown algae is growing. I introduced purple coraline about 2 years ago and I used to use tap water but a month ago I switched to ro water I do weekly water changes have about 30 Mexican algae eating crabs and 10 fish.. I also changed my bulbs about a month ago what's going on? Its not going away??? Nitrates are about 0 please help me!?
 
Read this post it will give you some good information:

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f12/the-diatoms-have-returned-need-solutions-140198.html
They are diatoms. How are you lighting the tank? They are normal, and found in almost every tank, but can be especially bad in newly setup tanks.

It won't hurt your cycle to clean it off your decor/glass. You can use a toothbrush or something like that to remove it.

Here are some step you can take to prevent them:
You really cannot entirely "stop" the growth of any algae, green brown, or red, but with some good tank management practices, the rate of algae growth can be reduced. There is no such thing as an algae-free aquarium. An aquarium that never gets any algae growth is probably not a healthy environment for fish. Algae should never be controlled through the use of chemicals. Most algae-control chemicals work by inhibiting the reproduction of algae, and may also inhibit the growth of plants and beneficial bacteria. We have seen some disasterous results caused by over-use of algacides. These chemicals should only be used to get rid of green water or very bad algae problems, then good tank management alone should be used to prevent re-occurrences. It is important to remember that algae is a "plant-like" organism. Unlike a plant, it has no true roots, stems or leaves. Like a plant, it needs plenty of light and nutrients to grow (it already has the water). The first thing to look at is light. Aquariums should never be placed where they can receive a lot of direct or even indirect sunlight. Tank lights should be on no more than ten hours. The next factor is nutrients, and in aquariums, this means controlling nitrates and phosphates. Regular water changes and good filtration are important to eliminate nutrients. Vacuuming the gravel in a tank when doing a water change, removes many organics that decay into basic nitrates and phophates. A 25% water change every three to four weeks, or 10% a week, will help control the build-up of nutrients. As most city tap water contains phosphates, using reverse osmosis, distilled, or deionized water will also help. Using phosphate and/or nitrate removal media in a canister or power filter is also helpful. Water motion will also inhibit algae growth, as algae spores cannot settle and take "root" in an aquarium that has good circulation. Using small submersible pumps or powerheads in a tank, in addition to the regular filters will help add extra circulation to any aquarium.

Hope this helps.
 
Last edited:
Yes this helps a lot!:) my lights r on for 9 hours I have some corals.. its 96x4 and I jst changed the bulbs..
 
I tried to upload some pics of my algae problem hope everyone can see them
 

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