Is brown algae good?

[Bushman]

My tank is brand new and it is cycling (2 weeks/1 week with live rock). It has developed an ugly brown algae on some of the live sand as well as on the live rock. Is that a good sign or bad? It is not hairy, more like a staining.

 

[pufferman]

If its ugly then it sounds like you dont want it.

Get some turbo or margarita snails, and they will solve your problem

HTH

P-MAN

 

[nyghtone]

Although you don't want it, it is a good sign that your tank is cycling properly. Turbo snails eat this stuff up like candy, as do freshwater mollies believe it or not. Do on search on acclimating them to saltwater if your interested. I would recommend just being patient though.

Good luck, Joshua...

 

[Sparky]

Also, brown algae will eventually go away. Mine took a couple of weeks to just leave. Of course the snails helped it along too. Brown algae (actually Diatoms) is just one stage of many that you will go through with a new tank.

BTW Bushman, Welcome to Aquarium Advice the best place for fish on the net. Looking forward to seeing you here more often and becoming an active part of this community.

Mike

 

[Bushman]

should I put anything in the tank yet? Couldn't the cycling kill it?

 

[Sparky]

As long as you water parameters are correct you can put fish into the tank. The brown algae is just ugly but it won't hurt the fishys.

Mike