Brown Alagae

[boby2kusa]

Hello,

I have a saltwater aquarium and I am new to saltwater aquarium, enough said. I am having what I believe to be a brown algae problem. I have read somewhere that this is normal through the aquarium cycle and over time a green algae should take over. It also says that if green algae does not take over and brown algae remains, the problem is lack of lighting. Not sure how much more light my aquarium will need since it's next to the window and gets a good amount of natural light but not direct sunlight. So, my question is what could be causing the brown algae. BTW, I have live rocks and live sand. My filtration consist of protein skimmer and Fluval canister filter. I think it's plenty for a 36 Gallon tank. If anyone has any pointers, I truly appreciate it.

 

[mjvincent]

Is the algae powder like? How old is your tank? What Fluval are you using? You need at least 360 gallons per hour turnover for good circulation. Even if you have the Fluval 404 (which FLUVAL rates at 340 gph) you wouldn't have enough. I have a 32 hex and have a fluval 104, maxijet 750 ph and skimmer and I don't have enough circulation (imho).

If your tank is new and the algae is powdery it is probably diatoms and you can read about it here. http://www.wetwebmedia.com/brownalgcontfaqs.htm It will go away on its own.