FOWLR.....and brown algae everywhere!

[Kocian1]

I am new to this hobby and can't seem to get a.grasp of what's going on. I have a 100 gallon tank with 2 lions a cleaner shrimp and 2 snails. I have brown algae everywhere. I do weekly water changes and condition the tap water correctly but it doesn't go away. Any suggestions would be helpful. Thanks.

 

[chiclidlover81]

ro/di water tap water is brutal i am new to saltwater as well but i am a avid cichlid breeder and ill try to help as best i can there is a lot of metal and other things not good for your tank all the products that say they condition it only mask it hope i helped out a little good luck

 

[Kocian1]

Thanks. I will keep trying.

 

[obscurereef]

Welcome to AA btw! Sounds like diatoms which feed off of silicates which can come from your sand and/or your water source. What chiclidlover was talking about is usually the source of something like a hair algae bloom. Anything that's not RO/DI water like RO, distilled, or tap has dissolved solids like metals and such which contribute to something like hair algae, but not necessarily diatoms. How old is your tank? Almost all new tanks go through a diatom bloom and sometimes it comes back (even if you used RO/DI from the beginning).

If you'd like to ID the type here's a guide:
Nuisance Algae ID Guide

Don't worry, the only negative about this really is it's not appealing. Getting RO/DI water or at the least distilled if you aren't using it would help. Also not stirring up the sand(don't know if this is something you do/don't do) will also help get rid of them. They usually starve themselves and die until there is a build-up and come back again.

 

[Kocian1]

Its only 2 months old. I made the mistake of using aquarium rock instead of sand. I want to change it out. Can't you boil water to distill? I have no idea where to get RO/DI water. I've asked local pet stores and they don't sell it.

 

[chiclidlover81]

something like this would work well 6 Stage 100GPD 0PPM RODI Reef Marine Aquarium Hydroponics Reverse Osmosis System on eBay!
hope this helps good luck