ahochan
Aquarium Advice Regular
Hi,
I've recently set up a 60 cm tank / 40 cm sump FOWLR tank.
Its been running for around 3 weeks. Two days ago, I suddenly got a major brown algae bloom. I use normal aged tap water, and don't have access to RO/DI water.
I set the tank up by using some live rock from my previous single-fish miniature tank that had been running around 4 months. On that tank I've only had green algae on the tank walls, no brown algae. I also added live sand. I then bought some rather cheap live rock, cured according to the shop.
The new live rock I bought is now all covered in red algae, while the live rock from the old tank has no red algae at all. Does this mean that the new rock I got was bad? The rock was significantly cheaper than the rock I kept in the small tank.
I've not had any ammonia spike yet, and I sort of assumed that the bacteria seeded from the old tank would bring the new tank up to speed without any significant cycle. Now, my test kit gives 1 mg/l NO2 and less than 10 mg/l NO3. ph is around 8 mg/l.
Any ideas on how to get rid of the algae and promote more healthy and pretty algae on the new live rock? Would it be a good idea to move it to the sump for a day or two?
Any ideas on what kind of cleaning crew to get? How many hermit crabs? How many snails? anything else?
Just a small addition. Found this in the algae control article:
I guess this is the type of algae I have. Could anyone suggest what kind of snail to get for grazing off live rock. There's no algae on the glass yet, just on the live rock and substrate.
I've recently set up a 60 cm tank / 40 cm sump FOWLR tank.
Its been running for around 3 weeks. Two days ago, I suddenly got a major brown algae bloom. I use normal aged tap water, and don't have access to RO/DI water.
I set the tank up by using some live rock from my previous single-fish miniature tank that had been running around 4 months. On that tank I've only had green algae on the tank walls, no brown algae. I also added live sand. I then bought some rather cheap live rock, cured according to the shop.
The new live rock I bought is now all covered in red algae, while the live rock from the old tank has no red algae at all. Does this mean that the new rock I got was bad? The rock was significantly cheaper than the rock I kept in the small tank.
I've not had any ammonia spike yet, and I sort of assumed that the bacteria seeded from the old tank would bring the new tank up to speed without any significant cycle. Now, my test kit gives 1 mg/l NO2 and less than 10 mg/l NO3. ph is around 8 mg/l.
Any ideas on how to get rid of the algae and promote more healthy and pretty algae on the new live rock? Would it be a good idea to move it to the sump for a day or two?
Any ideas on what kind of cleaning crew to get? How many hermit crabs? How many snails? anything else?
Just a small addition. Found this in the algae control article:
Diatoms (dusty, rust colored)
Diatoms are probably the most common form of algae found in aquariums. Every new aquarist finds diatoms in their tank at the end of their cycle. Diatoms are easily controlled through the use of grazing snails. If you find a bloom check out you silicates, as they are incorporated into this algae's shell. These algae can also be hindered through the use of RO/DI water for make up water.
I guess this is the type of algae I have. Could anyone suggest what kind of snail to get for grazing off live rock. There's no algae on the glass yet, just on the live rock and substrate.