brown alage

[keene1981]

my tank is 8mo old and have diatoms i use r/o water instant ocean salt no phosphate no nitrate i would like to know how to make it go way

 

[ronj]

how many fish do you have?????what size tank are they in??? how much and how often do you feed them???? what, if any, additives do you use??? the answers will help greatly!!!!!

 

[keene1981]

i have 4 fish 1 starfish 1 shrimp they are in a 90gal i feed 1 a day additives liquid calcium

 

[ronj]

what kind of food do you feed?????....also, what type of lighting do you have???i think i remember you having pc's...how old are the bulbs???

 

[keene1981]

sometime's i feed krill and omega one and sea veggies 160watt of light

 

[prbhasson]

as ronj said, how old are the pc's and also what type of flow do you have? Are you running a skimmer? these things will affect diatom build up if not kept in check....

 

[ronj]

i was feedind brine shrimp for a while and all of a sudden, i had algae all over the sand bed and on the walls..i removed the fish to treat them for ich, and it starved out the algae..i feed alot more conservatively now...you might need to cut back on the portion size some

 

[Dr. Dee]

You have diatoms!!! Diatoms typically show up at the end of the cycle,and feed on silicates and phosphates, and then go away. How long do you have your lights on for ,you might need to cut back for a little time, and if your spectrum is bad that can do it also.you can also use some stuff called marine tank clarifier by coralife, it works on my service tanks.

 

[ronj]

i would just catch up on the water changes..do several large changes ,make sure your lights aren't old, and make sure you have the correct spectrum...the diatoms should starve off after the water changes...check your filters if you have them..change them if neccesary, better yet, get rid of them if you have them!!! if you are feeding more than your fish can handle in a minute, i would cut back some....all of this , along with the large water changes(and regular WC's), should starve the diatoms and fix your problem

 

[Herefishyfishy]

Have to agree with Dr Dee. Its not the food, it is more cycling of the tank and the higher level of silicates and or lack of lighting. The lack of enough wattage is a big factor here. Why are you putting additives in a 90 gal with little or no stony coral Ever do any water changes? Add more light:idea: and the brown will turn to green

 

[keene1981]

i add liquid calcium for the live rock and water changes i do 15gal a mo my light's on 10 on 14 off

 

[keene1981]

i run a skimmer it is in the sump

 

[Herefishyfishy]

Your bioballs might be holding onto old silicates. They add nothing to the completed system. Gradually remove them. You have no reason to add calcium to your tank, there doesn't seem to be any stonies consuming it. The added Ca might be putting the ions out of balance. Hopefully the brown will cycle to green and then stable. Most tanks cycle through diatoms at one time or another. Your skimmer looks pretty deep in the water, could be just me.

 

[keene1981]

what can i add for my rock. and remove the bio balls and not put them back?

 

[ronj]

don't put them back..they collect nitrates......that could be what is feeding your algae!!!..you want an additive for your rock????

 

[keene1981]

by the bio balls not being there to collect nitrates. will it make my nitrates spike

 

[ronj]

no...they will not spike..remove a handful with each water change until they are gone...your nitrate levels will fall.....the only reason you would need the bioballs is if you had no liverock for bacteria to colonize on...you have LR though..there are plenty of bacteria on your LR..the bioballs aren't necessary!

 

[Shawn C]

it would help if you didnt take a bath in you tank! lol jk

 

[keene1981]

i remove the pre filter's and the brown look's to be stoping