Problems with brown algae

[MBVette]

So I have been fighting this brown algae for about a month now and have not made any headway with it. I can blow it off and siphon it out, but it always comes back.

It just sits on top of everything as I have no problem blowing it off with a turkey baster. It just looks like crap, and I want it gone. lol

I run my lights a lot as they are on for 12 hours as this is in a business lobby, so I know thats a problem. I am testing and showing no nitrates or phosphates right now, so Im not sure what the cause of it is. Any help would be great.

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c112/showcat27/fishtank/photo.jpg

[shifty51008]

what type of water you using, how old is the tank, what size tank and what kind of fish, how old are the bulbs and what type?

[MCary]

You probably know some of this, it is a well covered subject. Brown algae is actually not algae at all, its diatoms. It is a normal part of a tank startup. I don't know how long your tank has been set up, but it is very common for a new tank. They grow very fast. A bright light will grow them pretty thick in a day.

Okay causes. They feed on nutrient rich water. Nutrient rich water is common in new tanks. Nitrate is a common nutrient. As the nutrients are depleted through natural means they begin to deminish. Although unsightly, unlike algae, they are good for your tank, they will clean the water of nutrients and then eventually die.

How to get rid of them. They are food. Clean up crews love them. Snails will clean them off in as little as a week. Remember your maintenance and do your water changes. You might try a refugium if you don't have one. Eventually they will clear on their own if you do not fall back on your maintenance.

[jformani]

Probably need more info but here are a few things to consider.

Are you adding ro/di water for top off? If not, that needs to be done. If you are how old is the ro/di unit? May need to change filters.

How much circulation do you have in the tank? It may need to be increased.

I do see some snails in there. You may want to add more snails, hermits, etc.

Do you run GFO for phosphates? If not I would add GFO to your tank either in a reactor or filter sock and stick it by high flow.

Your algae is probably absorbing the nitrates and phoshates quickly so you are getting a false reading from your test kit.

I would back the lighting off a couple of hours.

Do you have a sump you could place chaeto in to help with additional "absorbing" of nitrates/phosphates?

And lastly, how often do you do waters changes? I would try to keep up with water changes 20% a month.

[MBVette]

I'm using bottled water from a local supplier that is filtered using todo and much more. Local guys here also use them as an alternative to making true own. Unfortunatly I dot have the capabilities to make my own water here.

Tank is about 6 months old and is 210g. T5 lighting.

Have 2 clowns, sailfin, chevron, and naso tang. 2 chromis, 1 mystery wrasse, and a yellow watchman.

[MBVette]

For circulation I have a reeflo dart and 2 mp40 power heads.

I started with about 75 hermits and a total of about 100 mixed snails. I know I have lost a bunch of snails and need to replenish. How many snails should I have in a 210?

[Palting]

6 moths and you still have diatoms. Something is wrong here. You have to go through achecklist. Looks like you have enough flow. How many watts on the T5, and what colors? Have you checked TDS on the bottled water? How often do you do water changes? What kind of salt?

[MBVette]

they recently started up about 4 weeks ago, I had never had a problem with them early on.

Dont remember the colors, but have 6 bulbs. 2 atinics, and will need to check the others as I dont remember.

I have never checked TDS, what would I need to do it? I do a 20-25 gallon water change a week using reef crystals.

[Palting]

TDS - Total Dissolved Solids - is a measure of the dissolved substances in your water. You'll need a TDS meter for that. This will let you know if the bottled water is truly RO/DI clear. If it isn't, then that's part of the problem. You are getting silicates and phophates.

OK, the checklist:

Silicates and phosphates feed those diatoms. For someone with a 210 gal tank, an RO/DI unit is worth the investment, likely pay for itself with what you pay for the bottled water. Silicates and phosphates also come from various sources, like flake food or food in general. You can help get rid of what you already have in your tank with GFO - Granulated Ferric Oxide. Preferably in a phosphate reactor.

Nitrates can read as zero, but that may be because it is being consumed by the diatoms. Nitrtae export system like a refugium is one way to deal with it.

DOC - Disssolved Organic Substances - is a nebulous term to define what other nutrients there are that feed those diatoms and algae. A good protein skimmer will help.

Essentially diatoms in an older tank is a sign of poor water quality, regardless of what your tests are showing. You can temporize with more frequent WC, but the base water has to have a TDS reading of zero. RO/DI, man. Get one. Since the tank is in your business, it's a business expense and tax deductible. Try to suck up as much of those diatoms when you do the WC.

Old lights can be another source of the problem. Lights change their spectrum as they get older. Are your lights only 6 months old, or did you get them used?

[Allmost]

most probably SI in the bottel water you get.

aluminum Oxide removes those, Id recommend using phosphate removers that has al oxide like seachems

[outy]

Its silicates from the water you buy, this is a easy one [provided its not Dino's]

without a ro/di silicates cannot be removed and they can come and go seasonaly in the water supply.

the light brown dusting looks allot like diatoms, if any part looks thicker like that orange area it could very well be Dinos.

first things first, lets figure out what you have.


in any case, alumina based phosphate removers [the white kind] will slow/stop this down. make sure to removed media 5-7 days after you have introduced it. [despite its 2 days] on the directions

[MBVette]

unfortunatly at my building I dont have anywhere that I can hook up an RODI unit to make 40 gallons a week. That is my biggest problem, trust me I would love to save all that money in making my own water and the space that it takes to store the water since I only get once a month delivery.

I guess I will bring a sample of the water the my LFS this week to see if they can test for TDS and go from there. But while there I will pick up some phosphate remover to see if that works.

None of the brown stuff is very thick, I can blow it off very easily and it leaves no residue once it it blown off

[Allmost]

not any po4 remover, AL oxide ! the white stuff. and you do not need to double dose it as it sais on the bottel (marketing scam)

you can not test TDS of saltwater, u measure TDS of RO/DI water, the bottel water you buy, and be sure there is SI in there.

ure lfs will only test for simple stuff, ns.

PS I live in a one very small condo and I have my RO/DI connected to the kitchen sink ... its possible :)

[MBVette]

if you want to figure out where to put a large garbage can hooked up to a sink in a day care center, you are more than welcome. I just dont have the space here, it sucks but thats what it is. If this was at my house I could make it work, just cant do it here.

I know you cant test TDS on saltwater, I would test it on the regular water before I make it to see what it going on. I wonder if the guys who deliver the water would know the TDS, guess I could call them.

[Allmost]

if you want to figure out where to put a large garbage can hooked up to a sink in a day care center, you are more than welcome. I just dont have the space here, it sucks but thats what it is. If this was at my house I could make it work, just cant do it here.

I know you cant test TDS on saltwater, I would test it on the regular water before I make it to see what it going on. I wonder if the guys who deliver the water would know the TDS, guess I could call them.

nothing wrong with a little kitty pool at work LOL jks

I do it in my closet :S I dod loose a closet but at least its not at the middle of my living room haha I just wanted to give u Ideas, not saying ure doing something bad :)

[MBVette]

trust me I have looked at every option, only spot that would work is the kitchen but we just dont have the space there. It sucks as spending $1 a gallon is damn expensive but seems to be the only option. I have thought about buying water from the LFS, but how the hell would I transport that amount of water.

[rdog]

U can mount the RO/DI unit under a sink, use a saddle vale to tap the water lines... Most likely ur not doing water changes when u are open so fill up 5 gallon buckets when the kids are gone, cap the buckets and stick them in a closet for a day till u do the water change... Remember, u get more waste water than good water so the pool idea is a good one by Allmost... Some people use the water for watering gardens and yards...(what i heard)

[MBVette]

I actually do all of the maintenance during the hours, I just find a slow time mid morning and knock out the water change then.

I just think having to continually check a 5 gallon bucket to see if it is about to overflow would be a lot. And the one time I miss catching it before it fills up it will be a problem. That is why I would like to continue using a large garbage can, but obviously I just cant leave that sitting out somewhere as it looks horrible.

[Floowid]

You could get the RO/DI unit at your home, and make the water there in the off hours. As you progress in this hobby you will eventually end up with more 5 and 4 gallon buckets than you know what to do with. Use those to transport your own water to your place of business.

But definitely test the water that is being delivered. A TDS meter is not too pricey and comes in very handy.

In the meantime, look all over your tank/system for areas where detritus could be accumulating. The 6 month mark is usually a good time for accumulated debris to build up and bite you. Check inside the overflow, slack areas in the sump and refugium, under the pumps/skimmers, look everywhere. Take a powerhead in your hand and use it to "blow" all around your rockwork and see if detritus comes shooting out somewhere.

Find the source of the excess nutrient and you fix the problem. Also think about cutting back your photo period on your lights. Your fixture should separate the blues from the whites, maybe keep the blues on for the 12 hours but only have the whites come on for the most actively watched 6 hours of the day.

[Allmost]

I actually do all of the maintenance during the hours, I just find a slow time mid morning and knock out the water change then.

I just think having to continually check a 5 gallon bucket to see if it is about to overflow would be a lot. And the one time I miss catching it before it fills up it will be a problem. That is why I would like to continue using a large garbage can, but obviously I just cant leave that sitting out somewhere as it looks horrible.

float valves are your friends :)

make a hole in the 5G bucket and ut a floating valve and RO/DI to it, that's what I do and I have a little 5G bucket sitting beside my tank, with ATO pump in it. 100% automated top off .

I have the RO/DI out put Ted off to the closet to a 35 G brute, with another float valve., both are filled up all the time.

but you being at a day care, u dont want any of the kids to fall in a 5 G bucket and drown ! so make sure u put a lid on it ! have u ever seen that warning on the side of salt buckets ? I Want to know what kid has drownded in a 5G bucket EVER LOL hahaah

[MBVette]

getting a few 5 gallon buckets and doing it at home might be a good idea. Would probably take me a couple weeks to get enough water built up, but at that point it would be cheap. (my home water bill is built into my HOA :) )

Can you hook up a RODI unit to an exterior hose bib? I have one in my garage I could use for this.

As for the drowing in a 5 gallon bucket, you should see the crap we have to do b/c of all the weird accidents that have probably happened over the years.

[Allmost]

getting a few 5 gallon buckets and doing it at home might be a good idea. Would probably take me a couple weeks to get enough water built up, but at that point it would be cheap. (my home water bill is built into my HOA :) )

Can you hook up a RODI unit to an exterior hose bib? I have one in my garage I could use for this.

As for the drowing in a 5 gallon bucket, you should see the crap we have to do b/c of all the weird accidents that have probably happened over the years.

haha that's funny

u can connect it to any cold water, as long as it doesnt freeze outside in winter times.

[MBVette]

so where can I pick up a good RODI unit? My brother has one and it takes him forever to fill up a bucket, I would guess its a few hours. Where can I get a nice one that can fill a 5 gallon bucket relatively quick?

[BigGimp77]

I'm still new to this but I recently went through a Brown algae outbreak. http://img704.imageshack.us/img704/9792/62585718.jpg

I still keep my lights on for the same amount of time, but I just made sure not to over feed my fish. A week later it's cleared up pretty much the whole way. My tank is only 3 months old though so yours might be a little different.