brown algea starting to form in tank

[fishrdp]

hello all,
Probably a stupid question. But brown algea has started to form in tank. Tank has been up for about 2 months. Just installed mh lights 5 days ago. parameters amon-0 nitrite-0 nitrate between 20 and 30. I have not been using ro water I think this is the problem. Any other causes for brown algea?
Thank You
DEAN ???

 

[doswari]

That's normal in starting up a tank, but the water your using has phosphates in it that's feeding the algea. You should seriously consider getting an RO/DI system. It will be one of the best investments that you make into this hobby. You could use a phosphate absorbing media that would help a little. Don't bother testing for phosphate b/c it's usually taken up by the algae quickly. If you do want to test for it, test the water before you place it in your tank. The other major source of phosphates is food that's not eaten by your fish before it hits the bottom of the tank. Cutting back on the amount your feeding and a good cleanup crew will help with that.

 

[fishrdp]

Just ordered a ro/di unit from airwaterice.com very cool unit with two supply lines one for drinking one for water holding tank under $200. Spoke to customer service answered all my questions. I keep you posted. Just did 10% water change today using treated tap. Hope to have ro/di unit up and running by next water change next monday. I hope this algea does not become a problem. Any suggestions in the mean time would be helpful.

 

[RichT]

The brown algae is usually called diatoms. They will get worse before they get better. It's part of the cycle. Your sand will look like toast. Lots of water changes and time will take care of it. Don't fall victim to the snake oils. Getting all the nutrients to 0, especially the PO4 usually significantly decrease nuisance algae outbreaks. Keep us informed. I would also suspect that hair algae is next (at least it was in my tank). Good clean up crew and a tang, or fox face as well as nutrient reduction will help with the hair if you get it.

 

[fishrdp]

The brown algae is usually called diatoms. They will get worse before they get better. It's part of the cycle. Your sand will look like toast. Lots of water changes and time will take care of it. Don't fall victim to the snake oils. Getting all the nutrients to 0, especially the PO4 usually significantly decrease nuisance algae outbreaks. Keep us informed. I would also suspect that hair algae is next (at least it was in my tank). Good clean up crew and a tang, or fox face as well as nutrient reduction will help with the hair if you get it.

I added phosphate sponge to filter media to try and remove phosphates. I did this on advice i got from LFS, hope this works and not harm fish or invertsor LR. By nutrient reduction do you mean less feeding of fish?

 

[RichT]

NH4, NO2, NO3, & PO4 as well as general organics are nutrients. So overfeeding would cause nutrient buildup.