reefsrule Posted September 19, 2003 Share Posted September 19, 2003 I need help w/ this brown algae!!!!! I started doing water changes with distilled water, and I turned out the lights for a week, but its still growing!! Please, What do I do!? It grows so fast, do you think snails can handle it? I only have a 5 gallon so what's the minimum amount of snails that it can handle? All that's in it now is a red legged hermit crab, and I want to add a coral! Also, What do you think about candy cane coral and star polyps first for the tank? Or Should I start with one? ??? Link to comment
caja Posted September 19, 2003 Share Posted September 19, 2003 Is the algae a dusty brown algae or slimy reddish brown? Dusty brown is diatoms, slimy stuff is cyano. Are you trying to suck any of it up with a turkey baster at all to remove it? If it's cyano, it does spread like mad and needs to be removed often. You can try some chemi-clean (worked for me) or some Red Slime Remover, but most people do this as a last resort. Link to comment
TiGs Posted September 19, 2003 Share Posted September 19, 2003 They say diatoms will eventually burn themselves out and go away on its own. Link to comment
Infiniti Posted September 19, 2003 Share Posted September 19, 2003 Originally posted by reefsrule Also, What do you think about candy cane coral and star polyps first for the tank? Or Should I start with one? ??? hope this helps... Link to comment
reefsrule Posted September 20, 2003 Author Share Posted September 20, 2003 The stuff is diatoms How long will it take to "burn" its self out? Link to comment
jasontatro Posted September 20, 2003 Share Posted September 20, 2003 I am currently experiencing a diatom bloom.... yucky stuff, I know. However, I can already tell that things are changing. On day one the stuff just appeared like crazy, plus I had air bubbles coming out of my sand bed like crazy. I mean it was seriously perculating. I would see peices of sand get carried up to the top on an air bubble and then fall back down after it hit the surface. Things seem to have mellowed down after a couple of days. The moral of this.... these are things that I know are natural and are part of a healthy, growing environment. I've heard it said a thousand times here... this is a hobby of patience. If you aint got it, you need to get out of the hobby. I am not expecting to be adding any corals for at least a couple of months. Right now I am enjoying watching my hermits and snails do there thing, and when I get really bored I see how many pods I can count. Hang in there, but most importantly don't rush it. Link to comment
reefsrule Posted September 20, 2003 Author Share Posted September 20, 2003 Do you think I should get a cleanup crew? I just wanted to know if the blooms lasting this long was normal. Thanks! Link to comment
jasontatro Posted September 20, 2003 Share Posted September 20, 2003 I dont recall you saying how old the tank is. From my experiance, I would guess that you are in week two? Link to comment
fawkes027 Posted September 20, 2003 Share Posted September 20, 2003 Reefsrule - I had a similar problem about 2 weeks ago that got me really frustrated. I'll pass down the information I was given in hopes that it will help you as well as it did me. Some of this you are already doing. Change to RO/DI water Cut back your lighting Add phosphate remover to your current filter setup if you have one Grab a toothbrush and lightly scrub your rocks/tank. It'll make you feel better. Siphon as much junk off the surface of your sand bed (just the bare minimum). Thinks will get better. Link to comment
Xanareef Posted September 20, 2003 Share Posted September 20, 2003 My scarlet hermit ate my slime. He went to work on it two days ago (it was growing for the week he was in refuge after molting) and now it's 99.9% gone. Link to comment
reefsrule Posted September 20, 2003 Author Share Posted September 20, 2003 Thanx for the replies My tank is about 1 month old (and 3 weeks) So I thought that the algae should of burned by now. Link to comment
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