[blind1993]

hi

i woke up in the morning and i saw all of this brown stuff on my fake corals and i was wondering what it is and how to get rid of it . the tank is about 1 1/2 months old with no fish or inverts.

here is a pic

[Six-line Wrasse]

It does look like brown algae, or diatoms. Do you have live rock mixed in with your fake coral? If so, do you know if it was cured or uncured when you purchased it? This'll help determine what it most likely is.

[blind1993]

it was cured and i do have live rock

[Danakor]

You Might be keeping your light on for too long. whats your light cycle at?(how long you keep it on and how long you keep it off). Also what is your water source. I know I say that you don't HAVE to use RO/DI but it does help kill algae.

[blind1993]

well ilet regular sunlight come in and then at 8:00 i turn them on and of at7:30

[Six-line Wrasse]

If you don't have test kits for these, have your LFS check for: silicates, phosphates, dissolved organics and nitrates. Those are the big four contributors to algae problems.

[Danakor]

Sun Light is also helping the algae growth, most likely.

[Six-line Wrasse]

Originally Posted by Danakor

Sun Light is also helping the algae growth, most likely.

Another very possible scenario. Sunlight promotes both coral and nuisance algae growth equally.

[blind1993]

ok i see but i like to sunlight becauase it makes the tank look natural

[Danakor]

Hagen makes ALOT of aquarium bulbs, one of which is called a sun-glo, it has an orangish tint to it that actaully replicated the sun quite well. But technically if you want a true to life light you should go with actinic. As where most coral reefs are is deep and the light by then has a blueish tint. The problem with actinic lights is that they don't have high lummens. thus most people use both a high lummen bulb(sun glo is at 4200K while marine glo, the actinic version, is only at 50). and an actinic bulb.

[blind1993]

ok thz for ur help but i decided to save that money and actually buy a flame angle

[Krazy]

How long has your tank been set up?

[Danakor]

Also a cheap way to fix the problem without doing the light changes is to put some paper around the tank where the sun light comes in and leave your lift off for a while. this will kill the algae in approx less than a week. then you could just take and put some holes in the paper to allow some light through from the sun giving you the sunlight but limiting growth.

[blind1993]

that is a good idea but i just put the blinds up on that side of the tank

but thz for the help if the blinds dont work ill use ur advice

[blind1993]

yay

last night i got a yellow damsel

ill post pics of him later

[Reticentregret]

definitly the sun light i promise you sun light is crazy for algae ittl get everywhere avoid natural light as much as possible those types of rays dont usually reach the depth of a natural reef but since yours is exposed drectly you get the effects youde see in shallow water reefs yuk

[Six-line Wrasse]

Although warmer colors rarely reach beyond the first 5 - 10 meters, the most colorful corals are usually found within that range. That would make one believe that using warmer colored bulbs (closer to red than blue) would be beneficial for your tank, not harmful.

Also, sunlight is the only issue. Algae doesn't strictly grow in this upper region of the reef and no place else.

[Danakor]

six the onl;y thing I disagree with is your assesment of red light being better than blue. simply because at 15-30 feet down the sunlight that is reaching is turned a very light blue by the water.(sometimes it is green in the gulf of mexco).

Also to correct your typo, your right sunlight is not the only problem with agae as algae grows in very deep water too.

[blind1993]

yea well i do not mind the alage because i am getting a yellow tang

[Reticentregret]

i was simply stating its more dominate in the shallow regions i didnt say strictly presisley its grows in all but it bursts out of nowhere in the shallow. very rapid.

[blind1993]

ok i see what u mean

[blind1993]

yay now i am a senior member whooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooooo