[checker Jim]

having some trouble with brown algae in my tank. I am thinking it may be from the direct sunlight it is getting. is there something I can throw in there to eat it or kill it off?
algae1.jpg

algae2.jpg

[RyanG]

Snails! Turbo's will the most, they are pretty big, but when they eat all your algae you need to feed them algae!

[glampka]

Usually a clean up crew will take care of it. Check your water for silicates. They sell silicate removers to help eliminates them.

[rlcline76]

turbos...great for hair algae. I like my cerith for diatoms. An assortment is always good.

[WILLIAM1]

Are you using R/O water or tap???

[checker Jim]

used tap to set it up and then used bottled water for water changes

[arctictwist]

yea im learning quickly that RO/DI is the way to go. I used tap to set up and have been for water changes cus i made a bunch of it from my grandmas well. But im going to ditch it cus i was just getting it to go away and i did a water change, huge bloom. I will be making all my water with RO/DI this weekend.

[checker Jim]

LFS only had 4 snails ... grabbed them all and going to another store for more today.. they are making pretty good progress. ended up with some new tank mates also... wasnt quite ready for more. but I sent my wife to get the snails and she came back with a cc star an anemone and a clown...

"he loved that anemone so much and they are so cute together I had to get them."

oh well.. hopefully they will be ok the clown went right to eating and the anemone is showing no signs of stress. should be cool.

[maxrady]

this may be a silly question, but is there like a SPG (snails per gallon) rule or anything? i have a 20 gallon and i wouldnt say i have an algae problem but it would be nice to get rid of the brown stuff.

[pogodzib]

Originally Posted by checker Jim

LFS only had 4 snails ... grabbed them all and going to another store for more today.. they are making pretty good progress. ended up with some new tank mates also... wasnt quite ready for more. but I sent my wife to get the snails and she came back with a cc star an anemone and a clown...

"he loved that anemone so much and they are so cute together I had to get them."

oh well.. hopefully they will be ok the clown went right to eating and the anemone is showing no signs of stress. should be cool.

May I ask how long your tank has been setup and what type of lighting you have? Usually brown diatoms and minimal coralline algae like your LR is indicates that it is a new setup. If it is a new setup, you may want to try returning the anemone to the store since they don't do well in a new tank. Also, CC starfish are not always reef-safe so keep an eye on it.

[pogodzib]

Originally Posted by maxrady

this may be a silly question, but is there like a SPG (snails per gallon) rule or anything? i have a 20 gallon and i wouldnt say i have an algae problem but it would be nice to get rid of the brown stuff.

The general rule is a total of 1-2 snails/hermits per gallon, but I think that number is too high for an established tank. 1 per 2 gallons is a better number for an averagely maintained tank using RO/DI water and good feeding habits.

[checker Jim]

well we are running an experimental LED lighting system on this tank. I do however have a compact I run for 10 hours a day. on it the tank has been up maybe a month or so. the rock you are seeing in the first picture is not LR it is just a base rock I put in there. everything else in the tank is doing very well. besides the algae. this tank if more a LR and fish tank. there is a few mussels and oddball corals in there. but they all came with the rock. the plants are doing great! I checked the water yesterday and saw a slight raise in the nitrites so I did a 20% water change on it and seems to be much better now.. the snails are making pretty good work of the algae and the anemone has already had one of the feeder shrimp for lunch!

[pogodzib]

You're probably just finishing up the cycle process now, which is why the brown diatom bloom showed up but it should go away shortly on its own if the snails don't finish it off for you.

What type of experimental LED lighting do you have on it?

[checker Jim]

I cant realy talk about the system until after CES next month. but it is a pretty cool system it is a full LED system. it is still in trial process right now. it is similiar to the Solaris system but much cheaper. very neet system I have been having fun with all of the features it has..