Brown Algae....AGAIN?????

[Becki67]

Okay, can someone tell me what's going on? I already went through the brown algae phase and it's starting again. I was under the assumption that this would only happen once and then we're off to pink land.

What is causing this? We just did a water change last week and it seemed to make it worse. We used distilled water. Could that have done it?

All the water parameters are fine.

Help...my tank is ugly again!

 

[NewbReefer]

Someone will pipe in on the distilled water part, I have only ever used RO/DI water.

Patience is the key. even though you may have already seen that type of algea bloom doesn't mean you wont see it again. it take years for a saltwater tank to mature and during that time you WILL see algea. there are ways of helping to control it though, decreasing how long your lights are on, keeping up on your water changes, add a few more cleaner crew that will eat that type of algea, check your filters and make sure your skimmer is working properly.

 

[cthegame]

well there is no rule that says it will only happen once. its not chickenpox. If your water conditions go back to providing the brown algae what it needs to thrive, it will come back.

Im getting green algae all over again along with cayano. already went thru them once.

 

[RyanG]

Distilled water is just a step below RODI. Diatoms are part of the "new tank syndrom" just something we all have to deal with. What type of sand did you use for your substrate? It should be fine unless its a silica based sand; IE cheap play sand.

 

[cthegame]

Diatoms are not limited to new tanks. Neither is any kind of algae.

They can happen in any tank if the water conditions allows it.

 

[RyanG]

I wasnt saying that they were, Diatoms are very typical and expected in new tanks, and the "new tank syndrom" isnt a phrase I coined, that would be the experts that are highly regarded.

DISCLAIMER: This post is not a flame!

 

[cthegame]

:beerchug: i know! You're the G-man!

Cheers even though its only 2 in the afternoon.

 

[McCrary]

Start running some GFO in a reactor and it should help with your algae problem. Most algae seems to be caused by elevated phosphates.

 

[Bifferwine]

Rarely does anyone ever get just one diatom outbreak. With a new tank, they seem to occur often and quite frequently. As your tank matures and your water quality improves and becomes more stable, diatom outbreaks will become less frequent.

 

[fatman]

High silicate levels in addition to adequate nutirient levels produce a good environment foe diatoms. They are often predecessor to green algae and will often prevent the advent of green algae. Use diatom growth as a warning/indicator that your bio system is as yet a little inadequate to fully handle the nutrients being input to your tank. If for an example you increase your bio load at this time it is pretty much assured you would very soon have a green algae problem. Usually brown algae will use up excess nutrients preventing green algae growth if all conditions remain the same (meaning no increase in fish or feeding). Some experienced reefers actually add silicates to their tanks because of the before mentined qualities of diatoms. Brown algae does not cause problems with corals as does green algae, so it is considered the lesser of two possible evils. It is quite possible that your "Distilled" water is high in silicates. I do not know that any retail distilled water is made with glass distilling units and they seem to be the only distillers that put out water with low TDS readings. Even a standard RO unit can let quite a bit of silicates go through their membranes.