Brown algae everywhere! over night!

[owen386]

Hey all,


New to the game, tank has been cycled for for about a month current housing small cuc, hermits, 2 peppermints, 3 nassaris 3 aster 1 huge Turbo 1 emerald. 2 ocerlis clowns put in 2 days ago water parameters are dbl zero and then still hanging on to about 5-10 ppm nitrate running 65lbs live rock and a HOB filter turned fuse for filtration. Have been using tap but currently in process of making switch meaning the past cpl week only been doing top offs and changes with rodi. Just switched my crappy 30 watt flurcent light fixture to a 4bulb t5 fixture 216 watts any advice on how to get rid of this crud. Thanks so much for you time hope to hear from ya. Ohh yeah lights are on 10 hrs

 

[owen386]

Prob should have just read first prob just diatoms from the cycle I'll wait it out a lil before I waste a thread and ask for advice my fault.

-Owen

 

[Reef Nutz]

No worries. Here to help when you need it.
Diatom Algae typically is brown in appearance and usually is seen within the first 4-16 weeks following the install of an aquarium. Diatom algae have three basic needs to thrive: silicate as a food source, a low pH in a saltwater environment, and light in the yellow, orange, and red spectrum. During the first few weeks after an aquarium is set-up diatom algae growth can be very aggressive. It may cover the glass in as little as 48 hours. Diatom algae growth is normal and the direct result from the tremendous amount silica found in the synthetic salt used to make saltwater. Most synthetic sea salt manufacturers use silica, a moisture removing product, in the manufacture of synthetic salts. As the concentration of silica falls, the algae runs out of food, and slowly goes away.

 

[little_fish]

Its also common to get algae blooms when you upgrade your lighting. Just keep ontop of your water changes as you doing and switch over, dont overfeed and keep your stocking low! You will beat it!

 

[brandon429]

if silica comes from our salt mix how does it go away over time if we keep using the same salt mix

where do the silicates go that translate to a lessening of diatom growth when a tank ages?

 

[little_fish]

Silicates should not be in your salt mix, they are usually in the dry rock and sands. The silicates are used to build their shells, but once it is in the shells, they cant reuse it so they die off.

 

[BL1]

Silicates can/do come from some salt mixes. And they are also used by more than just diatoms.

Another potential source of silica is the artificial salt mix used to prepare the tank water. Despite the marketing hype in which many mixes claim to have no silica, most do have some (a few mM), and these levels are not unlike natural seawater.30 Nevertheless, that silica likely depletes in a few days in a real reef tank (see below).

Feature Article: Silica In Reef Aquariums — Advanced Aquarist's Online Magazine

Silica
Silica raises two issues. If diatoms are a problem in an established reef aquarium, they may indicate a substantial source of soluble silica, especially tap water. In that case, purifying the tap water will likely solve the problem. In such a situation, testing may not reveal elevated silica levels because the diatoms may use it as quickly as it enters the aquarium.
If diatoms are not a problem, then I suggest that many aquarists should consider dosing soluble silica. Why would I recommend dosing silica? Largely because creatures in our aquaria use it, the concentrations in many aquaria are below natural levels, and consequently the sponges, mollusks, and diatoms living in these aquaria may not be getting enough silica to thrive.
I suggest dosing sodium silicate solution, as it is a readily soluble form of silica. I dose a bulk grade of sodium silicate solution (water glass), which is very inexpensive. You may find "water glass' in stores because consumers use it for such activities as preserving eggs. Finding chemicals to buy can be difficult for many people, however, and this linked hobby chemistry store sells to individuals. Ten dollars plus shipping buys enough to last for 150 years of dosing a 100-gallon aquarium, so cost is not an issue.
Based on my dosing experience, aquarists are probably safe dosing to 1 ppm SiO[SIZE=-1]2[/SIZE] once every 1-2 weeks. This is based on the fact that my aquarium uses that much in less than four days without any sort of "bad" reaction. Of course, there's nothing wrong with starting at a tenth of that dosage and gradually ramping it up. If you do get too many diatoms, just back off on the dosing. I presume that all of the SiO[SIZE=-1]2[/SIZE] I have added to my aquarium has been used by various organisms (sponges, diatoms, etc), but perhaps I have more sponges than other aquarists. Consequently, diatoms may be more of a concern in some aquaria than in mine.
I would also advise occasionally measuring the soluble silica concentration in the water, in case the demand in your aquarium is substantially less than mine. If the concentration started to rise above 3 ppm SiO[SIZE=-1]2[/SIZE], even in the absence of diatoms, I would probably reduce the dosing rate because that is close to the maximum concentration that surface seawater ever contains. Additional details on dosing amounts and methods are described in this previous article.

 

[little_fish]

Very cool! I had no idea :)

 

[owen386]

Thanks guys wil keep u all updated. I just posted instantly when I seen it cause its everywhere ! Tank looks disgusting very discouraging. Love this forum talk to y'all soon. Making a trip to LFS today for some rodi water should I pick up some more cuc while I'm there to help out?

-Owen

 

[little_fish]

Sure! More CUC wont hurt!