Brown on both sides...

[Ryan]

I think it's algea on the inside of my tank. It looks to be on both sides but not on the back or front of the tank. My snails haven't been touching it.

These two spots seem to have gotten bigger ever since I put my Bak Pak protein skimmer on. Could my this be some sort of new cycle my tank is going through?

Thanks,

Q-Tip :mrgreen:

 

[yote]

It probably is some brown algae.I get it on the ends of my tank pretty regular,but it'll wipe right off with the mag-float.

 

[Ryan]

Help me out Yote... mag float? So is this brown a good thing or bad?

 

[yote]

This thing:D http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3728+4083&pcatid=4083

I tend to look at that algae as phytoplankton for my filter feeders.Its basically the same as the algae your always wiping off the front glass.

 

[Bifferwine]

What kind of snails do you have? Astraea snails are generally the best for keeping the glass clean.

 

[sen5241b]

Recently added margarita snails and they chowed on the brown algae but they don't like high temperatures.

 

[mng777777]

yeah I put a ton of astreas in back in september and they did a great job of keeping my glass clean. Lately, however, I was having to clean my glass every 2-3 days and I realized that a lot of my astreas were now hermits... so I went and bought a handful more and my glass is once again spotless. Love those astreas!

 

[daugherty]

Recently added margarita snails and they chowed on the brown algae but they don't like high temperatures.

no they dont they are from cold waters. they usually dont last long at all in our tanks

 

[messiah023]

Isn't that strange how Astreas "morph" into hermits?
Kinda like the male/female swapping of the Clownfish.

Freaks of nature! :-)

 

[mng777777]

the most frustrating part is that I got a whole bushel of empties that I scattered about to try to keep my hermits happy but those little devils just love the shells with snails in them.

 

[daugherty]

they like to eat escargot (SP) they just like to live the high life

 

[mng777777]

Ahhh... they have expensive taste you say? My wife must have gotten to them while I was out... Soon they are going to be sporting diamonds

 

[sen5241b]

Hermits and crabs are reef safe as long as they stay small.

 

[tankedchemist]

Hermits and crabs are reef safe as long as they stay small.

how small is "small"? Just wondering!

 

[mng777777]

depends on the type of crab. The best thing you can do is examine the type of pinchers that they have. If they are sharp and pointed, it is a carnivore. Get it out of your tank! if they are flat like spoons, they are an omnivore and they may be reef safe. I keep emeralds but they usually only last about six months before I have to return them to the LFS because they start making trouble with my corals. as youg crabs they do great on the algae but as they grow they realize they can find food by ripping apart corals. There has always been warning signs of this in my case, they get noticeabley more "bold". I have not lost any corals but I am very careful. I love crabs, but I don't plan to replace any of the crabs I have once they die. they cause too much trouble and I think snails and stars can do just as good of a job cleaning up a tank.