brown stuff on rocks

[chemjoey]

hey guys im startin to get some brown stuff on my rock and now on my glass. What should i do? Also im gettin alot of dieoff build up on the sand bed, so when i do a waterchange should i try and suck all thi sup?

 

[cgoodman381]

without a pic im not sure. First thing that pops in my head is over feeding possibly?

 

[cthegame]

Its very normal to get diatoms or brown algae in the first few months. DO you do regular water changes?

Yes, you can try to remove as much of the algae as you can and increase your water changes, trying running phosphate remover. How much do you feed the tank?

Either way, those things will just slow it down but it wont make it disappear until the tank becomes more established. All you can really do is wait it out.

 

[chemjoey]

here are sum pic's

 

[chemjoey]

well i just got my 2 clowns and coral tuesday so ive only feed them 2 days. I feed them a cube of brine shrimp a day but i was just told they only need a half so ill be cutting that down tommarow.

 

[cgoodman381]

Yep, looks like a little over feeding. Its pretty light right now, but it can get worse. If you don't have some nassarius snails it would help to pick some up. They are awesome scavengers.

 

[cthegame]

yea those are normal. Dont worry about it. Your fish will be fine. Just takes some time and it will go away. Keep doing your water changes and remove as much as you can to slow it down. Other than that, just give it time.

no worries.

 

[chemjoey]

how often should i do a water change? Right now im doing them once a week.

 

[cgoodman381]

For a 30g something like 20-25% once a week to every other week should be fine.

 

[cthegame]

20% is fine. Normally i would say 20% per week is too much but for a few weeks to fight the algae it should be ok. If i was you, i would do 10% changes twice per week for a few weeks until the algae starts to disappear. Then go back to doing 10% weekly water changes.

 

[RyanG]

Those are diatoms just part of breaking in a new system, IMO.

 

[Bifferwine]

One cube a day is way too much for two smallish clowns, you can safely cut that down to 1/2 or even 1/4 of a cube.

That said, those diatoms are totally normal for a new tank. Increasing water changes and getting a good cleaner crew will help, but not eliminate it.

All of our tanks start off ugly. Algae problems are frustrating, but go away in time, if you keep up good maintenance habits.

 

[fatman]

how often should i do a water change? Right now im doing them once a week.

:bounce: I would only change 10 percent a week. But when there are problems with water parameters then larger changes or the same size more often is better. A diatom outbreak isn't necessarily a water parameter problem or even a bad nutrient problem, it is usually more of a high silicate problem which will clear up on its own, unless you are using water with high levels of silicates, then it will probably get worse with water changes, especially large water changes. Stick with 10 percent per week unless your nitrates are high or getting high. Then remember large and or very frequent water changes are only a crutch, you need to find the injury, like the over feeding, and if the brown algae does not go away check into your water quality. :^: