Brown Algae

[LiveRock]

Hello reefers

I have been running my pico tank for 6 months now and still getting the nuisance brown algae. They appear on the glass, inside my pipes, almost everywhere. I clean them out every time I change water but they keep coming back. Recently, some small snail appeared from nowhere and I am glad that they eat the algae but the growth rate of this algae far exceeds the eating rate of the snails.

How to solve this problem? I got actinic, 6500K lights, Prism skimmer, Ehiem Pro II canister with surface skimmer, polyfoam, 3 clowns and 1 damsel, mushrooms, and critters like crabs, fire worms, fan worms, amphipods, etc.

What am I doing wrong here? Any tips greatly appreciated!

[clowntrigger]

liverock, after seeing so much reply on algae, let me contribute what I have gather so far.

1. Check for Nitrate, be it in the tank or the top up water used.

2. Heard that 6500K light promotes algae, will be good to upgrade to 10000K light.

The above all my opinion, so if I am wrong anywhere, please be soft on me

[Tanzy]

If the snails are eating it then it's probably diatom, if the snails want nothing to do with it then it's dinoflagellate.

Assuming it's diatoms, then the problem is more of high silicates. In this case, you will need a RO/DI unit or at least DI to get rid of silicates in your tapwater. Keep up the water changes with 'clean' water and it should stop.

If it is dinoflagellates then it's a real problem. <_<

[clowntrigger]

tanzy, how does a dinoflagellate look like? if it is dinoflagellate, how do you battle it ?

[Tanzy]

If it is dinoflagellates then you will need divine intervention. Get down and pray man! I'm not totally kidding, you know. I had to battle them for 3 months to keep them in check, not eradicate, just in check. Some reefers battle them for years!

Dinos are brown, slimy, mucous, snot like, kind of algae similar to the zooxanthellae found in the coral. They will thrive under the same kind of lighting as coral so that's the major problem. They are not to be confused with cyanobacteria which is reddish-brown and can be picked up in strands of slime. Dinos when picked up will fall apart and get blown all over the tank. Dinos under strong MH will produce bubbles which they trap with their slime, so what you see is a brown carpet with silver bubbles. They are more prone to grow on sand then on the rocks because the sand is where all the muck is, which they like. They disappear at night and grown quickly during the day so it's a cycle.

What I did was drop the photoperiod to 4 hours a day after one day total blackout. Cover the tank with black trash bag to reduce the amount of ambient light entering during the blackout phase. Feed sparingly. Don't bother changing water if your nitrates and phosphates test zero, I find that when I change water, the dino gets worse. Increase pH to 8.5-8.6 by dripping lots reef buffer daily. Added more water circulation to prevent detritus buildup on the sand. After a week, slowly ramp up the lighting to original levels by one hour a day. Continue to maintain high pH until they are no longer visible. Of course, this will only work if adequate skimming and denitration are provided.

Good luck.

[bawater]

ooo! never seen snails eat diatoms!

saw the bugger munch right by the stuff & not eat it. (actually stopped while it it went over it)

eeer, wat if its dino? got no 6500k tubes in(only 10k). but thinkin of adding extra 6500k.

[hongqixian]

IMO 6500k lights are a little warm and excellent in promoting algae growth. The 10000ks and above are fine.

Liverock,

wat size is your pico reef? Four fish is really too many in a tiny tank. Even 2ft tanks are best for only one or two tiny little fish. And if your tank is really small then you can just use bottled distilled water. Generally a pico tank is around 3-5 gallons or less. Above that is nano.

[LiveRock]

My tank is 1 ft by 1 ft by 2 ft.

Shape is tall and narrow type; unlike the normal 'landscape'.

I have DSB, and a lot of night activities from critters. Using a torch, I sometimes can see the snail eating the brown algae. It would leave a clean trail across the algae mat on the glass wall... so I guess they are eating it.. besides the snails, nothing touches the algae. Anyone knows what its natural enemy is? From how Tanzy described dinoflagellates, I sure hope I am no dealing with it. Even a dinosaurus couldn't do so m uch harm

I am using an external Eheim Pro II canister plus a Prism skimmer. I sure hope that these two device add to the total volume of water in the system too

I am using filtered water with several stages of filtering including ceramic filter, activated carbon, etc. Do I need to treat the water further?

Maybe I will give up 1 clown and the damsel but the problem is how to fish them out.... anyone inerested?

[Tanzy]

If it is like brown dust, it is diatoms.

If it is brown slime, it is dinoflagellate.

Diatoms are ok, dinos will kill corals and snails.

[hongqixian]

Sorry, double post. Read the next post

[hongqixian]

Your tank is actually a nano reef then like mine You could try training your fish to come to the surface and feeding them while waving a net. Or get them to come to the surface to feed and quickly net them out. You shouldn't need to treat the water any further, the Prizm is the key to your tank's filtration.

[eprouve]

Would removing the layer of sand (where dinos are) help in anyway during the blackout treatment?

[Tanzy]

Not really, dinos die very quickly once the light goes out. There is a dino cycle everyday in my tank, they will reach peak before the lights go out and die overnight, when the lights come back on the next morning the sand is good as new. I find that preventing detritus buildup as the best method to fighting dino.