LR Turning Brownish

[Norvin Ng]

The LR in my tank is turning brownish? It looks like somewahat like algae. My No2 is very low and N03 is below 10ppm (tank is about two months old). Water condition should be ok as the corals are doing well and even a white sponge is growing out of nowwhere. Any useful info is much appreciated.

[ZeRoC00l]

Out of topic here, but may I know wher eyou got yr LR from?

i'm searching high and low for some. Thanks

From what i know, LR needs curing once they are in yr tank, as there will be somethings tt will die..

so let it cure in tank with alot of water movement and oxygen.

[Tanzy]

Is the same brownish thingy growing on the sand? Is it slime like? Could be either diatoms or dinoflagellates.

[Norvin Ng]

LR - WTB

No 95 Seletar West Farmway should have them. Been buying from them.

LR Turing Brown

The brown coloration is not slimy but just looks coated on the LR. Hope it nothing serious. I am getting quite a bit of brownish algae patches on the tank glass, especially near the sand edge. Think thats normal right?

Got a pic of the LR below:

Note: sorry, not sure why but the pic was not attached. Tried to edit but it does not allow adding pics anymore in the edit mode.

[Norvin Ng]

LR - WTB

No 95 Seletar West Farmway should have them. Been buying from them.

LR Turing Brown

The brown coloration is not slimy but just looks coated on the LR. Hope it nothing serious. I am getting quite a bit of brownish algae patches on the tank glass, especially near the sand edge. Think thats normal right?

Got a pic of the LR below:

Note: sorry, not sure why but the pic was not attached. Tried to edit but it does not allow adding pics anymore in the edit mode.

Trying to attached the pic again....

[Tanzy]

That looks bad!

It looks like a mix of dinoflagellate and cyanobacteria! I'm not kidding you, that is serious. I hope not all the rocks look like that.

It is due to high levels of dissolved organic carbon, phosphates and nitrates.

1) Siphon that muck off the rocks. As much as possible! Brush if you have to.

2) Stir up the tank to suspend the detritus and muck in the water.

3) Siphon that dirt out with water.

4) Change water.

5) Stop feeding for 2 days.

6) Blackout the tank for 2 days.

7) Increase pH to higher than 8.4 gradually either with reef buffer.

9) Increase water circulation of the tank.

10) Light the tank for 4-5 hours a day only.

11) Run good carbon and phosphate sponge.

12) Resume feeding spraingly .

13) Repeat 1-4,7 and 11 as and when required. Increase lighting back to normal photoperiod when problem algae is no longer visible.

More details of your filtration, lighting and bioload is required.

Good luck, it won't be easy but it is beatable! It won't go away overnight but it will eventually if you try hard enough.

[kelstorm]

how long do u think that will take him to restore the colors on the rocks? seems like burnt rocks to me..

[Tanzy]

The burnt colour is from dinos but you notice the reddish tinge that comes from cyano, not to mention the green colour from hair algae too. I'll not be immediately worried about the green hair algae. It should go away with the cyano too. In fact, the cyano and dino may outcompete the green hair algae of nutrient because they grow so fast.

I had a big fight with cyano last time before my tank crash. I had to deal with dino after I upgraded to MH because the dino was growing so fast. Everything is under control now, so no worries.

[Norvin Ng]

Not sure of the pic I attached is clear enough and tanzy's response is scary... I have just managed to fight off a big case of ich and now this!!

The brown coloration is a very thin layer on the rocks, I think the only way is to brush it off. No slimy coatings in sight though.

Are there red coloration on the rock? In that pic, there is a white patch (that's a sea sponge) and a red small mushroom as well. Hope what Tanzy saw is the red mushroom!!

[bawater]

tanzy, i'm in a midst of a cyano bloom daily- been 2 weeks already, every day i get rid of it & everyday it comes back- just pointed powerhead at it yesterday(that's how i got rid of it before),but have to chk again tonite.

It comes & goes.

recently added extra 10K PL's , then it came.

got a bottle of algae rid but never used it before...still pondering if it will kill other things too.

wat measures did u use?

[Tanzy]

I know that is a red mushroom. <_< The brown patches seem to have a reddish tinge, might be camera, might be cyano, but either way the treatment is the same.

Increasing water circulation is a good method. It prevents settling of detritus within the tank therefore increasing the amount of organics skimmed out by the skimmer. Lowering the amount of DOC is a must to fight cyano or dino.

I'm wary of these chemicals that kill algae or anything. Zooxanthellae in coral might be affected.

[Norvin Ng]

Hi Tanzy

Don't mean to to rude in pointing out the mushroom... . Just wanted to be sure its not that.

When you say black out the tank for two days... means just don't switch on the lights?

[kelstorm]

got a bottle of algae rid but never used it before...still pondering if it will kill other things too.

wat measures did u use?

Bran,

i dun recommend using that... they (those chemicals) can't differentiate between good and bad algae...

[bawater]

okee, bottle been there since day one.

under increased circulation stopping the spread. Now just gotta deal with the other parameters.

[Tanzy]

Norvin,

It's ok, I'm just joking too. The photo is clear enough to see. When I mean black out, I would prefer that the whole tank be covered using a black trashbag or something to block out all the light. Becareful that the tank still receives sufficient gas exchange. What I did was I covered all the sides of my tank because my tank does receive a bit of indirect sunlight from one side in the morning.

[Norvin Ng]

OK. Will try that out. But my wife may be think its mating season for my fishes thus can't let my two young kids see the act..

[hongqixian]

Tanzy,

I have a tiny short fringed patch of red hairlike algae on a rock. It's a bit fluffy and cute. Seems to do no have. Is it bad?

[hongqixian]

Sorry, meant harm in the prev post. The patch has been there a while I think and is about 0.5cm wide.

[Tanzy]

I don't know. Something turns into a pest only if you don't like it or there is too much of it. If the algae looks in checked and has always stayed that way, then no problems. Besides, you think it's cute, so why not leave it there.

If the algae looks soft and flows in the current, then it might be cyanobacteria. Some of it is always present in the system. I have mine on the glass 2 inches below the sand. Most of the good red algae I know tend to be rigid and the tangs love them!