Diatomsor Dinoflagellates

[sakura]

Hi I have this brown algae on my sand bed and on the rock. The strange thing is when light off the brown algae become like dirt and no longer is brown but when the light on it turn brown again. Look to me like a Dinoflagellates but i cant confirm it. Testd my PO4 & NO3 and the reading is as below:

PO4 - 0.03 ppm

NO3 - 0.25 ppm

One question, does pod eat them as food as I am planning to pour in live copepods into the main tank.

Many many thanks.

[sakura]

By the way i have 4 snails died on me. I heard that Dinos can kill the snail am I right?

[Terryz_]

How old is your tank...

[sakura]

How old is your tank...

Hi Terryz,

my tank have been up and running for 3-4 years already, no much corals only bubble, blasto & anemone as i dont have the time due to travelling. Recently i realise my snails is dead and the sand bed is cover in brown algae. This algae does not have bubble on it. Did a major water change and increase my Vortech mp40 to the max on short pulse mode too. I added NP Biopellet on a separate FR when i do the major water change about 1 week ago too.

[Terryz_]

Hi Terryz,

my tank have been up and running for 3-4 years already, no much corals only bubble, blasto & anemone as i dont have the time due to travelling. Recently i realise my snails is dead and the sand bed is cover in brown algae. This algae does not have bubble on it. Did a major water change and increase my Vortech mp40 to the max on short pulse mode too. I added NP Biopellet on a separate FR when i do the major water change about 1 week ago too.

I am sure that dino will kill snail as they contain toxin... Try doing a large water change... Lemon had dino and several large water change helped him to solve that... But it is case to case if I am not wrong, there are different strains of dino and they will require different treatment..

[sakura]

I am sure that dino will kill snail as they contain toxin... Try doing a large water change... Lemon had dino and several large water change helped him to solve that... But it is case to case if I am not wrong, there are different strains of dino and they will require different treatment..

Thanks, I will try to take a picture of it tonight and post it here. Planning to switch off my lighting for 2 days and see if this help. I hope is diatoms but if Dino then I gotta hell lot of work to do lolx.

[sakura]

Hi is this diatom?

[ambystoma82]

is the brown stuff on your rocks or sandbed only?

i used to have a phosphate n nitrate leech frm rocks quite sometime back..from a mature tank.

forget abt adding pods to your tank,they cannot make a significant different..within few weeks

1) other than your snails die, does your corals / fish die?

2) check your resin ie carbon, those chemical pellets, when is the last time u replaced them?

3) are u currently using tap water? try to do a weekly water change 20% with DI water,

4) are u having heavy feeding? or perharps lotsa of uneaten food? the brown stuff will grow inregardless or water flowrate

5) try to run a wavemaker, with cotton wool attached to its suction side, this helps greatly with my previous issue.backs up like a algae scrubber, based on the rate the cotton gets dirty u can monitor whether the situation is controllable, i believe your cotton will get very brown in half a week.

6) u might want to diagnose your system thoroughly, probably your skimmer efficiency have drop also..

7) dun switch off your lights for 2 days, only reduce the hrs/day, dun off it...

8) your sand looks amazingly clean for a tank 3-4yrs old, did u add any rocks/substrates lately?

9) if only your snails die on you n the rest is doing fine,just stick to water change will do

10) try to look out for tell tale sign on fishes, normally they react faster on such occasions