Brown Algae

[Jim_Barry]

I have had my reef tank set up for 5 weeks now.....

120 gallon tank, 2 175w 6500 metal halides, 2 actinics, wet/dry filter, protein skimmer, 1200 gph pump, 5 fish and 4 corals, 120 lbs of live rock and 1" of reef sand.

I am now fighting brown algae on the glass and substrate. Is this normal and part of the cycleing or maturing of the tank?. I use RO water and do 10% water changes every 2 weeks. My halides are on from 10:00 am to 8 PM. The tests report......

Salinity.. 1.021
PH... 8.4
Iodine... 0.03
ammonia...0
nitrites...0
nitrates... almost 0
calcium... 440

I move the sand around almost daily, but the brown algae returns within a couple of hours... I have minimal hair algae and green algae.

Is they away to reduce or eliminate this brown algae from the sand and glass...

Thanks for your help

Jim

pic attached

[Matt Rogers]

[quote author=Jim_Barry link=board=Newbie;num=1069443392;start=0#0 date=11/21/03 at 11:36:31]I have had my reef tank set up for 5 weeks now.....

I am now fighting brown algae on the glass and substrate. Is this normal and part of the cycleing or maturing of the tank?.[/quote]

Yes it is unfortunately. You have to ride it out for a few more weeks probably.

[Craig Manoukian]

Green algea, brown algae/diatoms, cyanobacteria are all part of the maturation process om your tank. Just part of testing your patience!

[turbo4603]

my brother, davidg, member of this forum is now facing that. Can you take it out or should you leave it in and let nature take its course?

Thanx Joe

[Jason McKenzie]

As everyone has stated it is a normal faze of the tank maturation. But with corals in your tank I would try and keep the algae off the coral or it will kill it.
Try a turkey baster to blow it off or better yet us a small diameter air hose and vacuum it off. It will come back but it will give your coral a chance

J

I used a big word "Maturation"

[Craig Manoukian]

I agree completely with Jakets. It usually takes ten or twelve weeks for your tank to fully cycle through the three stages described above. Your tank stabilizes after your live sand and rock have cycled, and then you want to start with adding a cleaning crew of snails, hermit crabs, and shrimp. Then add fish ever so slowly, one reef safe fish every three to four weeks.

Every time you add livestock your bioload increases and ammonia will spike. This causes your live rock/sand to produce more denitrifying bacteria and your tank readjusts.

During this time you will probably experience the green and brown algae blooms as well as the cyanobacteria bloom that occurs at the end of cycling and the denitification process when nitrates are high.

If you add corals at this juncture you wiil have a good chance that the brown agae or diatoms won't negatively effect your corals, as Jakets explained.

This is why you see "Go slow and let it gow" in Matt Rgers signature. Patience is truly a virtue in this hobby.