Brown algae

[hoangdan williams]

What is the best way to get rid of brown algae. I have a 55 gallon FO setup
that has a bad outbreak of brown algae. I have been doing water changes and
i have snails but the algae still seems to presist. I would like to know of
a safe way to remove the algae. The tank has been up for about 2 months and
the algae has been there for about a month. Do i need to buy more snails or
some form of chemical to get rid of it? A person told me that the substrate
might be a problem. For substrate I used Home Depot Playsand. Can some one
please help me and point me in the right direction. Thank you.

[Billy]

"hoangdan williams" > wrote in message
...
| What is the best way to get rid of brown algae. I have a 55 gallon
FO setup
| that has a bad outbreak of brown algae. I have been doing water
changes and
| i have snails but the algae still seems to presist. I would like to
know of
| a safe way to remove the algae. The tank has been up for about 2
months and
| the algae has been there for about a month. Do i need to buy more
snails or
| some form of chemical to get rid of it? A person told me that the
substrate
| might be a problem. For substrate I used Home Depot Playsand. Can
some one
| please help me and point me in the right direction. Thank you.

The playsand may be the problem, I use it in freshwater planted
tanks, but it's likely to be very high in silicates, causing a high
amount of diatom activity. That said, diatom algae has been present
in nearly all salt tanks I've seen. I have to wipe the inside glass
of my reef 2 or 3 times a week. There are, IIRC, commercial products
available that reduce silicates, but the sand may be too much for
them. You could increase algae-eating critters and get used to the
daily glass-wiping, but I'm going to hazard that the sand needs to go
if you want to do this right.

[Uncle Sam]

Try Chemi-Clean: it works real well just follow the instructions and you
should be fine

[CapFusion]

"hoangdan williams" > wrote in message
...
> What is the best way to get rid of brown algae. I have a 55 gallon FO
> setup
> that has a bad outbreak of brown algae. I have been doing water changes
> and
> i have snails but the algae still seems to presist. I would like to know
> of
> a safe way to remove the algae. The tank has been up for about 2 months
> and
> the algae has been there for about a month. Do i need to buy more snails
> or
> some form of chemical to get rid of it? A person told me that the
> substrate
> might be a problem. For substrate I used Home Depot Playsand. Can some
> one
> please help me and point me in the right direction. Thank you.
>
>

Any algae need the basic to grow -
Light / nutrient

You need to find the source of the problem. Using chemical to fix / bandaid
a problem may come back.

Check if your water parameters are the cause.

During the meantime, water changes is good to combat any excess nutrient.
Do you have good water circulation and effiecent Protein Skimmer? Efficient
Protein Skimmer will take care majority of the problem that cause algae.

CapFusion,...

[Mislav]

If those brown algae are diatoms - brown colored layer on glas, rocks and
sand, when wiped from glass it spreads like dust - you shouldn't be worried
too much. Diatoms are great food for corals so every time you wipe the glass
you feed your corals with live fitoplankton. I think it was Eric Borneman
who deliberately dosed silicate in aquarium to get diatoms. IMO better to
have diatoms then cyanobacteria or green algae.

Mislav


"CapFusion" > wrote in message
...
>
> "hoangdan williams" > wrote in message
> ...
>> What is the best way to get rid of brown algae. I have a 55 gallon FO
>> setup
>> that has a bad outbreak of brown algae. I have been doing water changes
>> and
>> i have snails but the algae still seems to presist. I would like to know
>> of
>> a safe way to remove the algae. The tank has been up for about 2 months
>> and
>> the algae has been there for about a month. Do i need to buy more snails
>> or
>> some form of chemical to get rid of it? A person told me that the
>> substrate
>> might be a problem. For substrate I used Home Depot Playsand. Can some
>> one
>> please help me and point me in the right direction. Thank you.
>>
>>
>
> Any algae need the basic to grow -
> Light / nutrient
>
> You need to find the source of the problem. Using chemical to fix /
> bandaid a problem may come back.
>
> Check if your water parameters are the cause.
>
> During the meantime, water changes is good to combat any excess nutrient.
> Do you have good water circulation and effiecent Protein Skimmer?
> Efficient Protein Skimmer will take care majority of the problem that
> cause algae.
>
> CapFusion,...
>

[slc]

[slc]