Brown algae in QT

[Steve Jones]

I have a QT tank that has had 2 corals in it for almost 3 weeks. It is a fairly new QT tank - these are the first things in it. The tank was running about 3 weeks BEFORE these corals went in. So we are about at 6 weeks for the tank. In the last week or so brown algae has grown on the PVC. Is this good? Bad?

 

[brandon429]

It indicates a fully normal reef. Those are the living species that float around in the water, land where they will, and see if something eats them or excludes them chemically. Some tanks with extreme nutrient detailing can squelch them into not blooming, they'll typical use up some free nutrients associated with new tanks like silicates, and most tanks support the growths you see at one phase or another as they hitchhike around the substrates and animals we trade. (gold brown and green are hallmark photosynthetic color indicators, this is likely a cyano/diatom community of more than one species)

 

[Steve Jones]

Cool. My DT has green algae and starting to get some coralline. Was just curious as this is all brown and no green.

 

[brandon429]

Yes that above is not coralline or calcified growths for whatever variable sat them there.

The mode of control here is the same with every tank invader you'll ever see in reefing. Do we want to farm it on purpose or not


If yes, leave in place. Strangely, people do this with highly risky species like valonia, whatever works lol


If not, lift out any thing from the water with an undesirable, and attack it outside the tank such that it does not exist in that spot, repeat as needed. always see every algae problem tank ever posted on the web as a purposeful growth farming event led by a keeper who either didn't know the opt out option or didn't select it due to one or more perceived constraints. It's both offensive and amazingly powerful algae control mode of thought for ones investment $$ to see all algae as optional, all the time. We have known methods to kill any invasive algae, to not harness them is to simply farm something on purpose. That thought mode is the secret to never ever ever having an algae problem and we apply that to fix algae challenge tanks.

 

[reef_junkie]

My qt is pretty dirty as well. Just normal algae and diatoms.