Ive had this stuff off and on in my 180 gallon tank. It was even worse in the refugium it actually killed off the chaeto and calerpa i had in there. I cleaned out the refugium completely and did about a 30 gallon water change in the process. I think this is what brought it back to the display. I got rid of it in the display by stopping water changes. Nitrates and phosphates are always 0, i think this is an issue as well. Only have 4 fish right now with the 5th in qt. I try to feed heavily to get the nitrates up but to no avail. Any tips on getting rid of this stuff?
Brown slime?
- Thread starter 460Mag
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danferd2002
New Member
May of 2017. Used dry rock from Marco that had been in trash cans of salt water for a few months before that. Mix of dry sand and carib sea live sand. Cycled with pure ammonia and some bio spira. Been adding fish slowly for the last 3 months.
Okay,so your tank is somewhat newly established. Hopefully the stuff on the sand is just diatoms.See quote below. These should go away in time.
As for the fuzz on the rocks,you may have phoshate leaching out of them.This will take time and water changes to sort out.I would consider adding a macro algae again. Introducing Carbon dosing may be a good option as well. I will find a good link for you to check out.Also,a nice clear close up picture of the growth would be helpful.See you soon!
As for the fuzz on the rocks,you may have phoshate leaching out of them.This will take time and water changes to sort out.I would consider adding a macro algae again. Introducing Carbon dosing may be a good option as well. I will find a good link for you to check out.Also,a nice clear close up picture of the growth would be helpful.See you soon!
DIATOMS:
Diatoms are just a natural things that happens in a new aquarium and will normally will subside with in a few weeks to a couple months.
ID: This Algae normally forms on the sand, glass and rock work of a new tank. It has a variety of colors from a dark reddish color to tan, brown and green. On a lot of occasions there will be oxygen bubble's trapped in the algae from photosynthesis.
HOW TO CONTROL IT:
Medium to strong flow across the sand bed and rock, and watch the amounts of Silicate being added to the system ( top off water and water change purity is the main cause for silicate being introduced to the system )
NATURAL HERBIVORES:
Astrea snail, Turbo snail, Tangs, Trochus snail, Almost all blennies.
So you mentioned that your Nitrates are low.So on second thought carbon dosing may not be a good option for you right now.If the rocks are leaching phosphates and fueling the algae ,the phosphates are going to be difficult to detect.A phosphate remover of some sort would be more useful in this case.
Here is a thread with more extended details https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/phospate-leaching-from-sand-rock.215500/#post-2469854
Here is a thread with more extended details https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/phospate-leaching-from-sand-rock.215500/#post-2469854
Sounds like a plan to me.Be sure to test for ammonia once in awhile as well.Keep us posted and start a build thread when you get a chance.Best of luck!
Here are some closer shots. And some more info. Seems to be staying the same lately.
1.025 sg
8.18 ph
77.6 deg
321 orp
0.0 ammonia
0.0 nitrite
0.0 nitrate
8.9 dkh
410 cal slowing bringing this up
1310 mag, i think. Not happy with any of the three test kits i have for this. Not dosing it right now anyway.
0.0 phosphate
In the past when dialing in my dosers i had the dkh up to 11 and that just about got rid of it but the corals were un happy so i slowly brought it down to where it is now. I am kind of going backwards in that i had coral in my tank before fish. I had bad experiences with a lfs and the first few fish didnt make it through qt. Ive since switched stores and had a 100% success rate. However i only have 3 anthias, 1 lawnmower blenny, and a sailfin in there right now so pretty low load. I use instant ocean and a brs 6 stage ro/di with confirmed 0 tds in the mixing container. I also dose 2 part, very little right now. I feel like im doing everything right and this is kind of disappointing.
1.025 sg
8.18 ph
77.6 deg
321 orp
0.0 ammonia
0.0 nitrite
0.0 nitrate
8.9 dkh
410 cal slowing bringing this up
1310 mag, i think. Not happy with any of the three test kits i have for this. Not dosing it right now anyway.
0.0 phosphate
In the past when dialing in my dosers i had the dkh up to 11 and that just about got rid of it but the corals were un happy so i slowly brought it down to where it is now. I am kind of going backwards in that i had coral in my tank before fish. I had bad experiences with a lfs and the first few fish didnt make it through qt. Ive since switched stores and had a 100% success rate. However i only have 3 anthias, 1 lawnmower blenny, and a sailfin in there right now so pretty low load. I use instant ocean and a brs 6 stage ro/di with confirmed 0 tds in the mixing container. I also dose 2 part, very little right now. I feel like im doing everything right and this is kind of disappointing.
hyprc
Well-Known Member
Have you tried scrubbing it off? I get similar stuff on my cheato but I can't be sure if it's from the LFS's system (where the cheato came from) or the lobophora I have in the display that came in on a frag about a year ago (doesn't plate any more since it's dying off, just 'encrusts')
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