[knutcracker]

don't think it's cyano because it is brown, not dark red and it is not slimy. As a matter of fact, it looks more like dead cyano (like after they are killed by dosing chemi-clean). it covers my crush coral bed and the glass along the edge of crush coral bed.

tank has also seen green dot algae (diatomes?) and pink/reddish 3-D algae that grows on LR.

what treatment should i seek? Dosing Boyd's Chemi-clean did not do anything (but it is a very old bottle).

TIA.

Tank is 26g w/ 50lb of LR.
small Eheim
CPR bakpak skimmer
55watt PC w/ actinic

[BubbaWPB]

"Green dot algae" and pink/reddish 3-D algae is probably coralline algae and is a good thing. However, if for some reason you don't like it, sea urchins eat it.

The brown stuff is usually diatoms. Check your top off water for silicates.

[knutcracker]

can you recommend a good product to take care of the problem? i suppose anti-biotics such as Chemi-clean or other amoxicilin won't work in this case? Thanks.

[BubbaWPB]

I've never heard of diatoms being "treated" with chemicals. They usually just pretty much go away after a while as long as you don't have a source of silicates in your tank feeding them. The most common source of silicates in a reef tank are land-based rocks, and well water that is not de-ionized.

Most new tanks (within the first few weeks to months) go through a diatom bloom that slowly whimps out. How long has your tank been going?

[knutcracker]

tank is 4 years old.
all rocks are live and have lots of coralline growth.

any products out on the market good at removing silicates?

[BubbaWPB]

Hmmm... that I don't know. Just curious, but have you tested for phosphates?

[knutcracker]

i have placed a bag of rowaphos in my CPR bakpak for the past month. no help with the brown grainy algae

[knutcracker]

anyone out there have any idea on how to treat this BROWN GRAINY ALGAE? I am pretty sure my phosphates are low now with the bag of rowaphos in the sump for the last month.


TIA

[BubbaWPB]

OOOOHHHHH... you use Rowaphos! I think the brown grainy "algae" is probably Rowaphos powder... the stuff is real friable and you'll get a coating of it on everything, especially if you get high flow through your bag.

[knutcracker]

ARGH . . . i wish it was ROWAPHOS . . .

so i took the bag out and did a WC.
two days later the layer of brown grain creeped back onto the crush coral . ..
what the heck is it. it grows so fast.

[captain Jim]

It is an algae of some sort, good or bad I dont know!
Is there any on the glass?
What are your readings like?
I had something like that with my tank and it was very difficult to get rid of.
I stepped up my water changes and cleaned every piece of equipment I had.
Eventually it was gone but I still dont know the cause or the actual cure, all I know is I dont want to go through that again.
I feel for you, I know its depressing but hang in there!

[knutcracker]

Guys,

this is 3 months later, i repeat THREE months later, and i am still getting this brown grainy algae coating my sand bed. when i am behind with my water changes, i get thin sheets of them covering my LR. but they are most noticeably on the sand bed.

i have since replaced my crushed coral bed with an 1 inch fine sand bed. scraped almost every piece of rock. serviced all my filters. kept feeding and lighting at a minimum. dose boyd's chemi-clean and ultra-life red slime remover. heck, i don't even have fish anymore, just LR, LPS, and softies

i was told by LFS guy that it is a kind of cyanobacteria, like a mutation of it or something. it is more brown than maroon, and definitely not slimy.

my readings are good. no phosphates, no nitrates. i haven't tested for silicates, but i doubt it is high. i have been getting water from a new RO/DI unit.

what is going on here? TIA.