brown algae

[meat]

hello everyone i need help-
i am having a brown algae problem. i use rodi water and my levels are
ammonia nitrate nitrite 0 pH 8.4 phosphate 0. i dont know what my silicate levels are, but i am guessing that they are high because i have brown algae.(or diatoms) i dont over feed and i only have two small fish in a 55 gallon tank. the tank has been set up for a little over a year. i have PC lighting. i was thinking of using a PURA pad in my filter to remove the silicate out of my water. what do you guys think?

i leave my lights on for twelve hours a day. the brown algae/diatoms have always showed up when the lights are left on. i would not like to try a clean up crew. i dont like crabs and i have had bad experiences with snails. i was always flipping them over and they slowly started to die. the only thing that i can think of is to use a PURA pad in my filter. i have tried using aquarium pharmaceuticals phosphate/silicate sponge, but it didnt work.

thank you


O i have 2 maxijet 1200 power heads. i have read that flow could be a problem, the algae/diatoms are starting to grow on the filter where the water exits. the algae/diatoms are also growing on a rock where the water flow is directed....

[meat]

someone please help

[Samper]

Do you have a protein skimmer and how old are your pc bulbs?
Also without a cleanup crew and herbivores, algae will take over regardless.

What kits or equipment are you testing your water with?

This filter that you mentioned...what kind of filter is it?

How often do you do water changes?

How old are the filters in your RO/DI....what's the tds reading coming from that line?

[meat]

Do you have a protein skimmer and how old are your pc bulbs?
Also without a cleanup crew and herbivores, algae will take over regardless.

What kits or equipment are you testing your water with?

This filter that you mentioned...what kind of filter is it?

How often do you do water changes?

How old are the filters in your RO/DI....what's the tds reading coming from that line?

yes and my pc bulbs are 2 weeks old. i use liquid test kits. HOB filter, but i also use 80 pounds of live rock as filteration. the rodi filters are brand new. i do water changes whenever they need to be done. doesnt matter. i could do a water change every 4 days and still have the same problem. tank has been set up for a year. have always had this problem. the only reason i bought an rodi filter was because of this.i didnt need it for any other reason.

[Samper]

I'd get rid of the HOB filter and invest in a protein skimmer. Most of us don't use a HOB filter because it is an unneccessary hassle. Most aquarists will also recommend Salifert or LaMotte test kits because they are more accurate than most brands available to the public. Depending on what brands you have your readings may be completely off. Also in a 55 gallon tank you could use a few more powerheads.

[meat]

I'd get rid of the HOB filter and invest in a protein skimmer. Most of us don't use a HOB filter because it is an unneccessary hassle. Most aquarists will also recommend Salifert or LaMotte test kits because they are more accurate than most brands available to the public. Depending on what brands you have your readings may be completely off. Also in a 55 gallon tank you could use a few more powerheads.

my hob is not a hassle. why would i need more power heads? it wont change anything. i have had plenty of people tell me that im fine with my power heads. my test kits are fine. two lfs have the same readings and one of them uses salifert. and whos "most of us" ive read about plenty of people who use hob filters.

[Samper]

Why wouldn't more flow change anything in the system? The idea is to keep deitritus in suspension long enough for filtration to remove it.

If you feel that everything you have is acceptable and proper then the phenomenon is unexplainable.

[meat]

ok

you cant get mad at me when i disagree with some of the things you say. i like to get different opinions. and i have been told that i do not need more flow. alli keep in my hob is phosban.

[meat]

Why wouldn't more flow change anything in the system? The idea is to keep deitritus in suspension long enough for filtration to remove it.

If you feel that everything you have is acceptable and proper then the phenomenon is unexplainable.

how in the world would more flow change anything. algae is growing on the rocks that the power heads are pointed at...

[Samper]

It sounds like the opinions that you have gotten that differ from mine come from LFS which you already said in another thread was crap. And I'm not mad at you at all I just don't want to argue with someone who already has their mind made up that everything they have is adequate yet still has a problem. Something isn't adding up. Now I've read all of your other posts. Do you have a protein skimmer or not because I'm not sure. Also if you're running phosban only in your hob filter what filtration do you have besides just live rock? I've never heard of LR alone being enough. Are you running a refugium? If not I'd say you also need one of those and a cleanup crew will absolutely be necessary regardless of your wants. There are a thousand ways to run a reef system properly and 100billion ways to screw them up. Wastes as an SOP in reef aquaria are removed via a good protein skimmer. And if you poll this website for people using hob filters you won't find many.

[charlie]

I happen to agree with Samper, I think a protein skimmer would help out. I don't think you are getting all the filtration you need. The diatoms are telling you that you have an excess of nutrients.
How often do you do water changes?

[meat]

i do weekly water changes. i was told that i just needed an air stone skimmer. it fills up with gunk. i dont take advice from the lfs they just test my water. why would i need a refugium i have macro in the tank. im just confused thats all. you guys are telling me that i need better filteration and others are telling me that my filteration is fine i just need a clean up crew,,,,

thanks

[Samper]

I apologize you said their LR was crap not them.

[charlie]

Do you use ro/di water for your water changes

[meat]

Do you use ro/di water for your water changes

yes. and to top off evaporated water

[Samper]

A cleanup crew alone won't fix the problem. Fixing the problem involves attacking it at the source. A refugium gives you a place to grow selected species of macro algae so that the undesirable ones are avoided and is only a benefit to any SW setup. Also the refugium helps to control the Ph swings at night and provides valuable food to the reef.

I've never seen an airstone skimmer in operation so I can't attest to them working. My skimmer on a 75 gallon produces about 2 cups of dark brown stinky crap every other day and I clean it that often.

[charlie]

If it was me, I would start doing water changes 2 times a week for maybe a month. You have an excess of nutrients in your system, and from what you have said, you have always had an excess of nutrients. Invest in a good skimmer for your size tank, if you can, it WILL help.

[meat]

one of my fw tanks has plants in it so the lights are left on for most of the day. i use tap water in that tank and there is no brown algae and i rarely do water changes. but there are a lot of snails in there that came in with the plants.

do you guys think i need to do water changes with ro water? i kinda thought i wasted my money when i purchased it because i still have brown algae and the only reason i used ro water was because i thought it would fix that. could i just do water changes with tap?

what do you guys think about the PURA pads? they have good reviews....

thank you

[heinze]

just been reading all your posts i'm having the exact same troubles so it good to hear some proper advice....... only trouble is i have now where for a regugium...

[meat]

just been reading all your posts i'm having the exact same troubles so it good to hear some proper advice....... only trouble is i have now where for a regugium...

yea me to. i have no idea where id put one