diatom algae (brown)

Ok well this algae is starting to take over my tank. My coraline is started to get covered and my sand bed as well...i have 4 hermits in thier atm (55gallon) Any idea's i herd turning off the lights for a week can do the trick. Any advice thanx


-tony

here is a pick of what my sand looks like..

 

Hi Tony

yes those look like diatoms to me, they will dissapear with no intervention required on your part
in all of the tanks I ever set up, I got them, somewhere between weeks 4 and 6 and they are always gone by weeks 12 - 16

they construct their skeletons using silicates which there are always a lot of in newly set up tanks , from the plastics mainly

when the silicates are used up, they die off and your tank will look new again

Steve

 

as far as lights...should i keep em on or off...i dont have any corals or nem's. i really wanna get rid of this stuff..i have company coming next week so i really want my tank to look sharp. thanx

 

Turning off the lights will slow them down, but until all the silca is used up they will continue. I have turned my lights off and covered the tank with a towel for 3 days, they where pretty much all gone when it took it off, then within a week bam they where back. Just let them run there cycle. You can clean the glass to help it look alittle better for your guests.

 

thanx for that info...ill give it a shot starting tonight..i ll give updates

 

I would NOT remove light from the tank. You're at the end of the cycle at this point. Leave lights ON if possible to speed things up. Diatoms will not last long. Snails will eat the remains. A couple turbos might not hurt. And you're fish-ready too. Maybe a six line wrass, then a pair of clowns early next week.

 

So this morning i took a look at my tank and it was getting worse by the min. I skimmed the sand with my siphon filter and know i need help...My back wall was full of diatom and was looking pretty bad...i had enough i went to my LFS and picked up 2 mexican turbo's and 2 zebra turbo's. They look pretty hungry since all the algae from the LFS was pretty much gone..as soon as i dropped them in the tank they all went thier seprate ways by the time i looked back (2-3 hours) they all were on my back glass doing a fantastic job. So its only a matter of time before its gone...i should of taken before/after shots!

 

The tank can look like someone has sprinkled cocoa powder all over it, but these diatoms always go away

Steve

 

My local shop also suggested some snails or a star fish. Mine is also coming in full force, don't know what i am goign to do, maybe throw in some snails let them feed.

 

Tony: the diatoms you are seeing (the brown ones) are in fact DEAD. They will be consumed by snails and such. By turning the lights out you killed even more diatoms. Do not change anything from the norm. buy a couple snails and start the process of adding your fish (one at a time (two for clowns). Please follow my post above.