Brown Algae or Scum in Marine Aquarium
Michael C. Moore
>From: jmat...@Direct.CA (Jaz)
>Subject: Re: Brown Algae or Scum in Marine Aquarium
>Date: 15 May 1995 22:38:11 GMT
>To all fellow aquarists,
> I have had my 125 gallon marine aquarium set up for about a year.
>I am facing an unsitely brown algae or scum all over the plexiglass, rocks,
>coral sand, piping, everywhere. Four months ago I bleached everything
>and today I'm looking at everything all over again. I have a protein
>skimmer, wet/dry filter, two overflow boxes.
>Status:
> -the tank recieves very little light.
> -I dont turn the tube lights on very much anymore
> -pH, Nitrates, Ammonia, SG all are within the limits
> -temperature dead on
> -fed very little.
> -Damsels, Clowns, Sargeant Majors, (Community Tank)
>
>This tank resides in my home in the wall. It is like a window between
>two rooms and I am getting to the point where I have had enough of this
>thing. Weekly I have to scrub the inside of my plexi tank and it just
>keeps growing back. There is not much good help here in Vancouver, If
>anybody knows anything about this or has experienced this problem -
>PLEASE HELP ME. My family is becoming very distraught, I have kept
>tanks for almost 15 years but this problem is something new to me. Also
>there is not much or any on the market of Algae killers for saltwater.
This brown scum could be dinoflagelates or diatoms. Both thrive on excess
nutrients. There are several things you should try. First you should clean
your prefilters and any other mechanical filters at least 2X week. Second,
diatoms need silica to grow and products like X-silicate can eliminate them.
Third, you do not say what your phosphate levels are, another contributor to
algae growth. Get a good kit (I like RedSea or SeaTest Reef, but others work
too). lf these are high products like Phos-Zorb or similar can reduce them.
Fourth, how about some herbivores in your tank to eat the algae? Tangs or
turbo grazer snails are a good first line of defense. However, many
herbivores will not touch diatoms or dinoflagelates. Fifth, how often do you
do water changes and what kind of water do you use? Tap water contains many
algae stimulating nutrients. Switch to RO or DI water. You may need to do a
series of major water changes to bring nutrient levels down. Sixth, I am not
sure but it actually seems that the very little light might be contributing to
this problem. Brown algaes I think grow well in low light. Stronger light
might encourage other types of algae that are easier to control with
herbivores. Look for lights that are strong in the blue end of the spectrum
but weak in the reds (so called 50/50s or trichromatics would be a good place
to start). Good luck.
Michael C. Moore
Tempe, AZ
aomcm @ asuvm.inre.asu.edu
"If the road to excellence were not so difficult,
it would not be travelled by so few" Spinoza