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Brown stuff all over sand
- Thread starter banshee1
- Start date
OP
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banshee1
Non-member
the tank has been setup in my house for about a month but was an established tank before that.when i bought it i transfered everything including water.its running 2 powerheads plus the cpr backpak skimmer. ph is 8.2 no nitrites and about 20ppm nitrates.salinity is 1.021.thats all i can test for at the moment.i use ro water.im also developing some red slime on the live rock if thats an indicator of anything
lisa foster
Non-member
The brown stuff is normal. I would however raise your salinity to 1.025 and lower those nitrates that will not help with algae issues. Water changes will help lower the nitrates but if you do not know what is causing them they will creep right back up again.What size is the tank and what size powerhead. I find in a low flow area I see the red slime starting I increase flow in that area. Did you use new sand or the old sand. Also pick up some test kits that really helps because stability is very important. one other question what kind of fish and how much are you feeding if frozen food are you rinsing it.
OP
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banshee1
Non-member
it is a 65 gallon.I have one koralia 2 and one aqua clear 50.there is also one for the skimmer and I just the one more in that I had laying around not sure what it is though.I feed frozen but I do rinse it.I use tap water to rinse.should I start rinsing with ro water instead.what is the brown stuff anyway?
lisa foster
Non-member
Probably diatom algae. You need more flow. What are you running in the aquaclear? I rinse mine in tap and don't have a problem.
lisa foster
Non-member
Pick up a few more powerheads the koralias are reasonably priced the aquaclear is not enough flow. Maybe a 2 and a 3 or 2 # 2's. I don't know the dimensions of a 65. Also what kind of skimmer. how many fish how much are you feeding.
lisa foster
Non-member
Well I would say there is the issue is the porcupine very large. This fish is going to rpoduce alot of waste and get extremely large I would say needing 180+ gallons. I would say you need a very efficient skimmer for him. I would guess bi weekly water changes just because they are so messy. I know there are some here that keep this fish so they would have some good advice also check ou RC aggressive fish forum. How big is he?
how old is your bulb? That can add to the prob. You prob need more skiimming and/or more frequent water changes in addition to the flow. If it was a really est tank when you got it, you could have disturbed some bad stuff in the sand that is feeding cyno and diatoms. What's your alk and mag?
If it's diatoms,and it sounds like it is,it's completely normal in a new tank.
Don't dose any,just use good ro/di water.It's silicates in water that cause the diatoms.
I notice you said you use ro water.Where are you getting this?
Don't dose any,just use good ro/di water.It's silicates in water that cause the diatoms.
I notice you said you use ro water.Where are you getting this?
OP
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banshee1
Non-member
However when I setup the tank I did use some tap water for top off because I didn't know about ro water.I've been dosing hydrogen peroxide for red slime alge but it has done nothing for the brown stuff so it probly is diatoms.I hadn't been doing water changes because I've been reading it can fuel that stuff.should I be doing water changes.my ro unit is slow as hell also so its hard to get the water I need fast enough
