spangela Posted January 7, 2007 Report Share Posted January 7, 2007 PLEASE don't turn this into the UV debate I have just read on another thread it did nothing but confuse me! We have a 190L tank which is going through a very 'brown' phase. We have a skimmer and a canister filter running. The fish/corals seem happy and all of the 'tests' come out fine. Will a UV fix the 'brown' (Sorry I have tried taking pics but it just turns out a blur) The coral is turning brown and the sand has a brown layer. This particular tank has been running about 8 months. So the BIG question ..... Will a UV fix the brown?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KP Posted January 7, 2007 Report Share Posted January 7, 2007 How long has your tank been setup? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spangela Posted January 7, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2007 8 months ish. The coral we put in had been in another tank for 2ish years so it isn't new coral doing what new coral does. Well I don't think so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cookie extreme Posted January 7, 2007 Report Share Posted January 7, 2007 to answer you question = no there are lots of other factors that cause algae and we don't evenkonw what kind of algae you have or what system you are running, or feeding, or bio load, lights, skimmer type, etc. could be diatoms only by the sounds of it. so do you use tapwater? and why? dino's well lets wait and hope not brown slime, whats your phos and nitrate readings, also KH, CA and if poss Mag? do you have sand? how many fish? how big is the system? lots question but UV will not be a miracle cure Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cookie extreme Posted January 7, 2007 Report Share Posted January 7, 2007 so it isn't new coral doing what new coral does just saw your reply. what does "new coral" do compared to "old coral" are you talking live corals or just coral rock? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spangela Posted January 7, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2007 I was talking about our coral rock Answers to your questions .... We use water from the Kaimais. Yes we have sand (about .5/1cm thick) 6 Fish 190 Litres Ammonia 0/0.25 Nitrite 0 Nitrate 0 kH soft and the other half is just doing the other tests for you. We don't do Ca or Mag tests. Should we?????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KP Posted January 7, 2007 Report Share Posted January 7, 2007 kH soft, what test kit are you using? You will need one a bit more accurate to give you an actual value eg kH 9.0. Calcium is important if you have corals in there. Skimmer? Whats in the canister? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Feelers Posted January 7, 2007 Report Share Posted January 7, 2007 If I were you - You have to sort out the nutrient problem - definitly don't use tap water as said above, you have to use RO/DI otherwise you are just "throwing fuel on the nutrient fire". Also - are you using the cannister as a form of biological filtration? - If you are; you should remove the bio media and replace it with a phosphate removing resin like rowaphos or phosorb. Cannisters with bio filtration are now known to add to nutrient problems not fix them. The live rock is all you need. You should also be doing regular water changes in addition to siphoning out the crud sitting on the sand if possible. This will help remove more waste. What skimmer are you using? - a good skimmer could make the difference you are looking for. UV will probably boost skimmer performance and I think possibly help clear things a little, but you really should focus on the problem, not the symptoms. What sand are you using? - is it crushed coral sand (ie aragonite), if its just normal beach sand it could be helping fuel diatoms. I'd put my money on your top up water - but if it's not out of the tap you have to look at where your nutrients are coming from. 8) EDIT - just read your reply about the topup water - sounds like that is probably the cause of your worries, I'm pretty sure rain water picks up enough nutrients to be a hassel, so getting a RODI unit should be above UV on your wish list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rossco Posted January 7, 2007 Report Share Posted January 7, 2007 Yup, its pretty hard to collect pure 'rainwater' - always seem to get some contamination. With my new tank set up I used mix of old rock, 'cooked' rock, and a bit of new rock. Used totally old tank water and RO/DI water for new tank set up. Still had a diatom bloom as soon as new MH went on over new rock (and even some of cooked rock). Thinks its an evitable part of the cycle... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef Posted January 7, 2007 Report Share Posted January 7, 2007 you might have diatoms from your tap water. you should have a ro/di unit. silicate in your tap water will turn to silicate acid which you cant get out of saltwater. this causes the brown algae. test kits you need nitrate po4 calcium kh magnesium , but no that important if you have soft coral. canister filters is not a good idea with saltwater as the dirt build up and will breakdown in the canister and become a fertiliser for algae. remove canister and get a good skimmer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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