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Post by cashay on Apr 11, 2009 6:54:09 GMT -5
nerite snails love brown diatome Wish I still had some, more they are so hard to find here.. But I may know where to look again....
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Post by Carl on Apr 11, 2009 9:36:37 GMT -5
Another way to beat back brown diatome is to introduce green algae from another tank and it will out compete the brown stuff. Right now I have a small rock in my 10g that I sterilized and put in the brightest part of the tank so green algae will grow on it. Once it is nice and green I'll put it in the 38g to seed that tank with green algae and kill off the brown stuff popping up that much faster. Plus, I want to make sure I have a good algae colony going in there for when I get my new pleco. Along this line of thought, you can use near boiling water on décor, rocks (not gravel), plastic plants, etc. This is VERY effective in killing brown diatoms while at the same time allowing the establishment of healthy green algae that will often survive this procedure. Lighting and minerals are another way to attack this, as green algae cannot out compete in poor lighting. See: Aquarium Answers; Algae, Brown BBA, moreCarl
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Post by babygeige on Apr 11, 2009 10:16:45 GMT -5
Your cherry barbs will color up nicely in a week or so. They really don't get a chance to shine in LFS tanks. They look drab, but once they are settled in a nice home the females will turn a rich brown and males will be a pretty red.
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Post by goldenpuon on Apr 11, 2009 10:39:35 GMT -5
I have also had problems with brown diatoms in the past. Rinsing decor weekly in hot water and cleaning off the sides of the glass weekly should help along with a good vaccuming and 25% water change should help slow it's growth. Brown diatoms normally inhabit newly set up tanks lik yours. Cleaning it off should help speed the time it takes to get rid of it.
Brown diatoms feed on silicates in the water but I ahve heard it is hard to remove from your water. Being patient and keeping a good cleaning schedule is the best way unless uou get nerite snails or other creatures to clean it off like some other people suggested.
Hope that helps!
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Post by cashay on Apr 15, 2009 13:35:52 GMT -5
Your cherry barbs will color up nicely in a week or so. They really don't get a chance to shine in LFS tanks. They look drab, but once they are settled in a nice home the females will turn a rich brown and males will be a pretty red. I hope so! I seen some pictures of cherry barbs in some web sites and they were really pretty but I thought the same thing.. hmmmmmm mine are not so rich in color! But thanks for telling me, now i have something to look forward too! I have cleaned the sides of the glass, and the decor in the tank, but I still see the brown color on the gravel... it's ugly!
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Post by murdock6701 on Apr 15, 2009 16:01:25 GMT -5
I've gvone so far as to take all the fish and decor out and vacuum and stir the liin daylihts out of everything. put in 2 filters. wait 6 hours and put everything back (make sure your fish have aeration) still might come back but at least it solved the ugly gravel - at the time, I had blue gravel so it looked really nasty!
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Post by cashay on Apr 16, 2009 11:51:02 GMT -5
I've gvone so far as to take all the fish and decor out and vacuum and stir the liin daylihts out of everything. put in 2 filters. wait 6 hours and put everything back (make sure your fish have aeration) still might come back but at least it solved the ugly gravel - at the time, I had blue gravel so it looked really nasty! Yep have the blue gravel... I opened the window blinds behind the tank, hoping on some green algae to grow.. will this help or make things worse?
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Post by murdock6701 on Apr 16, 2009 15:19:58 GMT -5
hard for me to answer that one correctly - I don't know if green algae will kill the brown diatom or not - I know it is best to get rid of the brown first and it will go away w/ proper tamk maintenance and time - I personally avoid direct or even indirect sunlight near my tanks
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Post by bikeguy33 on Apr 16, 2009 17:59:42 GMT -5
the adding of light will probably cause green algae to form and with enough of the green, it should out compete the brown diatomes...
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Post by cashay on Apr 19, 2009 14:01:56 GMT -5
OK, I will try a little green algae but I don't want to much.... I will just keep cleaning it out in the mean time..
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