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I have a 10 gallon tank and within the past week-ish, it started to accumulate a lot of algae. I'm planning on getting a little cleaning shrimp thingy [not sure of the name ] to keep it under control but I was wondering about if the algae in my tank is ok? It's just a plain, brown color that builds up on the rocks, the plants, and pretty much anything else in the tank. Sometimes it forms into stringy cunks and other times it's just a few threads of it here and there. Is it harmful or am I worrying over nothing?

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How long has the tank been setup? Do you have a phosphate test? Do you know what the nitrate level is? Are you using tapwater or a pure water source like RO?

Brown algae shows up in every newly setup tank. It usually means your tank isn't fully established yet. Excess phosphate or testable nitrates and other things found in tapwater will greatly contribute to algae and make the brown algae phase last longer. Tapwater will often cause all sorts of issues in the tank. Using RO, distilled, or premixed saltwater($5/gal) can help alot. Eventually the brown algae usually gives way to green but if you have excessive amounts of brown algae past the initial cycling phase then chances are you also will have a problem with excessive green algae when it starts growing. Not doing enough water changes, cleaning up detritus, or changing mechanical media frequently enough will also result in large amounts of algae to grow.

Most saltwater shrimp don't eat algae. Cleaner shrimp clean fish not algae. They eat any parasites, dead scales, etc... off the sides of the fish and will also eat any type of fish food. For most algae you want to look into snails like turbo(might be a bit big if we're talking about a nano tank) or astrea snails. Hermit crabs will also eat some algae but mostly the fuzzy or stringy green kinds not so much brown.

We need to find the fuel source of your nuisance algea. Test for phosphates and Nitrates. How old are your lights? What type water are you using? I would remove as much as possible by doing frequent PWC`s and when you do I would take a toothbrush and rubberband it to the end of your siphon hose and gently scrub the rock and siphon up any loose algea during the water change. Try this link.

http://www.fantasyreef.com/database/index.php?p=getitem&db_id=11&item_id=5

Probably diatomic algae, it grows if there is a presence of silicates in the tank. Its not harmful per se, but it can clog up plants , stopping them from growing properly and getting enough light.

Its capable of recycling its own silicate structure even after you scrape it off, so the trick is to scrape it off and then do a water change. Keep doing that and eventually the amount of it will be negligible.

It sources the silicates initially from gravels and rocks, especially if you use quartz, but eventually these substrates slow down on leaching these particles into the water as they get covered in organic detritis, and the erosion slows. Get rid of the silicates, and the other water readings are less important. Then youll only have to worry about green algae.

Is this a SW tank you are talking about? The mention of plants is throwing me off, unless it is macroalgae you are talking about.

If it is SW, I am in agreement with git, sounds like diatoms. Unless this is a new SW tank, then it sounds like the cycle running its course. You did not mention the stock of the tank at this time. Please include that in the post as well.

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There is always a bigger fish...

WOW lots of people talking to me. haha.
So here's what's up; everything is BRAND NEW. I've only had the tank for about a month.
The water is pure and the only thing I know about as of now is the salinity, which is good. I don't have any testing kits for nitrates and stuff like that. [I know, I have to get some.]
Now I sound stupid about the shrimp and I'm going to sound even dumber describing this, but if you've seen Finding Nemo and if you remeber that dude in the tank named Jaque, that crab shrimp thingy, that's what I was talking about. I should probably get the others ones you were talking about, too.
My lights are brand new and are really good because they need to be since I have that anemone. I can't recall what kind it is, but it's just a white anemone. I also have one 3-striped damsel and a Percula clown.
I think I'm going to try to get my camera fixed up and take some pictures for you guys to see what I'm talking about.
Ahh, this is so overwhelming!!

1 Ocellaris Clown: $14.95...1 Pink Dottyback: $12.99...1 Three Striped Damsel: $4.50...1 Blue Velvet Damsel: $8.95
The Problems that come with them: Priceless

Oh yeah, sorry...yea it's a salt water tank. The plants aren't real. haha.

1 Ocellaris Clown: $14.95...1 Pink Dottyback: $12.99...1 Three Striped Damsel: $4.50...1 Blue Velvet Damsel: $8.95
The Problems that come with them: Priceless

My guess is that your tank is going through the cycyle. You really should not have put any living creatures in it yet, especially an anemonee. You definitely need a test kit with ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate at this time. This will let you know how your cycle is coming along. It takes 4-12 weeks for a SW tank to completely cycle through. And from the sound of the algae color that is exactly what is happening, the cycle is working its course. Though not always in this order, and sometimes you don't always see some of the colors of algae, it usually goes brown algae, red, then green usually.

My suggestion is of course the test kits ASAP. Then, water changes accordingly. My hopes are up that your anemonee lives through this, as there is a good chance it may not. Do not get any fish till your tank completely cycles and maintains the cycle.

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There is always a bigger fish...

Aww jeez. See? I didn't even know that. The guy in the pet store said, "Oh, just wait a week and let the water cycle and then you can get some fish." What a liar! I'll keep an eye out for the anemone but for the past 3 weeks I've had it, it's been doing really well and looks healthy as far as I know. I feed it small peices of shrimp regualrly and the lighting is good for it. I hope he's a fighter and can survive my poor tank maintaining skills.

1 Ocellaris Clown: $14.95...1 Pink Dottyback: $12.99...1 Three Striped Damsel: $4.50...1 Blue Velvet Damsel: $8.95
The Problems that come with them: Priceless

my poor tank maintaining skills.

You will learn in time. We all have started out in ways similar to your experience. Just take note, and do research, and you will be fine.

As for the kits, as I stated already, you need a basic test kit of ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. In most LFS you can purchase these three in one kit. These three are the basic NEEDS for a starter such as yourself, as well they are basic NEEDS for a SW tank anyway. Since you are in a money bind (are'nt we all, lol), get these for now. Later in the months to come, we can discuss with you the other test kits you will need down the road.

In the cycle, the critters in the tank will give off ammonia on a regular basis. As well, any dead or decaying matter, wether it be food stuff, or anything for that matter, will also give off ammonia. Eventually, you tank will build up benneficial bacteria that will convert the ammonia into nitrites. And eventually, your tank will also build up benneficial bacteria that will convert the nitrites into nitrates (notice the "i" and the "a" in there; nitrItes and nitrAtes. you will often see people posting them this way with the capital letters to let you know the difference and less confusion between the two). Water changes are done on regular basis to remove the build up of nitrAtes. The way to tell the cycle is working, is that you will start to see nitrItes and eventually nitrAtes on your test kits. Once the ammonia level has gone down to zero, and then the nitrIte level has gone down to zero, and your nitrAte levels are rising, then the cycle has completed. A completed cycle means that you now have enough beneficial bacteria to work on the biological out put of what ever is living in your tank.

Every time you add new fish or any critters for that matter, to your tank, you will increase the bioload, and then the tank needs time to increase the benneficial bacteria to keep up with the increase of biological output of the new additions. This is important, because you cannot add too many critters all at once. But must do so on a slow basis and allow the cycle to catch up. This is not as hard to do in larger tanks, but yours is smaller and thus will take time.

The important thing to note, is that ammonia is very dangerous and toxic/poisonous to any critters living in the tank. NitrItes are not as bad, but when high can be toxic to many fish. Then, as the nitrAtes rise, they too become very toxic/poisonous to the critters.

There are three basic and EXTREMELY IMPORTANT rules to follow when starting a new SW tank. They are; Patience, patience, and patience. It can take a while to get a tank completely set up to where you want it. Oh, BTW, did I say that patience is needed when starting up a new tank????

HTH....

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There is always a bigger fish...

Very good explanation Acid rain.As far as the anenome they have to be in a very mature tank. I usually recommend at least 8-12 months. This will allow the tank to stabilize and be able to house an anenome.

Holy holy...that's crazy about the amonia thing. AND the 8-12 months?!?! That's where my patience level would burst! I would be sitting around like, "ahhh I want some new fishies NOW!" lol
I'm going to start my own Save the Fish Tank Foundation and collect donations from random people so I can get those test kits and try to get the cycle all under control. lol.
And there were a few times where I really wanted to tell you that you kept repeating yourself and saying nitrate twice. Haha thanks for pointing out the difference, too!
This is some amazing advice that you guys are giving me and I can't thank you enough.

1 Ocellaris Clown: $14.95...1 Pink Dottyback: $12.99...1 Three Striped Damsel: $4.50...1 Blue Velvet Damsel: $8.95
The Problems that come with them: Priceless

I dont know how old this thread is but there are a few things that worry me...
You know that water evaporates, increasing the salt content, yes?
Also, i hate to say this but you need to be warned, with that anenome in the tank that early, you need to know when/if it's dead.
If you don't notice it, you'll have a huge ammonia spike.
Mez

Since we now know the tank is not completely cycled your time between water changes is going to go down dramatically. When you get tests kits you can just watch the measurements and do water changes as needed. Until then I'd be doing water changes every other day or every 3 days. Chances are ammonia, nitrites, or nitrates are on the rise and are eventually going to start killing things starting with the anemone. Saltwater tanks take a long time to establish and even a year old tank can still be going through changes. Usually you would cycle the tank for about a month with just liverock and possibly if the rock doesn't have much die off add some snails in that time. Otherwise after the liverock cycled and you had no ammonia or nitrite present and at least low nitrates then you would start adding your inverts such as shrimp, snails, and crabs. Another few weeks after the tank gets further established with the nitrates dropping near zero then you would slowly start to add fish(for a 10g that means 1 small fish at a time 2-4weeks apart). Finally after the tank has tested zero for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrates for several months and gone through all the algae phases to become a stable environment, plus you have a good maintenance routine down, then you would add things like anemones and corals. Rushing in saltwater leads to disaster since the tank is going to go through these stages and the more sensitive the critter the less they can handle. It's very unlikely an anemone will make it through the cycle. Your probably better off seeing if you can return it for now or finding someone to hold onto it until your tank is mature and you have done more research on them.

Crap, this is so depressing! I don't want my anemone to die, I love that little dude! But like I said, it seems really healthy right now. I took some pictures of it earlier this morning. I'm going to try to put them up here if I can figure out how to do that. I'm just going to keep a really close eye on it and if I start to notice it's health diminishing or if the fish's health goes down either, I'm going to give them over to my sister's boyfriend's father because they have had a really huge marine tank for a few years now and I know that they wouldn't mind taking care of them until the tank finishes cylcing.
So now if I test it and the amonia is high, or the nitra/ite is, what is that I do to make it go back down?
I did notice the water evaporation but I've been keeping it under control. I'm a bit paranoid and I check the salinity like 3 times a day It's always at a good level and every few days I add about 2 cups of pure freshwater. i add it through the filter really slowly instead of just dumping it in and freaking out the fish. It's been keeping the water and salt level pretty stable.


1 Ocellaris Clown: $14.95...1 Pink Dottyback: $12.99...1 Three Striped Damsel: $4.50...1 Blue Velvet Damsel: $8.95
The Problems that come with them: Priceless

what is that I do to make it go back down?

Water changes. Ammonia and nitrItes will eventually go down as the benneficial bacteria colony grows. But water changes will also take them down as well.

Your salt levels will not change unless you take water out for a water change. Evaporation does not take salt with it. So replace evaporated water with fresh water. However, at this time, you should be doing water changes enough that you don't notice the evaporation. You should be changing about 20% every 2-3 days. Especially until you get a test kit and can get readings on the levels. Otherwise, you are more likely to loose that anemonee.

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There is always a bigger fish...

Ok, water changes. I can handle that. haha.
And see, even if I had the money for test kits and everything, I couldn't get them because I'm not old enough to drive myself around yet and I can only get them if my mother happens to be driving in the direction of the nearest pet store, which happens to be Pet Co.

1 Ocellaris Clown: $14.95...1 Pink Dottyback: $12.99...1 Three Striped Damsel: $4.50...1 Blue Velvet Damsel: $8.95
The Problems that come with them: Priceless

Ok, so I know I havent posted in a long time on this one, but if any one else still has it as an active thread, then hopefully I can get some help. I really need to know if there is anything that I can do to get rid of the algae in my tank. It is completely out of control!!! Is there some kind of fish I can add that would eat it all up or maybe a chemical I can add to the water that will kill it off or get it under control without hurting my current fish? I really need some help fast before my tank turns into one big, green box!

1 Ocellaris Clown: $14.95...1 Pink Dottyback: $12.99...1 Three Striped Damsel: $4.50...1 Blue Velvet Damsel: $8.95
The Problems that come with them: Priceless

Rifi, do you have a pic of the tank with the algae? Or know what kind of algae it is? This would help in what kind of fish will eat it, if it is one that some fish will eat.

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There is always a bigger fish...