# Whats Brown and Green All over?



## Kaed (Jun 5, 2013)

Hey guys,

set up my new tank about a month ago it is my fish time using coral sand as opposed to PFS figured it might look a bit more natural, finished a 3 week cycle and then added 1 black calvus, over the past week tank has gone from a light brown








(ignore the two comps in this pic, they have since been moved to my 40G)


















to a disgusting stringy green goo
What can i do?
Should i change back to PFS? (trying to replicate a mini biotope)


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

What type of lighting and how many hours a day is it on?

What is your nitrate reading?

Near a window or does the tank receive a lot of ambient light?


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## GTZ (Apr 21, 2010)

I get this occasionally in my fry tanks due to what I'm guessing is lack of water movement (sponge filters) coupled with little to no sand movement from sifting. I just stir the sand when I notice the algae beginning to grow, usually during water changes, which is then mostly vacuumed.
Your substrate looks pretty deep. I usually recommend filling no higher than the top of the bottom trim.


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## pancakeloach (Feb 4, 2008)

Brown stuff is diatoms, perfectly natural to get and not a problem. Turquoise green sheets is cyanobacteria, which is _quite_ nasty and should be manually removed.

I wouldn't change the substrate other than maybe to remove a bit of it as GTZ says. But substrate's not related to the cyano.


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## yamadog (Oct 7, 2012)

Also, if you're going for a biotope, why would you use coral? Pretty sure there is no coral in the bottom of any African lakes.....
I would also advise you to raise up your filter intake a few more inches if you go back to sand. It is so low that sand is bound to get sucked up and chew on your impeller. Ask me how I know!


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## iridextr (Feb 8, 2013)

Just turn the lights off in the tank and the room if possible for a few days. You're running the lights too long in the day I assume. I've never had a problem removing it from my tanks by just blacking them out for a few days. Once I do it, it never returns. Don't feed the fish either during this period, they'll be fine for two-three days until it's gone. Also perform more frequent water changes.


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## oyster dog (Jul 2, 2013)

Try adding white vinegar to the tank. Reefkeepers (and myself) have noted that cyanobacteria will vanish after the addition of vinegar. Add 2 ml of vinegar for every 25 gallons of water. You should see a reduction in cyanobacteria within 3-4 days.


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## NJmomie (Jan 17, 2013)

I had that this past summer and oysterdog suggested using Maracyn.... viewtopic.php?f=7&t=269233.
That seemed to work for me. Maybe worth a try?


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I use maracyn for cyanobacteria as well.


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## GTZ (Apr 21, 2010)

Keep in mind that Maracyn (erythromycin) can be harsh on nitrifying bacteria. Since this is a recently cycled tank, I wouldn't recommend it.


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## skurj (Oct 30, 2011)

A lot of these suggestions are just masking the issue... you need to find out what is causing it..... never had the stuff myself, could it be something like high phosphates in your tap water?


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

True. I get it when my plants consume all the nitrates in the tank and start to die from lack of fertilizer. Adding fertilizer works in that case.


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## WS61998 (Oct 30, 2013)

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