Brown algae taking over my tank

[Snoogans]

My new tank is about 2 weeks into its cycling and a brown algae has slowly begun to take over. It is all over the gravel and creeping towards my rocks. I have read that this can be a common problem early in the process and should resolve as my water matures and whatever it feeds off declines.

I have also read a copper based treatment would help but I am concerned about the other algae and such in my tank, would this harm them.

My patience in this matter is growing thin as my wife keeps asking when I am going to have this pretty tank I promised her :). haha cheers guys

[Reefscape]

Hello there mate....

DONT USE COPPER !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Welcome to the algae blooms mate..he he he...There is no much you can do about it really mate...Keep scrubbing your glass and syphon it off the sand..It will pass as long as you keep up your maintenance routine..A tank can take months to mature before you start seeing the actual beauty of the reef...Dont give up on it, patience is always the key to it matey....

Niko

[Germanman]

yea just wait it out its natural to have blooms...copper is so bad for almost any living things

[TropicalNorth]

As someone once said to me, "patience grasshopper...patience" :).
Right now my tank is going through the red cyano stage (which comes after the brown algae stage) but it is slowly disappearing and the tank is looking better and better everyday.

[Bianca]

Lol oh two weeks is nothing just like others here said -Patience. Marine tanks need to go through a "phase" . Mine had ugly algae for think roughly 2 months but first month was the worse .

Tell your wife it takes time or that you lied and this is what you wanted a tank with brown/red algae and she better get used to it (heehee)

[lotuskid]

A good clean up crew will also help clear some of the algae.

By the way, you said it was creeping over the gravel. Do you have gravel on the bottom of your tank or did you mean sand?

[Snoogans]

It is very small particles, i would describe it as gravel, not sand. It is quite similar to what I had in my fresh water tank. Its what my LFS recommended. I asked about sand originally and was told as a beginner this was the most appropriate base for my tank. Will this be an issue?

[Reefscape]

by the sounds of it, its crushed coral...If that is so, then yes, it will become an issue as it traps detrius and food particles and will generate nitrates..

Niko

[lotuskid]

Yeah, much better off with sand. Give some thought to swapping it over now while it's easy to do.