Brown Algae

[alvarez]

Ok I pictured the Brown Algae in my tank the other day and people said it was Diatom Algae. It is getting pretty thick and in areas does look like hair. I have read to not run lights and this will kill it. However I am worried if I don't run lights then the growth on my LR will cease. There is a lot of pretty growth on the LR I would hate to lose.

[cartouche]

It sounds just like a normal 'cycling' process...

Here's what i did-

Check the live rock visually to make sure you know where any fans or bits of interest are, take the rock out carefully and use a soft toothbrush or a washing up brush to remove the algae. Be Careful, you don't want to harm anything you want to keep ( I check visually cause LR has a habit of looking completely differnt in water rather than out of water) LR must be washed/scrubbed with the water out of your aquarium, definately not tap water!

Just have a few inches of tank water in the bottom of a bucket and gently scrub away. Brown algae will eventually dissapear at a certain time through the cycle so it is perfectly normal!

I would also suggest keeping your lights on to what would be a normal pattern... your gonna get brown algae at this stage whatever!