Brown Film?

[sunshineissunnie]

is it time to clean my tank ? i went thru the cycle process for a few weeks and took a sample to the lfs and she said i can start putting things in so i got a sand sifting starfish and a peppermint shrimp they are in a 30 gallon tank and have been in about a week now and the walls now have a brown like film on them is this normal or do i need to clean it or add something else to it?

 

[Ter]

1; what is your turn over rate
2; what water are you using?
3; are you using a silicate removing resin? = RowaPhos
4; how and what are you feeding?
5; relax this is normal for a new setup, an algae cycle....
also i'm not quite sure you added your tank mates in the correct order....
do you have any fish or only invertebrates? i'm not sure i'd start with a starfish and your tank humm might be to small for one.... they are very active. did u start 2 think about a cleanup crew?

Since this is a new setup.. i'd only clear the front glass
Ter

 

[sunshineissunnie]

i just used tap water and i only used the chemicals that came with it to remove chlorine and the salt i added .....and i don't have any fish the guy at the lfs told me i should go in this order is this wrong should i get a fish soon???

 

[Ter]

I wouldnt start with a starfish esp a sand sifting starfish they are hungry guys lol
i'd probably take it back.. how deep is your sand bed? and what substrate are you using? you shouldnt be using tap water with a reef it will be a neverending battle. Your LPS should have RO water if they don't they should have a good idea where 2 get it from, but then again im not sure i'd trust this guy .. I do agree with him about a cleanup crew when you first find algae or waste.. but a sand sifting starfish? I donno.. wait till someone else agrees with me or doesnt before u take it back.....
Ter

 

[sunshineissunnie]

ok i feel dumb this lfs guy told me it was ok to have this starfish and i don't have sand i have crushed coral but it has been burying itself in it the past couple of days and i have been feeding it dry pellets he said it would eat im assuming this is wrong to

 

[Ter]

yeah he will eat them algae tablets... ur always going 2 have 2 feed him in a 30 gallon tank.. try shrimp also from the supermaket.. get the frozen stuff.. its food grade
Ter

 

[poo-tang]

the brown film is normal...like ter said just clean the glass you want to view through...maybe stir your substrate if it gets bad and ugly on there. as far as the sand sifting starfish i can only go by what i have read and 2 sources said they can annihilate a pod population in a couple of weeks and starve shortly thereafter, it also said you prolly won't know the problem is there...a rotting starfish buried in your sand somewhere...until things start dying resulting in a catstrophic crash, this scared me enough not to get one...i think they are only for those people who have a fuge and ongoing pod source. if you witness this starfish eating food you provide then it will prolly be fine so long as you feed it...kinda PITA...dunno i want one but just don't think he'd make it in my 40 gallon. i'd be interested to know what opther people say about these guys eating tho...anyone have success feeding them substitute foods?

oh yeah and get some snails, they'll help keep you rock or decor clean, you'll have to clean the glass weekly tho. good luck.

 

[tmreynolds]

The brown film is diatoms almost 100%. Very common in new tanks.

Get some hermits and or a turbo snail, they love diatoms. You could also use a galss magnet or algae scraper if you need to manually remove and a substrate vacuum/syphon for the gravel.

You should also be running rowaphos or a similar phosphate remover in a filter bag somewhere, in a HOB filter maybe.

But, more importantly do not use tap water, you need to be using RO/DI (reverse osmosis water preferably de-ionised). You can buy a RO unit which is fitted off your mains water from osmotics.co.uk or you should be able to buy RO water from your LFS.

The starfish is probably a bad idea in a 30g tank.

Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but crushed coral isn't the best substrate either, you really need coral sand or aragonite sand.

I'd suggest nassarius snails, cerith snails, trochus and turbo snail too, plus some hermits for your CUC plus maybe a peppermint and or cleaner shrimp too. You need about 1 CUC per gallon. Turbo's are worth 2 or 3 though.

Also have you got test kits, you should be doing regular checks for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, alkalinity, phospahte and sg/salinity on a new tank. If so, please post the results.

Hope all this helps,