brown algae/diatome

[Ichthus]

I started my tank in May of this year and I cycled just fine for several months. But all of a sudden I am getting dark brown spots coming up on some of my rocks. Much like my original cycle. Granted I have removed about 8 snails and 8 crabs that I had since then, but what can i do to stop this? All levels are normal, and and I normally run my lights 8 hours a day. I have reduced my lights to 5 right now.

Will more snails help this? I have a green bubble algae prob (small prob) right now and have ordered an emerald crab. Any other thoughts for the brown stuff?

My skmmer and fileter are all running fine as well. You can see my specs page below for my info.

[Brooke]

Your tank is probably just in a balancing act right now. This is not unusual for a tank the age of yours. You might want to check your nitrates just to be sure things aren't amiss. It might be time to give the rocks to a "turkey-basting". This will help remove built up detritus. Do a water change after stirring things up. Watch your feeding, water changes etc. Otherwise I wouldn't worry too much unless things get really out of whack!

Brooke

[Ichthus]

Thanks for the info Brooke. I turkey baste every saturday. Just seemed odd to me. I hope you are right and it doesnt spread. I will probably keep my lights at a minimum for a week or so.