brown deposit or discoloration on ornament

Question
QUESTION: Hi Christy,

How are you? You help me previous with my new fish tank with high and
prolong period of ammonia level. That has been resolved after about 13
weeks. After 9 week the ammonia drop to zero and nitrite rose up to a very
high level but it stay there for almost 3 weeks but then it drop to zero also.
Now I have a high level of nitrate. I change the water once 3 days ago and still
is high today . I will do another one next week. This was an extremely long
and abnormal cycle. But thank for you help.
Now my question; I have some ornaments in my tank that is turning brown.
My ship has a white cloth sail that has brown stain on it. My white coral that
is  some polyurethane composite material has brown deposit on it that is very
hard to brush off. My jelly-like anemone that has a bright red color is turning
dull pinkish. These are all brought from reputable store like petco and
petsmart.
The only thing I could think of must be in the water.
Chemical could be, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate. Can high concentration of these
for long period of time 3-6 week cause this?
Also I added seachem that has sulfur in it. Could that cause it? It is very
strange that this is happening. Do you have any idea? What can cause this?

Thanks,
Tom C.

ANSWER: Hi Tom
Fine thanks :)
That's good it finally finished cycling.  On average, it takes about 8-12 weeks to complete, but there's so many factors that contribute to how long it exactly takes to complete.  How bad are the nitrates?  It's recommended to keep them under 20 ppm.  Water changes are the best way to remove them, unless your tap water has nitrates in it, which is common sometimes with well water.  You can try testing your tap water with your kit to see if it has nitrates present.  

The brown stuff....it's called diatoms, and it's completely normal in new tanks.  I have it in a tank I just recently set up.  The Prime by Seachem won't cause it, I use that in all my tanks and pond as well.  The high nitrates could be contributing to it, but like I said, it's common in new tanks.  Just keep scrubbing it off, and doing good gravel vacuums, and eventually it'll disappear.  Here's a link with a bit more info on it:

http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/maintenance1/p/algaebrown.htm

Now she mentions plecos and oto cats will eat it.  I've heard of oto cats(small 1 inch sucker catfish)eating it, but never heard of plecos eating the brown algae-but I could be wrong.  I'd say stick to scrubbing it off for now, and like I said, it'll go away eventually-especially when your nitrate levels drop down.  

Hope that helps!  And good luck :)

Christy

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Christy,

My Nitrate level is about 60ppm right now. I'll performed another 25 water
change this weekend.
A question on my filter.....I have a empire 280 filter with a bio-wheel that
always looks clean. I read that it should have a slimy coating on it by now
from the collection of bacteria growth. That is why I got this filter because of
this feature. In addition the filter material is always clean. I remember my old
whisper filter, after about 4-6week it is fill with fish junk on it.

As for the brown stuff issue on my ornaments. Could it be diatoms or brown
algae. I see them on my ornament but not on the glass nor gravel.This stuff is
very have to remove. I scrub the coral which is some composite material with
a tooth brush many time and still some doesn't come off. Should brown algae
come off easily? Any idea why this mostly occurred in new tank. I hope it
eventually goes away. It is not a pleasant sight.

Boy, it is not easy maintaining the fish tank but in the long run it is also a lot
of fun. My fish seem so happy exploring, swimming and mingling  with each
other.
Thanks for your help.
Tom C.

Answer
Hi Tom
I'd do a larger water change, about 40-50% if you can, to try to get those nitrates down.  Or better, if you can do a few smaller ones during the week till they're down, then get on a weekly "maintenance" to keep them in check.

For the bio wheel, I don't notice a slimy coating on mine.  Some are dirtier/discolored granted, but they've been running awhile(few years now).  As long as your ammonia and nitrites are at 0 ppm, it's cycled.  The bacteria live on everything in the tank, gravel/substrate, decorations, filter media, biowheel.  It does take some time for it to build up though on the wheel.  Do you rinse out the filter pad?  Try rinsing it off in a bucket of used tank water, and see if the water turns a yucky color.  If it's turning out water, I'm sure it's working fine.  Give it some time, I'm sure you'll see some gunk building up on the filter pad :)

Yep, the brown algae is normal with newly set up/cycled tanks.  It may just be more difficult to remove, because of what the material the coral is made out of.  Usually on the glass, it comes easily, at least that's been my experience.  It's most likely from the high nitrates in the water.  It'll go away eventually.  

Yes, it's a bit of work keeping up fish tanks, but it is worth it.  Once everything calms down and straightens out, and you get on a schedule, it's not that bad to maintain them.  If anything, it's getting to be rather expensive lol.

You're welcome and enjoy your weeked :)

Christy