tb19

I want to transfer gravel and other decor from my 15 gal. to my new 40 gal.
will the algae survive in the new tank? And how can I safely remove the algae with out killing the bacteria?

Wolfgang8810

brown algae is mostly diatoms and it will clear up on its own. I would not move it to another tank. If you are trying to get a jump start on the cycle then i would recommend burying the bio filters from the 40 gallon tank in the 15 gallons gravel to "seed" it with beneficial bacteria.

tb19

what about the decor?
can i still transfor it?

Wolfgang8810

yes shouldnt be a problem brown algae or diatoms are only ugly, they wont hurt anything except your eyes

tb19

kool
i'll save a couple of bucks then on decor

Wolfgang8810

are you going to take down your 15 gallomn tank?

tb19

yeah im going to put all my fish in the new one and all the decor if possible...
i might use th 15 as a quarentine tank

Wolfgang8810

well just move all decorations to the new tank. no prob

tb19

yeah i 'll do that =]

Wolfgang8810

a QT tank is a good way to go. I never used one untill 3 gbrs infected my entire 56 gallon tank with ick

tb19

yeah that why i want to use it as a qurantine
but does the quarentine tank always have to be running?

Wolfgang8810

if you dont always want it o be running then you should move the gravel to the new tank also. The brown algae will go away in about a months time. Most qt tanks are bare bottom. take the filter fromt he 15 gallon tnak and hang it on the back of the new tank along with the new tanks filter. That way the bacteria will stay alive for when you move the filter to the qt tank when quarantining fish. I hope that makes sence ask questions where it dosent.

tb19

yeah it makes sense
i'll move the gravel to the new tank then
i need a quarentine tank too
cause im replacin the two otos that died
i defenitely need to quarentine them

tb19

well it seems that the brown algae is spreading around in my 40 gal now.
the new sand substrate has algae now. It's so annoying!