Sakura8

Here's the photo I saw, it's a scarlet macaw and there's even a perch built into the bike. I wonder if the bird is harnessed in similar to the harness I have Rosie wear.

That's crazy O.O I recently saw a photo of a macaw on a motorcycle XD It looks scary.

Petsmart called me last week, apparently after my drug test continued to cause problems it also happened to 12 other people! They found out it was the wrong form and asked if I was still interested. Of course I am since I want a job lol, so I retook the test and in 2 days the results came in and I'll be starting on Monday :D It really sucks it took so looooong though.

I don't know how long it releases silicates. I've never had it. :D
You'll have to look well for some black or dark sand. Quikrete is a medium darkness.
Have you noticed your cories eating brown algae? Some love it, I realized mine enjoy cleaning the leaves of it.

Amanos are brownish with clear, while the ghost shrimp are all clear, mine have some orange lines on their antennas and pinchers. Also they have slight differences. Also ghost shrimp won't touch most algae so that is a clue.

I would get ricca but I have no rocks and floating it is a waste as I wont enjoy it as much.

Amanos are brownish with clear, while the ghost shrimp are all clear, mine have some orange lines on their antennas and pinchers. Also they have slight differences. Also ghost shrimp won't touch most algae so that is a clue.

I would get ricca but I have no rocks and floating it is a waste as I wont enjoy it as much.

"The 20g has CaribSea Tahitian Moon (black) sand."
There ya go. As a side note, this sand is labeled unsafe for bottom dwellers- I'd watch the loaches.
All of CaribSea sand is made from glass shards (hence unsafe for soft bellies) and not real sand.
That's where your silicate problem is coming from.
The only thing I can recommend is frequent water changes, eventually it'll stop releasing silicates.
Of course if you want, you can change it out for regular playsand. I might do it for the loaches and algae problem. Since it's NPT you should be able to change it all out at once. However that does mean you'd have to rip it up AGAIN. :(

Some of my plants are pearling! I love the new light! So I discovered some brown algae, I saw Olympia's post and I was wondering if it would be safe to add them with ghost shrimp? I know ghost shrimp will eat small shrimp but amanos are huge... I will ask Olympia as well.

I will ask my dad about it, he should know. Should I make the filter area frosted or painted/stained so you can't elk there is actually a filter there?

Amano shrimp are supposed to eat brown algae, but someone told me theirs wouldn't, and they'd just eat fish food when the fish were fed. You could try.
Otos will eat your brown algae, and 3 will add not much bioload. They are vegetarians, so their waste is less and they add less toxins.
I have yet to find a product that absorbs silicates but not phosphates. Byron said not to use phosphate remover in a planted tank since plants need it. However none of us have ever experimented, so it could be worth a shot to try some.
In the mean time, brush algae off plants by hand to help the plants.

I spend so much time researching brown algae, which I don't have, while my tank is overrun with hair algae. -__- Got my priorities in order, that's for sure.

Woo, I'm honored. :D
Okay, questions: do you have brown algae problems in just that tank or all of them?
If all, do you use the same substrate for them all? If not, what brand is the sand in your 20?
Brown algae feeds on silicates, not phosphates like most algae. Silicates could come from the tap or substrate.
If from the substrate, it'll wear off eventually. Frequent water changes are the best defense, to lower silicates constantly.
If it's from the tap, water changes don't help obviously.
I don't know of any common silicate tester, so we gotta go off your other tanks.