question

[Penguin]

Hey guys I have a question on two things one I have brown algae on my tank and was wondering what it is because it keeps coming back after i scrub it off almost the next day, and the second question is I have these weird swirl looking white things on my glass i don't know what it is it's about the size of a pin head but they don't seem to be moving or growing.
Ammonia: 0 ppm
Nitrate: <5 ppm
Nitrite: 0 ppm
SG: 1.022
Ph: 8.0

Stocking:
1 figure 8 puffer
1 decorator crab
1 condy anemone
1 chocolate chip sea star
1 rescue mono sebae (temp until my uncle fixes his tank)
3 red legged hermit crabs

I know the mono is gonna outgrow my tank but I'm just holding it for my uncle until he fixes his tank which sprung a leak from the sealant. I keep my tank at 82 and have a fluval eco bright 7500k light. It's 29 gallon tank.

 

[Echistas]

Are you using RO water, or conditioned tap water? Even with regular water changes, if you use tap? The phosphates will continue to rise over time and algae becomes a real issue.

Using RO water will help I think

 

[Penguin]

Are you using RO water, or conditioned tap water? Even with regular water changes, if you use tap? The phosphates will continue to rise over time and algae becomes a real issue.

Using RO water will help I think

Using conditioned tap but i do an RODI system and tried setting it up but i could only get the water to flow through one side of the system but the other cylinder won't fill up it's like the water goes in one side and skips the other side back in to the tank

 

[Echistas]

Hmm strange.. I can't help you with the filter unless you have some pics you're willing to share.

It might be worth looking into that issue first in this case to see if RO water eventually helps

 

[Sniperhank]

Though we can easily talk about the dangers of conditioned tap water in a reef environment, the real discussion is about the brown algae on the glass. Who doesn't get algae growth on the glass? We all do. That is why there are so many different types of mag floats, scrapers, and so on to remove it! I remember how much I couldn't stand the stuff on my back glass as I couldn't get all of it due to the rocks being up against the glass. Painted the back black, corals pop and you don't see the algae that you scrub off the front of the tank daily. There is no real problem here.

As for the white swirls, they are filter feeders. The name is escaping me...but I look at them as a 'life stage' in everyone's tank. They rise in numbers until they fade away to nothing. I remember talking about them in the first year of my 55 reef. I was just thinking about them today as there isn't a sign of a single one outside of the inside of my skimmer, which they are simply empty shells that haven't fallen off or been removed by livestock.

 

[PB_Smith]

The light you have is designed for freshwater planted tanks, not a reef tank. That in itself is going to give you grief as far as controlling algae.
You don't mention how old the tank is.
Diatoms and various algae blooms are to be expected during the first months of a new setup and not a source of major concern unless it gets out of control which would indicate some other issues with filtration, feeding and/or stocking levels.


Unless the ambient temp is in the upper 80's-90's, there is no reason to maintain your tank at 82 degrees, which could be another contributing factor to unwanted algae growth as well as greatly reduce the life span of the invertebrates in your tank, especially the chocolate chip star (they "melt"at high temps) and the anemone.


This past summer I let mine get up to 82 before the cooler kicked in only because it saved about $70 on the electric bill, but I also lost my chocolate star, anemones, and crabs because of the prolonged high temp.
you should aim for ~78 and in the winter it will also save $$$ on heating the tank.