Brown algae covering tank

[Bray84]

Hi I've started to get brown algae on my live rock since I've upgraded to LEDs and getting to the point off covering all the rock work. Tanks an 80 gal with 45kgs off rock with two clowns and clown goby,1 cardinal and a royal gramma. Also use ro water and been running for nealy 18 months.

Before this was getting everything ready for corals why the LEDs upgrade. I always test water twice aweek and most of test are good apart from kh sits at 8, nitrates at 10ppm and phosphates were at 0 till I got a hanna checker and found them to be .15 so done some big wc and got a reactor to help keep them down plus cut back to only feed every other day and now phosphates are .04 but the algae still growing after doing wc so what else can I do to get rid off it for good as want some coral when I can sort it out. Thanks for any info.

 

[Terryc]

I had the same problem. If you got dimmable lights turn them down, if not shorten the time that you have them running. Brush the algae off the rock and then do your water changes. It will go eventually.

 

[waterfaller1]

The brown is diatoms. A normal part of your tank settling in. This should give way to good green algae.

 

[pip walters]

Keep a check on your nitrate, phosphate and silicate levels and reduce as necessary. Diatomous algae need silica with which to produce their protective outer 'shell, known as the frustule. Once silicates are used up or removed, the brown algae should start to diminish.

 

[Macscale]

The brown is diatoms. A normal part of your tank settling in. This should give way to good green algae.

Good green algae? Sounds more like coraline which diatoms aren't associated with.

 

[Bray84]

Hi thanks for info but tanks been up for 18 months.it looks more slime algae but brown.

 

[Macscale]

Hi thanks for info but tanks been up for 18 months.it looks more slime algae but brown.

Pictures would help.

 

[Bray84]

 

[Macscale]

Looks like nuisance diatom to me.

 

[Bray84]

Looks like nuisance diatom to me.

It looks like it on pics from google so what's best to get rid of it. Thought was only new tanks get diatom algae but looks like I'm wrong lol

 

[Macscale]

No. Any tank get diatoms. Nuisance Diatoms and Diatoms are different though. I've never dealt with them, so I can't give input there.

 

[Bray84]

Ok cheers will read up and see what can find.

 

[ecancienne1983]

Can bD tap water cause this even though a conditioner is used bc i have the same problem but on on all my rock

 

[ecancienne1983]

I meant to put bad tap water sorry

 

[Bray84]

I would say yes as tap waters got lots of phosphates and nitrates, best to get some ro water to do water changes

 

[mrvincent]

It look like a kind of dinoflagellates... Take a turkey baster, and blast the rocks...

Little-matter isf it's diatoms or dinos, starve it, by reducing nitrates and phosphates near 0. Try to run GFO, and GAC if possible... Use RODI water when you do water changes, make more water changes to lower nutrients, vodka dosing start to work well on my tank for fighting hard to get rid dinos.

Blasting (spray.... I don't know the word in english) rocks with a turkey baster once per day, you should see white crap coming out from rocks, these release PO4 and NO3... That is detritus, dead exoskeletons, limestone, nitrates, and fish poo. Make sure you run the protein skimmer while doing this. Clean the filter sock often too...

Give a shot of turkey baster straight before a water change, it should help too. If you have sand bed, try to vaccum it while doing a water change, you should have brown nasty water coming out from here.

I hope this helps.

 

[Bray84]

It look like a kind of dinoflagellates... Take a turkey baster, and blast the rocks...

Little-matter isf it's diatoms or dinos, starve it, by reducing nitrates and phosphates near 0. Try to run GFO, and GAC if possible... Use RODI water when you do water changes, make more water changes to lower nutrients, vodka dosing start to work well on my tank for fighting hard to get rid dinos.

Blasting (spray.... I don't know the word in english) rocks with a turkey baster once per day, you should see white crap coming out from rocks, these release PO4 and NO3... That is detritus, dead exoskeletons, limestone, nitrates, and fish poo. Make sure you run the protein skimmer while doing this. Clean the filter sock often too...

Give a shot of turkey baster straight before a water change, it should help too. If you have sand bed, try to vaccum it while doing a water change, you should have brown nasty water coming out from here.

I hope this helps.

Thanks for info. I've tested phosphates and there now at zero so reactor must be working and nitrates at 10. Just done 15% wc and sucked up good bit of the algae and will do another tomorrow and leave for few days see if it's still grow then will start with bigger wc.

 

[Swicicki]

I've got the same mess

Almost the same story. 125 gal tank up for more than a year. Thick brown Alger growing fast.

Covers everything. Very ugly

I upgraded my skimmer and it seems to be helping. I had a large clump of calerpa I was using to soak up nutrients and a few days after I upgraded skimmer and the calerpa is dying I removed what was left.

I've been doing lots of water changes and changing filter sock every day

 

[mrvincent]

If it's dinos, it grow really really fast, and look like brown slime, sometime with bubbles on the algae. Turkey baster do really good job. Changing water won't do anything if the rocks keep releasing nutients...

Diatoms usually grow under phosphates conditions, dinos grow under any conditions. You must absolutely care about dinos if it's that, it's a toxic algae.

 

[Swicicki]

It looks thicker than slime.

Almost like thick mats that are easy to blast off or siphon

Has bubbles

Best remedy?

My new skimmer seems to be helping