Brown Algae and Protein Skimmer??

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MushroomPanda

Aquarium Advice Newbie
Joined
May 30, 2015
Messages
2
Hello! So I have my 200l system going for about 6 months now with no problems whatsoever. After adding my first livestock it seemed fine and I wanted to wait a good while before adding more. I was aware of over feeding as I had a setup a year ago which I made plenty of mistake with a tore it apart and started again.
Anyway there was a small bit of brown algae in the beginning but now it has broken out enormously. I wake up in the morning and it is everywhere, even after scrubbing the glass and rock the night before. I cut down my food quantities and frequency but that doesn't hinder it.
I think the issue might be my protein skimmer. I have the jewel 3.0 which was recommended by a friend and also the guy at the lfs. However when I turn it on it is insanely loud and creates a flurry of micro-bubbles throughout the tank. It also pours water straight into the cup and soon enough water is spilling down the side of the tank.
I got some more turbo snails which worked great in the beginning but now seem to be less enthusiastic (full maybe?).
Fish don't seem to mind it but it bothers me both because it looks bad and I also lost my juvenile skunk cleaner shrimp. I figured this would be related to nitrates but they are not that high:
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 5-10ppm
Ph: 8.2-8.4
Salinity: 1.026
Phosphates: 0
Kh: 11-13 (slightly high)
Temperature: 26*C
The nitrates did go up a bit as they were between 0-2ppm but I figured I may have been over feeding. I don't know what the source of silicates is in the tank or how to remove it other water changes but I fear there might be some in the water source? I don't have a test for silicates, can you even get one?
Sorry for the long winded post. Help if you can!!!! Thank you


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So, are you saying that when you turn your skimmer on it instantly overflows? I don't have any experience with that particular skimmer, but usualy that means either the skimmer is a piece of crap, or you have high nutrient levels. Is this a diatom bloom you are experiencing? can you take a picture of the tank?
 
Thanks for the quick reply. It is a diatom bloom, sorry for the incorrect terminology. I don't know if the skimmer works properly or not ( I kind of hope it does as it was expensive) but the test results seem okay. I have done two water changes since the outbreak which started about two weeks ago. ImageUploadedByAquarium Advice1432978488.862879.jpgImageUploadedByAquarium Advice1432978519.577092.jpgImageUploadedByAquarium Advice1432978549.693056.jpg quality is not great sorry. Camera phone :/

Thanks!!


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