Brown Algae Issue

[InfernoST]

Hi Guys
I'm not sure what's going on, but I found this brown waivey brown stuff (Kind of slippery) on my LR, it doesn't blow off the rock. Also there is something small growing on it and it's in several places, you'll notice it on the upper left of the Pics. I don't know what it is and need help with identification and fix. Additional Information, I was using IO and have begun introducing Reef crystals, Last PWC was 30 gallons 1/2 of which I used RC. Thanx

Oh Yeah almost forgot the parameters.
Water
Temp=80
PH=8.3
SG=1.025
Nitrates=0
Nitrites=0
Ammonia=0
Calcium=440
ALK=9
Silicates=.2-.5
Phosphates=0

Tank Specs
Size=120 Gallon 60x18x26
Skimmer=Reef Octopus BH-800S HOB
Heater=2 400 watt Hydor theo
Substrate=5" of Aragonite 140lbs
LR=150 lbs
Filter=Eheim 2080 (450 gph)
Power heads= 2 Koralia 3's (850 gph each)
Salt Mix= was Instant Ocean but started introducing Reef Crystals.

Lighting
MH=250watt x 2
MH Lamps=Phoenix 14000k HQI DE x 2
MH Time on=6hrs
MH height above water=10"
T5HO=48" 54watt x 4
T5HO=48" 54watt x 2 UV lighting Super Actinic 420nm
T5HO=48" 54watt x 2 UV lighting Actinic White 12000k
T5HO Time on=10hrs
T5HO height above water=10"

Any and all help is greatly appreciated, If any additional info is needed please let me know and I will do my best to get it.

 

[thincat]

Keith, the creature looks like an anemone...maybe a small Aiptasia or Majano anemone, hard to tell. It looks like you have more then one. Does the brown "stuff" rub off? Your readings looks on the money. again hard to tell. You might have to cut back on the lights a little for awhile.

 

[Sadielynn]

it could be dinos or just plain ol diatoms ..
Dinos will be a pain in the butt to remove I had them it took me a over year to tackle it , it will look like green hair algea only brown it over took every square inch of this tank I still get small out breaks but on the glass and equipment which I can remove and soak in a vinegar bath .. .. best description I have seen is brown snot and it is stringy .. Your description is that of dinoflatulattes (sp) are a bacteria and must be manually removed and killed with water changes ....this stuff will kill out corals .. fish etc..
Cleaning all your mixing equipment , tank equipment is a MUST to keep it from going back in ... it is ALOT of work but you can kick it ...Going dark will not really help ... but taking out your rock scrubbing them off and doing a few 80% water changes a week will help ....
When I had ours I was sooooo fustrated that I tore the tank down scrubbed the rock only to have it return a few days later ... it was difficult to get ID'd so we thought it was persistent diatoms only after finding out what I believed it was could I go at it ... I went with new ro/di (I also was switching salts out at that time too from IO to RC I was unsure if there was a correlation or not ) I used ro/di for top offs , and mixing .. I took a tooth brush scrubbed every rock that I could ... I did a 90% water change then a few days later I did a couple more gallons , a week later I did another large water change I did about 10 large along with small water changes and after that I noticed it was going away ... my fish seemed fine and believe it or not I did not have a cycle ..now I do a weekly 50% water change to keep this stuff out ... If you do it the way I did use caution !! It was so bad at one point I wanted to tear the tank down and start all over ...
The reason your readings are spot on this stuff utilizes it quicker than any thing therefore nullifying your test readings readings ..
What kind of water are you using
if it is a Diatoms are normal from a new tank ... they generally respond to extra nutrients and will die off in a couple weeks .. How old is this tank ...GL on this stuff

 

[austinsdad]

New tank?

 

[InfernoST]

It's about 3.5 months.

 

[austinsdad]

Look up diatoms. May not be though. The seem to show up and go away within the first weeks after cycling. Articles on this site might help you too.

 

[thincat]

"Silicates=.2-.5". I think that is your problem. It's all about your tank maturing and it should burn itself out.

 

[Bige]

Maybe Cyanobacteria. Redslime.

 

[austinsdad]

BTW, how long are your lights on daily?

 

[InfernoST]

BTW, how long are your lights on daily?

MH's are on for 6hrs and the T5HO's for 10hrs.

 

[InfernoST]

I'm going to do a 40% PWC and keep the lights off for a couple of days plus increase the skimming. I have one Monti cap and 1 BTA in the tank along with the CUC, they should be OK for 3 to 4 days. My fish are still in QT, I'm bringing them out of HYPO. I was looking forward to getting them back in the DT, so what's a few more days. I think I have to get some more Turbos and emeralds, they are eating this stuff like crazy, I wish I could clean the rock that good.

 

[thincat]

If they(CUC) are eating it then it's not cyano..almost nothing eats that stuff.

 

[InfernoST]

If they(CUC) are eating it then it's not cyano..almost nothing eats that stuff.

Thats good news. I'm also replacing my T5HO ballast with an Icecap 660 unit (this is going to increase my T5HO's from 54 watts per bulb to 85) and replace my 2 420nm Super Actinics with Actinic white 12000k lamps because the lamps I'm using on my MH's provide the proper spectrum and don't need any supplemental actinic light. I figured I would do this because I noticed that this brown algae is most prominent around the perimeter of the tank where the lighting isn't as strong and the Super Actinics are, there is hardly any of this stuff in the center line if the tank where the MH's shine.
This is on top of the PWC and lights out treatment.

 

[ccCapt]

(this is going to increase my T5HO's from 54 watts per bulb to 85)

Overdriving them will also kill their life span. Plan on replacing them every 6 months.

 

[InfernoST]

Overdriving them will also kill their life span. Plan on replacing them every 6 months.

I understand that their life span will probably be shortened, but UV lighting didn't indicate that and recommended using this ballast with their bulbs for that reason so I'm assuming the bulbs were designed to handle it. In any case shouldn't they be replaced every 6 to 8 months anyway?
What do you think about my theory?

 

[ccCapt]

What do you think about my theory?

The theory that the lights are causing the diatoms? Nope...I don't buy it.
The silicates are causing it. If your using a RO/DI unit, change the DI resins. If your not using a RO/DI...get 1.

 

[InfernoST]

I was reading online about diatoms and a lot of articles indicated poor lighting and extended photo periods are contributers to diatom blooms. I'm using an RO/DI unit and DI resin is still that blue green color (None of it has changed to brown yet).

I did another silicate test a few minutes ago on the tap, ro/di, freshly mixed salt water (using RC now), and DT water

Tap=3.2
RO/DI=0
Salt Mix=0
DT=0

 

[thincat]

When did you take the readings that you first posted, because it had a silicate reading?

 

[InfernoST]

When did you take the readings that you first posted, because it had a silicate reading?

I took them the day I posted. I may have made a mistake with trying to do all the readings in a rush, I was also testing my QT tank water as well which is I was using regular IO and it is reading .2-.5. I got up early this morning and re-ran the tests just to make sure and it turned out to be the reading from the QT. I just got done with a 45 gallon PWC and will re-test again tomorrow morning.

 

[thincat]

I think you are getting it under control. Good stuff.