Help Curing Brown Algae / Diatom Bloom?

[mandyplo]

I'm new to reefing, my tank has been up and running for almost a year now. It is a 55gallon with 60 lbs rock all added gradually, 2 blue chromis, a yellow watchmen goby, various snails/hermit crabs, long spine urchin, a maldives sea star, an arrow crab, pipe organ frag and a digitata frag. As you can see, not a whole lot in livestock... We feed our chromis' brine shrimp (frozen) twice a day, half a cube in the morning half a cube in the evening.

I have 2 Kessil A350 LED's on for 10 hours a day.
The Octopus BH-1000 Skimmer
2 Koralia 1250 gph power heads.
A filter running 24/7 with a carbon and foam insert.

Any suggestions on how to get rid of this brown algae, its gotten pretty bad.... Its on everything, the sand bed, the rock, the power heads, the crabs...
And how can I prevent it from re occuring?

I do not use RO/DI water, I use water from the tap and I treat it as my LFS has told me to... who knows if he gave me the right info, but I use a PH buffer and de-chlorinater. And salt when my salinity is low.

I have test kits but I haven't done any tests in about 2 weeks, when I get a chance I can post my parameters on this thread if it makes a difference/helps you guys to help me.

Thats another thing, right now the salinity is at 1.028 and I cannot seem to lower it, do you guys suggest a large/partial water change?... I've just been doing small 10% changes but it hasn't changed the salinity one bit.

I have no idea where to start in getting rid of this algae... its seems to be a pretty vague type of treatment... nothing to really nip it in the bud. Am I correct or is there something I can do to rid of it easily?

[gregzz4]

A few things come to mind;
Have your LFS test both your tapwater and your tank water for PO4
If you get tank readings for it, but none from your tap, cut back on the live food a bit ( do you rinse it ? )
If you get tap readings for it, use RO water

To lower your salinity, remove a small amount of tank water daily ( 1/2 to 1 litre or so ) and replace with fresh water, until your Sg is where you want it
For future reference, the same can be done in reverse if it's too low;
All you would need to do is slowly add new SW and let it evaporate
Lowering salinity may be done faster than raising it without adverse effects, but take it slow

[mandyplo]

Okay thanks. I have an Elos phosphate test kit can I just test both tank and tap water myself?

[gregzz4]

Of course
Do some tests and post them, including whatever else kits you have

[gregzz4]

My bad for assuming you didn't have a kit ...

When's the last time you added LR
When's the last time you added critters that poop

[burgerchow]

You're running the lights way too long. If they are at 100%, they are equivalent to 2 250watt metal halides on a 65 gal. Try cutting back the lights to 60% and cut back the time to about 7 hours. Since you don't have many corals at the moment, try leaving the lights off for 3 or 4 days until the brown algae subsides, then gradually bring them bak on

[mandyplo]

Okay Ill do both of those things today when I'm off work. The only adjustable settings on the kessils is brightness and either tuna blue to white light. When you say put them down to 60% do you mean the brightness? Thanks I'll keep them off for a few days.

[dc4]

If you can take a pic of the algae, it would help identify the type. Did you go through a proper cycle when the tank was first setup?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2

[burgerchow]

Originally Posted by mandyplo

Okay Ill do both of those things today when I'm off work. The only adjustable settings on the kessils is brightness and either tuna blue to white light. When you say put them down to 60% do you mean the brightness? Thanks I'll keep them off for a few days.

yes, try to bring the brightness down to about half. 2 tuna blues are a lot for a 65 gallon. Try keeping the lights off for a few days til the brown algae disappears. If you're in a bright room, maybe even wrap the tank with a blanket so you get total darkness. Remember, Light+nutrients = Algae blooms.