Brown Diatom Algae - PLEASE HELP!

[dunhill0822]

Hi Reefers! I need advise, I'm having an Algae Bloom. My tank is fully cycle with PH-8, Ammonia-.20, Nitrite-0, Nitrate-0. Keep cleaning the glass but it keeps coming back so quickly. What should I do? I'm also worried about my new corals that I put on yesterday. Please help!!!

[seanmcknew]

Lighting/lighting schedule can play a big roll in algae blooms. Post your lighting info which may also help determine what's going on. Just because a tank scheduled you still have a new tank and algae blooms happen when you start adding any type of bio load will take the tank a minute to compensate. I would suggest cleaning glass trying to collect as much of the algae as possible when doing so and give the tank some time. Is this a different tank then the one starting to cycle on the 15th? If so it is likely not cycled and you experienced a mini spike in parameters before the actual cycle which I have had happen.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

[dizzyjay]

need to determine the root cause. Did fish/snails die? (if so why?- if you able to tell) Did the tank get over fed? (Usually cause of phos) As far as getting your pho’s & ammonia in check you can do that with media available at the lfs (or Amazon) and putting it either in a reactor or in a media bag in a high flow area. That will only mask the problem which is why you need to get to and resolve the root cause.

Typical sources of elevated levels
Ammonia- death or rotting food (or fish waste)
Phosphate- uneaten food or dead junk & silica leaching from live rock.

Questions that help:
1) what is your bio load? (fish & coral)
1b) when was the last fish added? Coral added? How much at same time?
2) how long has the tank been running- (maturity matters)
3) what are all your other parameters? (Salinity, nitrate, nitrite, temp, alk, ca, mg)
——
4) what is your maintenance schedule
4a) what equipment do you use? (Skimmer?)
4b) how much food are you using - count it all coral+fish food
5) has anything been updated recently?

[dunhill0822]

Hi Sean, thank you for your response.

I have 3 Mars Aqua LED Box 160W - I usually keep them on all the time medium settings with just blue light. The tank is placed 20 feet away from the window with the blinds open (not sure if the sunlight is affecting), I'm am super newbie with this hobby.

I have 2 maroon Perculla Clown fish and they are doing very well. Yesterday I added some corals, hammer, zoas, and candy, and the green grass (not sure of the name). Before I added them I already noticed the algae are growing fast, I cleaned the glass with scrubber but after 4 hours they are back. This is very frustrating and worries me a lot cause I spend money for the corals

Later today, I'm planning to clean the sponges, skimmer in my sump and do a heavy water change- 80%?

It is the same tank I started on the 15th.

Please advise.

[dizzyjay]

My opinion: Don’t do 80% at most 50% (maybe multiple times- days apart)- Too much water and you are rebooting your good bacteria too. May not hurt to get some microbacter7 or dr Tim’s. They aid in populating good bacteria

[dunhill0822]

Nothing die so far. I haven't checked my phosphate since I don't know how (super newbie with the hobby). You mentioned about the reactor and media bag, can you send me link on where to buy these stuff?

I think I've been overfeeding the fish, I usually feed them 3X a day w/ frozen brine shrimp (I would say the size of the half piece of peanut).

Bio load - I have 2 clown, hammer, yellow candy coral, frag zoas, green grass (I think), I place all the corals yesterday
The tank has been running about 11 days
I only have these readings PH-8, Ammonia-.20, Nitrite-0, Nitrate-0 which is greatly improve I guess, because at the begging I have a huge spike to all of them.
Maintenance schedule - I will start this afternoon with water change I was thinking 50% at the beginning, I just grabbed 50 gallons from scripts yesterday.
SC Aquariums SCA-301 Protein Skimmer, 65 gal

[dizzyjay]

Yes- I’d agree that’s probably the cause. As a point of ref for feeding fish- no more than what can be fully eaten in 2 minutes. I use about 2 frozen blocks and a couple pinches of pellets a day (once in morning then again in eve) for about 20 fish in 2 tanks with 250g of water. Your tank is young so part of what you’re dealing with is business as usual. Def do the water change (50%- maybe even 30%... then another 30) there are tons of directions you can go with the media- I recommend a lfs visit for expertise & they can steer you in a good direction there.

[Squid]

If you have ammonia and no nitrate then your tank has not finished cycling.

[keepswimming]

Sounds like your tank is new and you might be jumping the gun on adding stuff. Try to refrain because it’s going to hurt your pocket book and the livestock.

[dunhill0822]

Should I remove the livestocks?

[inurmind]

Yeah your tank is brand new. As squid noted, if there's ammonia but no nitrate/nitrite then it's not cycled yet. What DJ said about feeding is on point and it sounds like you are over feeding by a fair amount. As for the corals idk if you wanna take them out necessarily but your tank has a ways to go before it's a stable habitat for a full reef. I'd say do a 30% water change and let things ride for a week then do another 30% water change. Also what DJ said about the bacteria additives isn't a bad idea either. I wouldn't add any new livestock for about a month to let things stabilize out. If you need a reactor I have a couple I'm not using atm.

Also you mentioned that there's natural sunlight hitting it ...that's not necessarily bad but it can have an effect on an algae. At least in the beginning you might want to try and control everything and that includes the light schedule, so natural sunlight might not be helpful in your case.

[dunhill0822]

Hi Inurmind, can I call you to get more advise? Please text me your number if possible. (858) 888-2087, I'm confused right now specially with the reactors and additives.

[inurmind]

Hi Inurmind, can I call you to get more advise? Please text me your number if possible. (858) 888-2087, I'm confused right now specially with the reactors and additives.

Texted