brown dusty algea?

[nicolicious]

I have a 90gallon reef tank that has been doing really well for about a year. since feb i have stopped doing water changes and cleaning it and so on and so forth....(i know its a bad idea not to pay attention but other things took up my time)

well here i am at the end of april trying to make it right again....all my live rock and live sand is covered by this brown dusty algea....the corals do not seem to be effected by it...I did a 35 gallon water change, brushed off the liverock with a tooth brush and sucked out the top layer of live sand and I even bought new light bulbs (cause i had to, the other ones were past replacing)
but still the algea returns.....

I dont dose my tank with chemicals, all I use is Phosguard and NitrateSponge. I also feed them with spectrum and once a week i feed cyclopees....I am going to get my water tested today and i will post results later....

anyone have any algea like this? do I really have to start over? cause i will i just dont want to if there is another way.

thanks in advance for all your help...

 

[kau_cinta_ku]

diatoms is my guess. watch your phosphates and nitrate leveles and skimm wetter will help.

 

[Nano Chris]

I'm going threw the same thing you are (cept i do water changes weekly, NO MATTER WHAT) my tanks been up since October, and i have an algae outbreak like you, it just started last week, i am running carbon, and phosphate remover, i think i was feeding too much, i have been doing water changes (more than i usually do) i had been dosing DT's phyto, i think thats what caused it (over feeding), now i have the brown rusty algae on my sand bed and glass. I have been feeding less now trying to get rid of it, any comments would help.

 

[Wett Hands]

I am currently in the same situation and looking into getting something to absorb phosphates. Does phosban HAVE to go in a reactor or can you use it in a filter?

 

[nicolicious]

got my levels----

got my levels----

pH - 7.8
Nitrate - 0
Nitrite - 0
Amonia - 0

salt - 32/1.024

these to me seem ok except the kit i was using expired in january 07....im going to get my water tested at the lfs to see how accurate my testin was....

is there anything else i should be testing? or are those mentioned above the main algea growing culprits....

thanks

 

[Aquabucket]

You could try leaving your lights off for a few days. Your diatom problem will very likely clear up afterwards.

Check out this thread for more info.

 

[Nano Chris]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9780513#post9780513 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Wett Hands
I am currently in the same situation and looking into getting something to absorb phosphates. Does phosban HAVE to go in a reactor or can you use it in a filter?

I got the kent phos remover and it comes with a bag to put it in, they suggest a high flow area, which is where i put mine. Soon to get a reactor for phos and maybe one for carbon.

 

[Wett Hands]

Cool beans!

I'm picking up some tomorrow.

:thumbsup:

 

[drummereef]

Wet Hands, your diatom issue is most likely coming from excess silicates in your water source. Do you use RO/DI for saltwater makeup and top off? If so, is your TDS zero? Phosphate removers and such will do little for diatoms in my experience if you are continually introducing silicate from the water source.

 

[nicolicious]

TDS?

TDS?

is that total disolved solid? if so how do you get rid of them?

 

[Wett Hands]

Just recently started using ro/di and I dont have a TDS meter yet... I have noticed that it seems to be going away on it's own, a little faster than I would have expected i might add.

 

[nicolicious]

oh

oh

i always use ro/di water, but the guy at my lfs told me there are different types of ro/di water....some are better than others he says........

 

[Wett Hands]

I can believe that.

I am not thrilled with this ro/di unit i got, it's used all the cartriges have been replaced but i still want to get a new one. I see TONS of them on ebay and some even under $100, but dont know it they are any good.

 

[Wett Hands]

Re: TDS?

Re: TDS?

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9786076#post9786076 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by nicolicious
is that total disolved solid? if so how do you get rid of them?

The only way to get rid of water with high TDS is water changes with cleaner water

 

[squeezix]

One thing I have not seen mentioned is flow. I get cyano and diatomaceous algae in my tanks when there is a lack of flow. I agree with getting your TDS down to zero and your PO4 down as well, but if all else fails, you may have a problem with water movement.

 

[drummereef]

Very true, squeezix. Flow is your friend. I personally recommend at least 20x flow minimum. I have 30x in my 40g mixed reef. I would get a TDS meter and check to see what the output is after the DI stage. Again, you are going for 0 tds.

 

[Wett Hands]

Thanks for the advice everyone.

shopping list:
new ro/di unit
1400 gph in powerheads
TDS meter

Now, how about some advise on how to sneak the new equipment past my girl?

 

[nicolicious]

just a depressing update

just a depressing update

got new light bulbs, cleaned out my tank, changed 50 of 90 gallons of water, got some phosphate remover and nitrite sponge....and kept the lights off for 3 days...and today i turned the lights at 5 and by 9pm new brown dusty stuff already started to form.....dammit....any other suggestions to get rid of these diatoms.....

 

[drummereef]

Re: just a depressing update

Re: just a depressing update

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9797214#post9797214 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by nicolicious
got new light bulbs, cleaned out my tank, changed 50 of 90 gallons of water, got some phosphate remover and nitrite sponge....and kept the lights off for 3 days...and today i turned the lights at 5 and by 9pm new brown dusty stuff already started to form.....dammit....any other suggestions to get rid of these diatoms.....

nicolicious - Do you know the TDS of the water you are getting from the LFS?

 

[drummereef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9792554#post9792554 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Wett Hands
Thanks for the advice everyone.

shopping list:
new ro/di unit
1400 gph in powerheads
TDS meter

Now, how about some advise on how to sneak the new equipment past my girl?

Here's my top pics, fwiw...
1. Spectrapure MaxCap RO/DI
2. Tunze products rule
3. COM-100 TDS meter (best under $50)

Sneaking past the chick...? That's all you buddy.