Help Algae ID sandbed

clownhunter

New member
Tank is over two years old. Still battling this brown algae on sand since what it seems like day one. Seems to stay confined to the sand. Noticed some snails seem to be dying (so maybe Dino) but not snotty it's more of a hair algae. There is some bubbles I maybe be able to find 4-5 bubbles on the sand bed flat with the surface of the sand. One of my turbo snails has a lot of bubbles on his shell with long hairs w/ bubbles on the end - but really don't think it's Dino. So I was thinking a brown cyano. Dosed chemi clean and it didn't touch anything might dose again this week?! All and all it seems to stay confined to sand. Some spots are darker brown with what appears to be hair algae on the sand and very minimal bubbles.

72gal bow
1.025 sal
0 ammonia
0 nitrite
5-10 nitrate
8.2 alk
1290 mag
440 cal
0 phosphates (assuming from algae presence)
T247 lights running at 30blue 20ch2

Spectrapure rodi w/ sicilabuster - 0 tds
Running gfo reactor change monthly
Run chemi pure elite as well
10% water changes weekly - few months ago I tried skipping water changes thinking the trace elements were fueling the algae. Did not help.
Oversized seaside aquatics skimmer current been wet skimming.

Flow - 700 korallia and 450 korallia and just purchased jebao rw8 wave maker. Thinking I had a lack of flow. Rw8 is pretty powerful. No help

Will siphon out but grows right back. Even with barely any light I can start to see it grow back. Tried three day black outs as well. Reduced but came back

Feed once a day some pellets and some flake. All small fish 2 clowns, 4 chromis, I damsel, coral beauty, one wrasse two cleaner shrimp ..

Running out of ideas....
 

Attachments

  • IMG_4508.jpg
    IMG_4508.jpg
    66.1 KB · Views: 3
  • IMG_4509.jpg
    IMG_4509.jpg
    61.2 KB · Views: 3
  • IMG_4510.jpg
    IMG_4510.jpg
    66.9 KB · Views: 3
  • IMG_4514.jpg
    IMG_4514.jpg
    58.4 KB · Views: 3
  • IMG_4513.jpg
    IMG_4513.jpg
    63.5 KB · Views: 3
Last edited:
I've also let it grow for a month to see if it turned into Dino's. No change just got darker in spots. So was thinking diatoms that my sand rock were leaching silicates so I bought two fighting conchs. They didn't seem to touch it and died within weeks.
 
Ph 8.0-8.1
Was attempting to try and get ph up to around 8.3 for awhile now with opening windows outside air line to skimmer intake and alkalin8.3

But no luck
 
Might also be diatoms. One thing that I have found that worked for me Fauna Marin Algae X, now called Dino X. I used it a few weeks ago after in dinoflagellate out break and it worked. It was hard on some of the tank inhabitants but the dinos are gone.
 
Water flow - rw8, 400 or 450 koallia and a 750 korallia. my corals already seem like they are being blasted even though they are not in direct flow. I think flow is good

Thanks guys !!
 
Back
Top