help with algae, and other issues...

[Cahooligan]

alright i have no idea how to load pictures. i have them on my computer but yeah... ok so ive had my 29 gallon tank up and running for about 6 months, and ive had enough of it. filtration is a cpr hob refugium and skimmer. 4 inch sand bed plenty of live rock. etc i have a 75 gallon reef that is completely flawless with no issues. both tanks are from the same water source and have the same water params. alk is fine, phosphates are low etc...anyway the algae is brown. its NOT dinoflagellates. (i dealt with them for the first 4 months of this tank and FInally was able to get rid of them). this algae is like a brown type of hair algae, like little brown plants growing on the rocks. and also at places it is stringy and even looks like a spiderweb on the rocks. it wont go away. i recently took out and cleaned and scrubbed each individual rock 2-3 times and have done at least a 90% waterchange over the last 2 weeks and a 15% change of water from our good reef over to the 29 last night. along with cleaning the top layer of sand. i also have an aquaclear running phosphate removers and sponges to get any floating detritus. anyone have any ideas? im taking out all of the macro algae today or tomorow and will see what happens. ive about had it. by now i was hoping to have been starting corals etc... if i cant solve this soon, im getting rid of the whole refugium/skimmer, and throwing on an overflow box and a sump and a real good skimmer, and maybe just put a dwarf zebra lionfish or a mantis shrimp just to make things simple.

 

[unclejed2]

alright i have no idea how to load pictures. i have them on my computer but yeah... ok so ive had my 29 gallon tank up and running for about 6 months, and ive had enough of it. filtration is a cpr hob refugium and skimmer. 4 inch sand bed plenty of live rock. etc i have a 75 gallon reef that is completely flawless with no issues. both tanks are from the same water source and have the same water params. alk is fine, phosphates are low etc...anyway the algae is brown. its NOT dinoflagellates. (i dealt with them for the first 4 months of this tank and FInally was able to get rid of them). this algae is like a brown type of hair algae, like little brown plants growing on the rocks. and also at places it is stringy and even looks like a spiderweb on the rocks. it wont go away. i recently took out and cleaned and scrubbed each individual rock 2-3 times and have done at least a 90% waterchange over the last 2 weeks and a 15% change of water from our good reef over to the 29 last night. along with cleaning the top layer of sand. i also have an aquaclear running phosphate removers and sponges to get any floating detritus. anyone have any ideas? im taking out all of the macro algae today or tomorow and will see what happens. ive about had it. by now i was hoping to have been starting corals etc... if i cant solve this soon, im getting rid of the whole refugium/skimmer, and throwing on an overflow box and a sump and a real good skimmer, and maybe just put a dwarf zebra lionfish or a mantis shrimp just to make things simple.

Is there another source of light by that tank i.e direct/indirect sunlight? The full cycle can take up to 8 mos. so you are getting there. Are the lights old? What type of lighting is it? The excessive water changes (contrary to popular belief) is making things worse. The tank need to "season" without a lot of disruption to the bacteria and releasing of nutrients from messing with the sand bed. If you could answer the above it will help. About the pics, download to Photobucket or the such and then download here using the "mountain" icon.

 

[Cahooligan]

brand new t5 4 bulb lights about 6 months old. It only gets worse without water changes. I really have let the tank "season" I just started really trying 2 weeks ago. No indirect sunlight. Maybe some room light at times, but still, my 75 reef is right next to a window in the most active part of my house with the same lighting fixture with no algae issues.

 

[unclejed2]

brand new t5 4 bulb lights about 6 months old. It only gets worse without water changes. I really have let the tank "season" I just started really trying 2 weeks ago. No indirect sunlight. Maybe some room light at times, but still, my 75 reef is right next to a window in the most active part of my house with the same lighting fixture with no algae issues.

O.k. Let us know if it looks like this;

 

[Cahooligan]

Some of it looks like that(pretty accurate actually), and there's darker brown strings in other places.

 

[unclejed2]

Some of it looks like that(pretty accurate actually), and there's darker brown strings in other places.

Yes, that is what I thought. It is a Turf algae and almost nothing eats it. It will run it's course. I, on the recommendation of my LFS buddy, added a few Blue and Orange Tuxedo Urchins. They have the teeth to scrape the encrusted lagae. They do a good job, I would try them. "Fuzzy" chitons are also supposed to eat even the toughest algae.

 

[Cahooligan]

Ok thank you

 

[unclejed2]

Ok thank you

My pleasure.