Stringy Brown Algae

[Baxta]

Hi there

I’m a relative newbie to reef tanks, although I have had a fish only tank before. I have a problem and I'm hoping you can offer advice!.

In the last few weeks, a brown, hairy algae that looks like long strings has formed in the tank. It's smothering everything and the corals aren't looking good because of it. It covers the rock and corals, plus the glass. I brush it off but can't get rid of it all and it comes back thick and fast

The tank is about 7 months old, 735 litres, has a sump and a protein skimmer.

The Heylides are on 8 hrs a day and blue lights about an hour earlier and 1.5 hrs after. I’ve heard about turning he lights off but won’t that kill the corals?

Nitrates and Nitrites negligible, usually zero or hardly detectable. Calcium maintained at about 440, kH (alkalinity) at about = 8, ammonia between zero and 0.6 tops, Salinity 0.24, Magnesium around 1200 to 1280, pH 8.3, Phosphates = 0, Temp 25

In the tank I have built up over the last few months:

3 clowns

1 bi coloured Blennie

1 Purple tang

1 Blue tang

1 Yellow tang

1 Lieutenant tang

2 Golden headed Gobbies

1 Pixie Hawkfish

1 Royal Dotty

1 Foxface

1 Flame Angel

1 Harlequin tusk

These fish are all small except the lieutenant tang.

I have a dozen or so frags (mostly polyps) and 2 anenomes.

I feed them about a teaspoon of flakes in the morning and about 1-2 tsp in the evening of chopped fresh mussel or frozen marine foods.

Any ideas?

Cheers

Vicki

[LYNDYLOO]

You maybe better posting this on NZMAS

Be good also, if you could pop your Location into you profile, you can do this by going to the User Control Panel on the Top Right Hand corner of the screen.

[suphew]

Hi Vicki.

Try reducing your fresh food for a while and running some phosphate remover. But it's not unusual for a newly setup tank to go through a period of brown hair algae, your tank is a little late doing it but it's not that abnormal.

Also what sort of skimmer do you have, what do you use for top up water, how often/much do you change water, what wattage and kelvin are the Mh lights.

BTW turning the lights off wont really help, at most it might give you a very temporary respite but when you turn them back on iut will come back worse.

[Baxta]

Thanks suphew

I'll try cutting down the fresh food. i

I have a double pump Deltec protein skimmer.

R.O. water for top ups.

Changed my water about 2 weeks ago. (20%)

2 x 250watt Heylides plus T5s

Cheers

Vick

Hi Vicki.

Try reducing your fresh food for a while and running some phosphate remover. But it's not unusual for a newly setup tank to go through a period of brown hair algae, your tank is a little late doing it but it's not that abnormal.

Also what sort of skimmer do you have, what do you use for top up water, how often/much do you change water, what wattage and kelvin are the Mh lights.

BTW turning the lights off wont really help, at most it might give you a very temporary respite but when you turn them back on iut will come back worse.

[suphew]

Sounds like you have a pretty decent setup. I would just wait it out you seem to have the bases covered.

You should also add your location into your profile.

[livingart]

+1 to what suphew has said

are your RO filters still doing the job on your top up water

[Baxta]

I did think they were but on closer inspection, you could be right. They look a bit spent. Cheers

[Sally J]

Vicky's set up is a dream!!!! Hang in there....

[Baxta]

After turning the lights off for 48 hrs and adding a UV light filter my brown algae problem has gone!. Turning the lights off didn't affect my corals, they just closed for 2 days. The algae was there a bit after the lights came on but then I installed the UV and it went immediately. Thank you to all who offered advice.