Help with Algae Issue Please

Mike from Penna · Dec 9, 2022

Hello Reefers,

I’m sure this is the millionth post asking about possible diatom issues but I’m at my wits end and was hopeful someone can point me in the right direction to help correct the issue.
I’m new to reef tanks and I’m seeking some experienced inputs. Any help would be appreciated.
I’ve listed the information below I thought would be helpful to determine the root cause.
Issues:

What appears as heavy diatoms on sand. Diatoms on sand started around April 2022. (See Attached Photo)
1. After my typical 15 gallon water change the next day shows signs of brown on sand.
2. The 2nd day after 15 gallon water change shows is significant brown on the sand. (See Attached Photo)
Some (not all) rocks appear to have brown hair algae on them.
Some (not all) of the snails have brown hair algae on them. (See Attached Photo)
Some frag plugs have brown hair algae on them.

Tank Information:
Tank Cycled: 12/18/21
Tank Size: 75 gallons (4’ long)
Salt: Red Sea Blue bucket.
RODI Water:
TDS = 0
Silicate of RODI water measures 0.
Water Changes:

Generally change 15 gallons once every week since diatom outbreak.
Prior to outbreak would change 15 gallons every 2 weeks.

Tank Equipment:

20 gallon sump with some bio-balls & heater
Bubble Magus NAC6 Skimmer
Apex EL base unit, Apex Trident Monitoring Device, Apex DOS dosing pump, & Apex 832 energy bar

Powerheads:

2 Jebao SLW-20 on Else/Random modes.
- At one point had 2 Jebao SLW-30’s installed but flow seemed too strong as torches didn’t want to fully open.

Lighting:
Lights mounted 12” off the top of the water:

3 - Kessil A360
Aquatic Life 48” G3 T5HO Hybrid T5 fixture (added T5’s 11/2022. Diatoms present before adding T5’s):
- ATI Bulbs: 2: Blue Plus, 1: Coral Plus, 1: True Actinic
Average PAR on sand with BOTH T5 & Kessil’s on during 1:00pm-5:00pm light schedule below= PAR 165

Light Schedule:

Time	Color	Intensity
10:00	0	10
11:30	20	30	T5
1:00	42	10	ON
4:00	40	10	ON
5:00	40	10	ON
7:00	35	30
9:00	25	15
11:00	0	0

Parameters (All taken from the Apex Trident other than Salt, Phosphate, & Nitrate):

PH: 7.95
Alkalinity: 8.30
Calcium: 407
Magnesium: 1244
Phosphate: 0.23 (Hanna)
Nitrate: ~ 8 (Hanna showed over 5 therefore had to use the NYOS Test Kit)
Salt: 35

Additives:
15ml Soda Ash via DOS. (Diatoms present before starting to use Soda ash)

Livestock:

Cleaning Crew: Estimated 15-20 various snails & 1 tiger conch
Fish: 2 Clownfish, Lawnmower Blenny, Yellow Coris Wrasse, Purple tang, Banggai Cardinal, Bluestreak Cleaner Wrasse, Court Jester Goby (Rainfordi)
Corals: Mostly LPS a few softies.
- Feed corals every 2-3 days with a mixture of Reef Roids & Benepets.
Fish Food: LRS Fish frenzy, Hikari Seaweed Extreme, TDO Chroma Boost, Omega One Marine Flakes

Additional photos can be supplied if required.

Thanks in advance, Mike

blaxsun · Dec 9, 2022

At a (really) quick glance it looks like both diatoms and green hair algae. The first thing I'd ask are what are your water parameters, what if anything other than alkalinity/calcium/magnesium you dose, what you feed and the breakdown of your entire cleanup crew (type and quantity).

sixty_reefer · Dec 9, 2022

It shouldn’t be to difficult to sort this out, seeing that this is caused by ammonia, you just need to redirect the ammonia from the diatoms back to the beneficial bacteria by stimulating their growth.

Mike from Penna · Dec 10, 2022

blaxsun said:
At a (really) quick glance it looks like both diatoms and green hair algae. The first thing I'd ask are what are your water parameters, what if anything other than alkalinity/calcium/magnesium you dose, what you feed and the breakdown of your entire cleanup crew (type and quantity).

I believe most of the items you requested are in verbiage portion of my post. Thanks.

Mike from Penna · Dec 10, 2022

sixty_reefer said:
It shouldn’t be to difficult to sort this out, seeing that this is caused by ammonia, you just need to redirect the ammonia from the diatoms back to the beneficial bacteria by stimulating their growth.

Is there a preferred method of doing this?

TokenReefer · Dec 10, 2022

I wonder if simply having your powerheads aimed only toward the surface are affecting flow in the lower half of the tank, contributing to some of this.

sixty_reefer · Dec 10, 2022

Mike from Penna said:
Is there a preferred method of doing this?

You could look at dosing dissolve organic carbon, there is a good thread on here that has a diy recipe for it using vinegar, vodka and brown sugar, redirecting ammonia to bacteria, Refugium is also a possibility.

blaxsun · Dec 10, 2022

I didn't see any mention of a UV (unless I missed that), so this is a great long-term investment in keeping algae growth in-check.

I have about 120+ inverts in my 160-gallon tank, so you can use that as a comparison (you may benefit from more of the "sand" variety of inverts).

It could be due to a combination of things, but as was suggested flow (or lack thereof) could be a mitigating factor).

Mike from Penna · Dec 11, 2022

TokenReefer said:
I wonder if simply having your powerheads aimed only toward the surface are affecting flow in the lower half of the tank, contributing to some of this.

Good suggestion. I have repositioned the powerheads lower and no longer angled upward. Thanks!

BetterJake · Dec 11, 2022

Are you sure those are diatoms and not dinos? I would put some of that under a microscope to check

Mike from Penna · Dec 11, 2022

sixty_reefer said:
You could look at dosing dissolve organic carbon, there is a good thread on here that has a diy recipe for it using vinegar, vodka and brown sugar, redirecting ammonia to bacteria, Refugium is also a possib'

sixty_reefer said:
You could look at dosing dissolve organic carbon, there is a good thread on here that has a diy recipe for it using vinegar, vodka and brown sugar, redirecting ammonia to bacteria, Refugium is also a possibility.

Thanks, I'll check out that post as I don't have room in my sump for a refugium. I do have a algae scrubber which I'm not currently using I might try as well.

Mike from Penna · Dec 11, 2022

blaxsun said:
I didn't see any mention of a UV (unless I missed that), so this is a great long-term investment in keeping algae growth in-check.

I have about 120+ inverts in my 160-gallon tank, so you can use that as a comparison (you may benefit from more of the "sand" variety of inverts).

It could be due to a combination of things, but as was suggested flow (or lack thereof) could be a mitigating factor).

I don't currently have a UV but I would be willing to make the investment if it solved the issue. Being new I looked in to UV but noticed there was as many pros vs cons. I guess that's just part of the reefing game.....

Your also right I should up my cleaning crew numbers. Thanks.

BetterJake · Dec 11, 2022

Mike from Penna said:
I don't currently have a UV but I would be willing to make the investment if it solved the issue. Being new I looked in to UV but noticed there was as many pros vs cons. I guess that's just part of the reefing game.....

Your also right I should up my cleaning crew numbers. Thanks.

The absolute first step here is getting a positive ID on what you are dealing with, before you start dosing or changing up anything.

First to check if these are actually diatoms or potentially dinos or something else entirely.

Mike from Penna · Dec 11, 2022

BetterJake said:
Are you sure those are diatoms and not dinos? I would put some of that under a microscope to check

I'm not sure at all. I'll have to research how to determine the differnce under a scope. Thank you.

BetterJake · Dec 11, 2022

Mike from Penna said:
I'm not sure at all. I'll have to research how to determine the differnce under a scope. Thank you.

Try to get some pictures under a scope, people here are usually pretty quick to help you identify.

bushdoc · Dec 11, 2022

Mike from Penna said:
Hello Reefers,

I’m sure this is the millionth post asking about possible diatom issues but I’m at my wits end and was hopeful someone can point me in the right direction to help correct the issue.
I’m new to reef tanks and I’m seeking some experienced inputs. Any help would be appreciated.
I’ve listed the information below I thought would be helpful to determine the root cause.
Issues:

What appears as heavy diatoms on sand. Diatoms on sand started around April 2022. (See Attached Photo)

After my typical 15 gallon water change the next day shows signs of brown on sand.

The 2nd day after 15 gallon water change shows is significant brown on the sand. (See Attached Photo)

Some (not all) rocks appear to have brown hair algae on them.

Some (not all) of the snails have brown hair algae on them. (See Attached Photo)

Some frag plugs have brown hair algae on them.

Tank Information:
Tank Cycled: 12/18/21
Tank Size: 75 gallons (4’ long)
Salt: Red Sea Blue bucket.
RODI Water:
TDS = 0
Silicate of RODI water measures 0.
Water Changes:

Generally change 15 gallons once every week since diatom outbreak.

Prior to outbreak would change 15 gallons every 2 weeks.

Tank Equipment:

20 gallon sump with some bio-balls & heater

Bubble Magus NAC6 Skimmer

Apex EL base unit, Apex Trident Monitoring Device, Apex DOS dosing pump, & Apex 832 energy bar

Powerheads:

2 Jebao SLW-20 on Else/Random modes.

At one point had 2 Jebao SLW-30’s installed but flow seemed too strong as torches didn’t want to fully open.

Lighting:
Lights mounted 12” off the top of the water:

3 - Kessil A360

Aquatic Life 48” G3 T5HO Hybrid T5 fixture (added T5’s 11/2022. Diatoms present before adding T5’s):

ATI Bulbs: 2: Blue Plus, 1: Coral Plus, 1: True Actinic

Average PAR on sand with BOTH T5 & Kessil’s on during 1:00pm-5:00pm light schedule below= PAR 165

Light Schedule:

Time
Color
Intensity
10:00
0
10
11:30
20
30
T5
1:00
42
10
ON
4:00
40
10
ON
5:00
40
10
ON
7:00
35
30
9:00
25
15
11:00
0
0

Parameters (All taken from the Apex Trident other than Salt, Phosphate, & Nitrate):

PH: 7.95

Alkalinity: 8.30

Calcium: 407

Magnesium: 1244

Phosphate: 0.23 (Hanna)

Nitrate: ~ 8 (Hanna showed over 5 therefore had to use the NYOS Test Kit)

Salt: 35

Additives:
15ml Soda Ash via DOS. (Diatoms present before starting to use Soda ash)

Livestock:

Cleaning Crew: Estimated 15-20 various snails & 1 tiger conch

Fish: 2 Clownfish, Lawnmower Blenny, Yellow Coris Wrasse, Purple tang, Banggai Cardinal, Bluestreak Cleaner Wrasse, Court Jester Goby (Rainfordi)

Corals: Mostly LPS a few softies.

Feed corals every 2-3 days with a mixture of Reef Roids & Benepets.

Fish Food: LRS Fish frenzy, Hikari Seaweed Extreme, TDO Chroma Boost, Omega One Marine Flakes

Additional photos can be supplied if required.

Thanks in advance, Mike

I have noticed that that your "sand" seem to be more like crushed corals, shells or some other gravel, large particle substrate. If so it is a trap for nutrients feeding Diathoms and other algae, your CUC cannot get through it either, I suppose. I am not saying that bare bottom tanks are better ( my favorite), but if you want sand, using something with smaller particle size is preferred.

Mike from Penna · Dec 11, 2022

BetterJake said:
Try to get some pictures under a scope, people here are usually pretty quick to help you identify.

Do you need a high power (like 100x) microscope to get a good view?

Mike from Penna · Dec 11, 2022

bushdoc said:
I have noticed that that your "sand" seem to be more like crushed corals, shells or some other gravel, large particle substrate. If so it is a trap for nutrients feeding Diathoms and other algae, your CUC cannot get through it either, I suppose. I am not saying that bare bottom tanks are better ( my favorite), but if you want sand, using something with smaller particle size is preferred.

The sand is CaribSea Arag Alive Sand.

Mike from Penna · Dec 11, 2022

BetterJake said:
The absolute first step here is getting a positive ID on what you are dealing with, before you start dosing or changing up anything.

First to check if these are actually diatoms or potentially dinos or something else entirely.

I agree. Let me try to get some photos under a scope.