Is this normal? Brown algee...

Tw1 · Mar 4, 2018

I’ve had this brown algee issue for a few weeks now, it doesn’t seem to be subsiding and has taken to the rocks.

My tank is currently fishless and they are in Ich hospital, I’ve got 2 soft corals. 1 is great. The one pictured is struggling. I’m not sure if this is because I had a temperature spike up to 29oC or I knocked it a few time getting fish out or my old light was way too bright. I used a turkey blaster to clear the brown algee that had grown on it off this morning.

Should I leave it? At risk of it taking on my corals more.

Should I brush it off the rocks and hope it goes down the drain and hope it gets taken care of in the sump?

Should I syphon it off the sand?

I installed a Maxspect Razor which is programmable so I’m hoping the consistency of the lighting and being less intense.

I had 2 3000 l/h power heads but am currently down to 1 as the other is in the QT tank. I’ve got an Icecap Gyre 3k arriving this week. Display is 260L and sump is 75L.

Any help would be appreciated.

Ludders · Mar 4, 2018

I wouldn't say normal. How old is your tank and where do you get your water change water from?

SDReefer · Mar 4, 2018

Those are diatoms. They are part of the normal cycling process. Are you using RODI water? If so, it is caused by silicates in the water, and will eventually go away.

ndrwater · Mar 4, 2018

Your tanks looks super new. This is what is called "The new tank uglies"
Usually, things take care of themselves in time, but don't be surprised if this only the beginning.
Diatoms, which is what that is, are the 1st to appear. Doing a water change using high quality source water like RODI will help things get under control.
You can also stir up the sand, and or brush off the rocks.
Just know that this a 100% nomal part if a new tank.
Don't go crazy adding corals yet, have some patience, develop good maintenance habits now, and success will follow.

Tw1 · Mar 4, 2018

So it’s been up close to 8 weeks now I think.

I was getting RO and salty water from LFS.
I have now Installed an RODI at home and now use all of my water with a 0TDS and use Red Sea Coral Pro Salt.

I feel when I was getting the RO unit running I did a top up with some 15/30 TDS and the algee boom followed....

Should I be doing more frequeant water changes? I’ve got an auto top up for my RODI that’s at 0TDS.

Do you think that corals dead?

ndrwater · Mar 4, 2018

At 8 weeks, you are definitely still "new". I would check the parameters of the basic 3. Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate.
An educated guess would say that Ammonia and Nitrite are probably zero or close, but Nitrate will be up there. I personally would do a decent sized water change. Say..30-40% using zero tds RODI water. Just be careful. Check your Alk. RSCP mixes up pretty high ALK.
No, I don't think the green star polyps are dead, just unhappy. That stuff is tough to kill, and can become invasive. Probably best to keep it on it's own island so it doesn't overgrow everything

ndrwater · Mar 4, 2018

That said, a 10% change weekly, or 20% bi-weekly would be a good habit to get into.
Stability is key. Maintaining Nitrate in the 5-10 ppm range is good. Make sure your phosphate isn't off the charts as well. With 5-10 ppm nitrate, .03-.05 phosphate is a decent ratio. Much higher than that and nuisance algae can become a problem.

Tw1 · Mar 4, 2018

Just did some test and got
Amonia- 0
Nitrite - 0
PH - 8.1
KH -12
Nitrate- 10/15

We’ve just brushed the rocks so let’s see how it goes.

ndrwater · Mar 4, 2018

Your ALK is about where I would expect for RSCP. Some would say a bit high, but some would be happy with that number. As I said before, stability is key.
Just know that whenever you get new corals, most likely wherever you get them, the source water ALK probably won be that high and would require a long and slow acclimation.