Need help identifying...

[wil8011]

I appreciate you guys taking a look. Wish I had better pics or a microscope to help identify. Whatever this is it keeps hanging around. Mainly on the back wall (poly), wave maker, and the return nozzles. But it has been attaching/growing on my Stylos, Birdsnest and other hard corals. Causing the polyps to retract and seems to be inhibiting health.

Tank parameter: PH- 8.0, Alk- 9.4, Ca- 430, Mg- 1300, NH³/NH⁴- 0, NO²- 0, NO³- 10, PO⁴- .08, Salt- 35, ORP- 327, Temp 78

I scrape and scrub with weekly water changes. Tank has been maturing good and maintaining stability. It's a 28g and about 8 months old.

This appears to be dark brown in color and moves like algae. What do guys see and how do I combat it?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Very hard to see true color under heavy blue lighting in picture but may be cyano

 

[wil8011]

Very hard to see true color under heavy blue lighting in picture but may be cyano

Under the whites it's still hard, but seems to be more brown. This is my first hiccup being a new reefer.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Under the whites it's still hard, but seems to be more brown. This is my first hiccup being a new reefer.

Does it blow away with a turkey baster?

 

[wil8011]

Does it blow away with a turkey baster?

Yeah and wipes off really easy. But comes back over several days.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Brown likely diatoms and

Yeah and wipes off really easy. But comes back over several days.

normally occurs within a newer tank and fed by silicates from sand or water source.
Can also occur in a mature tank especially when RO filters are in need of a change