Please tell me this is an easy fix

[saltnewb]

So I've been super busy with work and family stuff and haven't been able to put a lot of attention to this wonderful hobby as I used to. I now have this reddish brown algae that seems to be taking over my tank and it's to the point that it's starting to cover my GSP and Zoas so they aren't opening as they once did. Hasn't been like this very long but seems to be spreading quicker every day. What do I need? Vibrant? Snails? Vacuum it all out?

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Its an easy fix!


Yea ok now the hard work cuz its not gonna be quick.

What are your parameters?
What lighting?
what are you feeding? and Dosing.
How old is this tank?

 

[LivinTheSwreefLife]

How old is the tank and what are your parameters, specifically phosphates and nitrates?

Edit: oops, didn't refresh page, saltyfilmfolks already said it

 

[saltnewb]

Tank was started in December, livestock at that time, after cycle started, was a blue damsel. Didn't add the 2 clowns until January and 2 Chromis until February. The zoas and gsp were added between January and February. There used to be snails, but the hermit crabs are them all.

Lighting is 4 t-5 bulbs and the fixture sits about 3 1/2 inches above the water with a plastic cover in between the light and the water.

I dose reef accelerator once a week, but think I'm going to stop that for now and I feed the fish one frozen cube of cobalt aquatics shrimp and veggie cubes. I thaw the cube in a separate dish and only put the food in, not the water that has the extra nutrients.

Parameters are nitrates 10ppm, phosphates .25ppm, kh 179, calcium 520.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Tank was started in December, livestock at that time, after cycle started, was a blue damsel. Didn't add the 2 clowns until January and 2 Chromis until February. The zoas and gsp were added between January and February. There used to be snails, but the hermit crabs are them all.

Lighting is 4 t-5 bulbs and the fixture sits about 3 1/2 inches above the water with a plastic cover in between the light and the water.

I dose reef accelerator once a week, but think I'm going to stop that for now and I feed the fish one frozen cube of cobalt aquatics shrimp and veggie cubes. I thaw the cube in a separate dish and only put the food in, not the water that has the extra nutrients.

Parameters are nitrates 10ppm, phosphates .25ppm, kh 179, calcium 520.

What tubes and fixture, where does your PH usually sit?

 

[cracker]

I think I have the same issue. I'm going to follow . Thanks Salt beginner !

 

[prsnlty]

That red algae seems to be making it's rounds. Doesn't look like cyano IMO unless it's a species I haven't had or seen before. Yep it's in my tank also....

 

[prsnlty]

Here's a picture

 

[ReeferMadness80G]

How about your flow?

 

[cracker]

That's the stuff !

 

[saltnewb]

For flow I have 2 power heads, hydor 600 reef that swap every minute. The bulbs are two actinic blue and two white, one gisman (spelling I know) and the other I don't know. Fixture is "custom" because the fixture I had broke so I took it apart and built my own.

 

[saltnewb]

Oh sorry, forgot, last ph test was 7.8.

 

[prsnlty]

Whatever the cause I am pretty sure my system has it for different reasons unless you have 2 dozen or so dying acro colonies. My acros began to stn at their bases 2 weeks ago due to a 6 hour power outage. This stuff showed up about 4 days ago. I am going to attempt chemiclean when it arrives just in case it is a species of cyano and since there isn't any other possible fix that I'm not already doing in my plight to save my acro's.

I suggest to you that you do lots of water changes, fresh gfo and possibly chaeto or add more chaeto. Lots of flow with no dead spots also

 

[prsnlty]

Oh sorry, forgot, last ph test was 7.8.

Is that daytime or night time?

 

[ReeferMadness80G]

Check your pH a couple different times a day, and see if it's fluctuating a lot try and keep it between 8.1-8.3. I would just do a couple of water changes and suck it all out, should just peel off in sheets. Check and make sure your flow is good and that's not a dead spot, make sure you're getting good surface agitation and you're getting your tank some fresh air once in a while. I use a small fan over my tank that circulates the air.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Cyano feeds a number of different ways. Nutrients N/P. Dissolved solids(food n poop), and co2 uptake along with light. A lot of folks get the cyano on the sand and rock because the cyano converting the calcium to co2 basically.
Ph can be tough, Id go with a small amount of kaltwasser in the ato over the supplement you using now. you likely don't have much demand anyway.
Id def look into a spring clean too to get particulates out(canister filter a la PaulB's diatom filter), and a big bottle of bacteria like Mb7, Dr Tims one and only. and yea, get the NandP down to.(but I have had higher numbers and no cyano btw)

New tank stuff, an unestablished biofilter will easily let another agressive organism take over.

yea vibrant may do it for you to. It drops N/P and eats organisms. Dunno. I pers am not fond of the idea of something eating my micro flora and fauna in my nice old live rock.. But its a choice. my .02

 

[saltnewb]

I have cheato and sea lettuce in a HOB refugium and running a nano skimmer as well. The light schedule is opposite DT. pH was taken during the day. I will check pH at different times of the day and start with sucking out the yuck.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

I have cheato and sea lettuce in a HOB refugium and running a nano skimmer as well. The light schedule is opposite DT. pH was taken during the day. I will check pH at different times of the day and start with sucking out the yuck.

see, easy fix.

 

[saltnewb]

Just check pH and it is 8.4. I didn't believe it and so I had my wife check it too and she said 8.4

 

[cracker]

Thanks Salty. The part (if you don't have a good biofilter the algae if all types will take over 0 is so true. I have learned that lesson time & again just to make the same mistake again.