What Algae is this and how do I eliminate it?

[NanoLuke]

Hi! This is my first post here and I am fairly new to the hobby with less than a year of experience. For the last couple of months now, I have been struggling with this strange brown looking algae that I think might be dinos. It starts to come back like this basically every day and gets hairy if I let it grow long enough. I have small bits of it everywhere on my shells and sand bed as pictured below. Any idea what it is and how to eliminate it? My tank is a 20 Gallon Tall and I use one AI Prime 16 HD with the BRS recommended setting at full intensity (with a bit less white). I have the light mounted 12" above the water and it has to cover 24" so that is why the settings are turned up to max in this. I followed the advice from the BRS Will it Win the Best Light of the Year video. At around the 20 minute part of the video, Randy shows the settings for a 24" by 24" 60 cube and these are the settings I am using with a similar mounting height (12" instead of 13"). I know my tank is quite a bit smaller, but since I have no way of renting a par meter this was the closest thing I could find since my tank is 24" by 12". I am worried it is too bright though as it is the full intensity for BRS recommended settings. Thoughts?

 

[attiland]

It could be diatoms/ Dinos/algue. Based on new tank usually turns out to be diatoms but visually hard to tell. Get a microscope and than you can be sure. Microscope will come handy. Don’t start to treat without being 100% sure or it will be experimental only and you can do more harm than good.

 

[SteveMM62Reef]

If it’s a new tank, it’s part of the Cycling. Other than increasing your skimmer output, and changing/cleaning your filter media, more often, I’d leave it alone, and let the tank do it‘s thing. BTW, I never put Snails in a tank, till it’s three to six months old. Just seems cruel to starve them.

 

[NanoLuke]

Thanks guys, I appreciate the help. I will see about a microscope and keep looking. Regarding the shells, I actually have two hermit crabs right now that I have had for about 4 months. So far I have had success with them, but I do worry about food sometimes.

 

[attiland]

Thanks guys, I appreciate the help. I will see about a microscope and keep looking. Regarding the shells, I actually have two hermit crabs right now that I have had for about 4 months. So far I have had success with them, but I do worry about food sometimes.

Nobody really do this but you can feed them with seaweed spinach, carrots and romaine lettuce. If you put very little amount in their usual path they will find it. As green algae start to populate on the rocks they will be fine.
most of them are very particular what they eat so it is a hard one.