Brown diatom algae

[robk]

Hello everybody. I recentley started a 55 gallon saltwater tank. (By recentley, I mean within the past week!http://www.cmas-md.org/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif. I bought 45 pounds of Tonga Live Rock (cured) for it, as well as 20 pounds of Aragonite Live Sand and 20 pounds of ???regular sand???. The tank has been doing fine, however, on about the 6th day after being set up, this brown diatom algae began to coat the top layer of the live sand, as well as the tank walls and live rock. In addition, there are thousands of tiny bubbles all over the algae, and my beautiful purple and pink coralline algae is begginning to turn white and recede. I have been measuring Nitrites, Nitrates, and Ammonia for the past couple of days, and they have all been 0. My ph is 8.4, and my calcium level is 450. I use Kent Marine Liquid Calcium, Strontium, Iodine, and Coral-Vite, a protein skimmer, 2 powerheads, PC Lighting, Heater (78 degrees), and a canister filter. I was not going to add any livestock until about the third week, but when this algae started, I bought 2 brittle stars and 10 Astrea Snails to combat it. In addition, I bought Kent Marine Phosphate Sponge which I change every 15 hours, in hopes of removing the silicates and phosphates from the water. I know that this is normal for a freshly started aquarium, but it is starting to take over the tank! I am especcialy worried about the fan worms and coralline algae, which do not seem to be doing so well with this brown stuff. Does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks again! -Rob

[mhossom]

Rob,

I had the same problem when I first started my tank up. It lasted for about two weeks and just dissapeared. What you are describing sounds more liked a cyanobacteria bloom.

If you have nothing in the tank that requires light (except your coraline), you could cut back on the phot period. Since cyano is photosynthetic, this could help work the problem out.

Or just hang in there. You will probably see other algal blooms before this tan k settles down.

Mike

[geofloors]

If it is indeed brown and looks like snotty algae that traps bubbles then it's probably dinoflagellates. It will go away in a short time as Mike mentioned. I would siphon off as much as possible.


George

[dgasmd]

I have gone through this twice. First in my 125 and then in my 360. They are a product of too much nutrients in the water. In my 125 it lasted about 5 weeks. I spent an hour daily blowing it off the rock, coral, and sand daily with a turkey baster!! Huge pain in the a......s http://www.cmas-md.org/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mad.gif In time, it did go away by itself. Same with the new tank.
Cut the lighting to 4 hours per day if that much. If you are now curing the rock, then it should be no big deal. Also, as George said, you could syphon some of it out. Get the skimmer to work efficiently. If you have not set up a refugium, this is a good time to do it to soak up some of those nasties the rock is releasing as it is curing. Some people do a small water change when curing the rock too to export some of the stuff. Also, if you could add another pair of powerheads it would be great. The more circulation the better even during curing.
Your levels may be 0, but the fact that you have the algae bloom is a sign that things are not stable yet. I would hold off adding anything else live for now.
As far as your sand, you could add more slowly to a total of 4" in depth. Get some southdown sand from home depot. It is only $3.70 for 50 Lb.
By the way, what kind of water are you using for the tank? If you are using tap water, be ready for a never ending problem with this stuff. You should definately use RO/DI water. I know some people around here use tap water, but you ahve no idea the amount of crap that is on tap water.
This hobby could be quite painful, but if you start right and go a little further it will save you a tremendous amount of headaches and money.
Good luck and keep us posted.

[dgasmd]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">I use Kent Marine Liquid Calcium, Strontium, Iodine, and Coral-Vite[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>

By the way, there is no need for any of these things even later when you do get corals in it, except for the calcium.

As far as the coraline algae, don't worry about it. It will flourish in time.

What kind of lighitng do you have???

[robk]

I use power compact lighting with one full spectrum bulb and one actinic bulb. All in all there are four bulbs. I also do not have RO/DI water, but i will now get one. Thanks!

[AquariaUSA]

Hiya Rob!
Welcome to reef-keeping!
How long is the photoperiod of your lighting, and what is it comprised of?

As for the additives other than the calcium chloride, as suggested you should avoid using until you have a good amount of corals in the system.

You mentioned you added snails and stars, but it might be best to make the next addition at least a half dozen small hermits, for they will pick through (not necessarily eat) the brown growths you mention. Cyano can grow with low lighting, diatoms are normal during cycle phase, etc.

What water supply are you on? Municipal or well? RO/DI can help, but not entirely necessary, and can be fairly expensive when replacing resins and composites over time. With the exception of a few, most retailers do not use RO/DI in their "show" tanks, but they are ready to sell you that $150-$300 RO/DI system. I have a Kent Maxxima 50GPD that I rarely use anymore that needs media replacing, so I may look to sell if you are interested.

In the beginning, try to spend more time reading books by well-known authors, magazines, and surfing the net versus testing and swapping phosphate resins. The suggestion for saving for a refugium is an excellent one, and probably should be your next step if possible.

Patience is hard to have when you first start out, but it will save you lots of cash, and help you get off on the right fin. Happy coralkeeping!

[robk]

Thanks everybody for the advice! After adding 10 more snails and 10 blue legged hermits, changing my phosphate sponge, optimizing my protein skimmer, cutting down on the time my lights are on, as well as doing a partial water change and siphoning (phew!http://www.cmas-md.org/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif, my algae has dissapeared. In the near future, I plan on buying that refugium as well as a RO/DI unit. Thank you all for all of your help -Rob

[Aquariareview]

If you add a bunch of macro in a sump, all algae will go away. I have been doing the mud and macro-algae method for years. and algae seldom happens.
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