Algae issue. Advice/criticism appreciated on my process. Trying to learn.

[bhudson]

Hello from Delaware, Reef2Reef.

As you can see from the attached photos I believe I'm in a fight with Diatoms.

I added water to this 26 gallon Red Sea Peninsula on Oct. 10th. Was confidently cycled and began to add fish on Nov. 11th.

Currently have 3 small torches, 2 clowns, 1 cardinal, and 2 orchid dottybacks in the mix.

I'm using Instant Ocean Reef Salt.

Tested yesterday morning and I have

77 deg F temp

1.025 Salinity

Ammonia and Nitrite are zero. API.

Nitrate 0 ( seemingly always which may be a problem? ) Using the API kit. ( I know I need to upgrade to a better test and will soon. )

Phosphate 0 . Using the Salifert kit. This is always 0 also. I've tested several times , follow the instructions perfectly, have watched videos to make sure I'm doing it properly, and it's always 0. I'm wondering if this is a problem, as I've seen in a few places that a healthy tank should have some amount of Phosphate in it? ? Is this correct? Is zero an issue?

Calcium 500. Salifert.
Magnesium 1425. Salifert.
Alkalinity dKH 8.3 Hannah
pH 7.9 very steady almost no fluctuation in this number

I don't have carbon in my aquarium. I'm still researching things and I'm not sure if I should be using carbon at this time.

I have the skimmer running and it is disgusting what comes out of that. haha

I do have a head for extra flow, it is in the tank the large majority of the time increasing flow across the lower part of the tank.

I am feeding Hikari Marine S pellets and frozen Omega One Mysis shrimp that come in the blister packs. Basically rotating these foods every other day and not overfeeding. I try hard not to have extra food settle in the tank.

If these are Dinos, which I'm guessing they are, I'm wondering if I'm feeding them silicates from water changes. Up until the last couple weeks, I'd been doing 5 gallon water changes weekly hoping it would help. But it seems when I do a water change it just feeds the situation making it worse. I'm guessing my ATO is also feeding this situation. I can scrape the walls and they're coated again in 3 days.

What silicate testing kits do you guys recommend and would it be worth looking into? I'm using a BRS Rodi system. https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/75gpd-4-stage-value-ro-di-system-bulk-reef-supply.html

Below is a video link of me scraping this stuff off the glass, if that helps with I.D. of the issue. But I'm guessing it's Dinos.


Any advice on what I'm doing or how to help my battle with the Diatoms is appreciated.

I'll be adding some more beneficial bacteria later today, I've heard that can help in the fight.

Attached is also my lighting schedule. I've cut the white light down to 15 percent. If any suggestions on my lighting schedule I'd appreciate it. Keep in mind I have 3 small torches.

Thanks to everyone for reading/ assisting.

-Bill

 

[blaxsun]

1. Get a better nitrate test kit (Salifert, etc.). Make it a priority.
2. If you're feeding more than 1/4 cube (in total) daily - you're overfeeding. I have 47 medium to large fish that share 3-4 cubes twice a day
3. It's not dinos - it's just algae growth (at least from what I can see). You need some more trochus snails to tackle the glass in addition to cutting back on your feeding. You may also benefit from a small orange conch or two for the substrate. All of us routinely scrape our glass every few days - it's just one of those things you need to keep on top of.
4. You will probably also benefit from more circulation with a dedicated powerhead for flow. Something like a Sicce Nano Voyager or equivalent Tunze would work fine.