Help with Algae

[Hellothere12]

Any idea what this could be nitrate 10 point of sale I'm not sure but tank has been up for 10 months now and I can't tell if it's dino,cyano or is diatoms coming back. Main problem is on the right side of the tank on the rock work in the close up pic there not bubbles that's sand on the brown algae

 

[sixty_reefer]

What’s your phosphate at the moment.

 

[Drpitch]

Any idea what this could be nitrate 10 point of sale I'm not sure but tank has been up for 10 months now and I can't tell if it's dino,cyano or is diatoms coming back. Main problem is on the right side of the tank on the rock work in the close up pic there not bubbles that's sand on the brown algae

Looks like Dino. Best treatment is water changes. I was told many years ago, "the solution to pollution is dilution." This holds true for Dino, Cyano and other nuisance growths. Also low flow can contribute. Consider adding live phytoplankton or UV sterilizer.

Doug

 

[Reef Jedi]

Slightly hard to tell from pictures. What are your current nitrate and phosphate levels?

 

[fish_collector]

A couple of things you might try, things I have had good luck with,

Your rockwork looks dense and built like a wall, perhaps you could open it up some to let water flow through it and not have dead spaces to trap detritus.

Get in there with a toothbrush and scrub it off while at the same time using a siphon hose to suck out what you are dislodging.

Vacuum the sand more often.

Avoid dosing anything, you don't have enough coral mass to benefit from it.

Regularly use a powerhead or turkey baster to blow off the rocks to keep detritus from building up, you'll need to do this as necessary.

A sand sifting Diamond Goby might help keep the sand white.

Zebra turbos, the really big ones, do a good job keeping things clean.

I haven't found any correlation between nutrient level and algae growth in my own tank. I have crazy high nutrients but I have no nuisance algae.

Good luck.

 

[EnterName]

[...] I can't tell if it's dino,cyano or is diatoms coming back. [...]

I would start by checking your RO/DI water with a well calibrated TDS meter. It should read 0ppm TDS. If it exceeds 0ppm TDS there is a good chance you are introducing silicates with every water change and every time evaporated water is topped off.

If you post a "close up" picture of the back wall, I might be able to identify what is going on there. From what I can see right now it looks like you have green hair algae that might be stained brown by diatoms.

If you post a "close up" picture of the stained substrate, I might be able to tell you if there are dinoflagellates as well. If these brown stains shrink significantly in the evening once the light goes dim, this is a good indicator for dinoflagellates. Bubbles are also a common hint. If the substrate is discolored but not slimy, it's most likely diatoms (there are some dinoflagellates that migrate deeper into the substrate and look similar though).

For 100% certainty I recommend a cheap microscope with at least 200x, but better 400x magnification.