Help with brown algae.

Aschwartz

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I've read and researched this so much I'm dizzy. I have this brown algae and don't know what it is....Dino maybe. Tank is only a few months old. I had this before and it lasted a week or two then disappeared and tank looked great. Now it's back and worse this time. Can anyone tell me what it is? Should I let it go and wait for it to go away? Is it anything to be concerned about? Tank is a 180 gallon. I've been doing a 3.5 gallon AWC daily with the DOS pump. All of my corals and fish look great. Just have this brown algae and hazy looking water. Here's what I have:
Reef Octo skimmer that works perfectly.
Two levels of filter floss inthe sump..one with a 100 micron polishing pad under it. Change those daily.
Refugium with Chaeto that grows like crazy.
(2) 4K gyres that make a lot of flow.
1.022 SG
Amonia -0-
Nitrates -0-
Nitrites -0-
Calcium 380
Magnesium 1110 (I've been dosing with Reef Fusion 1 & 2 for a couple weeks but Calc and Mag aren't budging.)
Alkalinity 10
PH 8.0 to 8.1 consistently
ORP 390
Temp 77 to 79
Don't have a phosphate test kit and ordered one.
Sorry for the long post. Thanks in advance.

20210511_180256.jpg 20210511_180224.jpg 20210511_180200.jpg
 
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T-J

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Are you running carbon? If not, that can also help with the hazy water.
I'd get some nitrates in that tank. When you get your phosphate test, make sure to post the results.
If your chaeto is grown really well, it might be sucking up all the nutrients too fast. Are you running a grow light on the chaeto? If so, run it just at night and see if that helps. Perhaps stop with the AWC and don't do a WC for a bit to see if that helps get your nutrients up a bit.
 

PeterC99

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Three things got rid of my algae:

1) Strong UV light
2) Started an Oxydator (look for threads on this site)
3) Phytoplankton every other day

Before and after pics (also have since increased the light intensity by 5% on my Radions)

Before 2021 04 28.jpg




After 2021 04 28.jpg
 
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Aschwartz

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Are you running carbon? If not, that can also help with the hazy water.
I'd get some nitrates in that tank. When you get your phosphate test, make sure to post the results.
If your chaeto is grown really well, it might be sucking up all the nutrients too fast. Are you running a grow light on the chaeto? If so, run it just at night and see if that helps. Perhaps stop with the AWC and don't do a WC for a bit to see if that helps get your nutrients up a bit.
No carbon. The hazy water seems to have come along with the algae outbreak. I have the grow light on the Chaeto 24/7.
 
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Aschwartz

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Three things got rid of my algae:

1) Strong UV light
2) Started an Oxydator (look for threads on this site)
3) Phytoplankton every other day

Before and after pics (also have since increased the light intensity by 5% on my Radions)

Before 2021 04 28.jpg


What brand UV? Thought about getting one but have heard some nightmare stories about bulbs failing and shorting out and wiping out the tank.

After 2021 04 28.jpg
 

T-J

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No carbon. The hazy water seems to have come along with the algae outbreak. I have the grow light on the Chaeto 24/7.
Carbon can help with haze. A UV sterilizer can also help with some types of algae/bacteria. I'd also switch the fuge light to run opposite of your tank lights.
 

kalel454

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I've read and researched this so much I'm dizzy. I have this brown algae and don't know what it is....Dino maybe. Tank is only a few months old. I had this before and it lasted a week or two then disappeared and tank looked great. Now it's back and worse this time. Can anyone tell me what it is? Should I let it go and wait for it to go away? Is it anything to be concerned about? Tank is a 180 gallon. I've been doing a 3.5 gallon AWC daily with the DOS pump. All of my corals and fish look great. Just have this brown algae and hazy looking water. Here's what I have:
Reef Octo skimmer that works perfectly.
Two levels of filter floss inthe sump..one with a 100 micron polishing pad under it. Change those daily.
Refugium with Chaeto that grows like crazy.
(2) 4K gyres that make a lot of flow.
1.022 SG
Amonia -0-
Nitrates -0-
Nitrites -0-
Calcium 380
Magnesium 1110 (I've been dosing with Reef Fusion 1 & 2 for a couple weeks but Calc and Mag aren't budging.)
Alkalinity 10
PH 8.0 to 8.1 consistently
ORP 390
Temp 77 to 79
Don't have a phosphate test kit and ordered one.
Sorry for the long post. Thanks in advance.

20210511_180256.jpg 20210511_180224.jpg 20210511_180200.jpg
dose with vodka look it up.no need to buy costly products that dont work or sometimes feeds the issue.
 

kalel454

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Three things got rid of my algae:

1) Strong UV light
2) Started an Oxydator (look for threads on this site)
3) Phytoplankton every other day

Before and after pics (also have since increased the light intensity by 5% on my Radions)

Before 2021 04 28.jpg




After 2021 04 28.jpg
nice wish my stuff looked that good.
 
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Aschwartz

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Are you running carbon? If not, that can also help with the hazy water.
I'd get some nitrates in that tank. When you get your phosphate test, make sure to post the results.
If your chaeto is grown really well, it might be sucking up all the nutrients too fast. Are you running a grow light on the chaeto? If so, run it just at night and see if that helps. Perhaps stop with the AWC and don't do a WC for a bit to see if that helps get your nutrients up a bit.
Got a Hanna phosphate tester and has tested zero tow days in a row. Nitrates are still at zero. Don't really know what the algae is, so hard to know how to fight it. I'm still thinking diatoms but it's lingering a little longer than diatoms should. It's not slimey or snotty. No bubbles in it. My Sailfin and Coral Beauty eat it, but not when it gets hairy. I've scrubbed it off the rocks a couple times but it's back in a few days. ‍♂️ Any ideas?
 

PeterC99

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Got a Hanna phosphate tester and has tested zero tow days in a row. Nitrates are still at zero. Don't really know what the algae is, so hard to know how to fight it. I'm still thinking diatoms but it's lingering a little longer than diatoms should. It's not slimey or snotty. No bubbles in it. My Sailfin and Coral Beauty eat it, but not when it gets hairy. I've scrubbed it off the rocks a couple times but it's back in a few days. ‍♂️ Any ideas?
Over feed your fish to get PO4 above zero!
 

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