Hi everyone,
First and foremost, here are my tank specs:
Fluval Evo 13.5
AI Prime 16HD running BRS's AB+ schedule at 40%, mounted 9 inches above the water surface, and 20 inches above the sand. It is run at 40% intensity for 6 hours a day with a two hour ramp up and down.
10 lbs of live rock and sand
Over 60x water turnover rate between return pump and powerhead
Refugium (which I removed)
Bio media, filter pad and Chemipure Elite (which I also removed)
Auto top off to keep salinity stable
Heater set at 78
Weekly 3 gallon water change using FRITZ RPM salt and 0 TDS RO water
Stocking:
2 juvenile clownfish
1 firefish
5 hermit crabs
1 emerald crab
1 torches snail
1 nassarius snail
2 euphyllia frags, GSP, Zoas, mushroom and monti, all of which appear to be irritated apart from GSP
Water parameters: (Measured using hanna checkers
1.026 Specific gravity
NO3 - 10 ppm
PO4 - .06 PPM
dKH - 9.0
Ca - 460 ppm
PH 8.0
Temp - Stable 78 degrees f
I took over the tank from my brother in August of 2019, as he upgraded and got a new tank. It has been up and running for 3 years at this point. I received the tank stock with one clownfish and no corals, adding a couple frags over the next few months. Under the stock lighting, the corals looked fine, but I never got much growth and wasn't a fan of the non-adjustable white spectrum. I noticed this brown algae that resembled diatoms, but didn't think much of it. In April of this year, I got tired of the stock light and upgraded to an AI prime. I used the acclimation mode to acclimate my corals to BRS proven AB+ spectrum. It was at this point where the brown algae began to become more noticeable. It is brown in color, and grows on the sand, rocks and glass. It is hairy in appearance. It almost looks like a brown version of green hair algae. It does not have bubbles trapped within it like dinos.
I didn't do anything to treat it, thinking it was normal algae growth, but was confused as to why my CUC wasn't eating it. In early June my corals looked irritated. At this point I began researching to try to find out what it could by and why it is hurting my corals. I came across dinoflagellates, saw my algae represented it enough, and treated it as such. I followed Dr. Tims 9 day regimen which included a 3 day blackout while dosing re-fresh, then 6 days of dosing waste-away, followed by a water change. I removed the chemipure, refugium and began feeding heavier in hopes to increase nutrients to promote bacterial growth and outcompete the algae. I finished the regimen and my tank was algae free - or so I thought. My nutrients had increased to .08 ppm PO4 and 10 ppm NO3. Small patches of cyano also began to grow on my sand. However, my corals still look irritated/ retracted and now the algae is growing on my glass, rocks and sand even more.
What is interesting about this is that my brother has an almost identical tank to me; same stocking, light, rock, sand, rock and salt, yet he has non of these issues and his corals are exploding in growth and color.
At this point I am extremely frustrated and confused. My corals look terrible and I have an ugly algae covering everything in my tank. I have no idea if they are related or not. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
First and foremost, here are my tank specs:
Fluval Evo 13.5
AI Prime 16HD running BRS's AB+ schedule at 40%, mounted 9 inches above the water surface, and 20 inches above the sand. It is run at 40% intensity for 6 hours a day with a two hour ramp up and down.
10 lbs of live rock and sand
Over 60x water turnover rate between return pump and powerhead
Refugium (which I removed)
Bio media, filter pad and Chemipure Elite (which I also removed)
Auto top off to keep salinity stable
Heater set at 78
Weekly 3 gallon water change using FRITZ RPM salt and 0 TDS RO water
Stocking:
2 juvenile clownfish
1 firefish
5 hermit crabs
1 emerald crab
1 torches snail
1 nassarius snail
2 euphyllia frags, GSP, Zoas, mushroom and monti, all of which appear to be irritated apart from GSP
Water parameters: (Measured using hanna checkers
1.026 Specific gravity
NO3 - 10 ppm
PO4 - .06 PPM
dKH - 9.0
Ca - 460 ppm
PH 8.0
Temp - Stable 78 degrees f
I took over the tank from my brother in August of 2019, as he upgraded and got a new tank. It has been up and running for 3 years at this point. I received the tank stock with one clownfish and no corals, adding a couple frags over the next few months. Under the stock lighting, the corals looked fine, but I never got much growth and wasn't a fan of the non-adjustable white spectrum. I noticed this brown algae that resembled diatoms, but didn't think much of it. In April of this year, I got tired of the stock light and upgraded to an AI prime. I used the acclimation mode to acclimate my corals to BRS proven AB+ spectrum. It was at this point where the brown algae began to become more noticeable. It is brown in color, and grows on the sand, rocks and glass. It is hairy in appearance. It almost looks like a brown version of green hair algae. It does not have bubbles trapped within it like dinos.
I didn't do anything to treat it, thinking it was normal algae growth, but was confused as to why my CUC wasn't eating it. In early June my corals looked irritated. At this point I began researching to try to find out what it could by and why it is hurting my corals. I came across dinoflagellates, saw my algae represented it enough, and treated it as such. I followed Dr. Tims 9 day regimen which included a 3 day blackout while dosing re-fresh, then 6 days of dosing waste-away, followed by a water change. I removed the chemipure, refugium and began feeding heavier in hopes to increase nutrients to promote bacterial growth and outcompete the algae. I finished the regimen and my tank was algae free - or so I thought. My nutrients had increased to .08 ppm PO4 and 10 ppm NO3. Small patches of cyano also began to grow on my sand. However, my corals still look irritated/ retracted and now the algae is growing on my glass, rocks and sand even more.
What is interesting about this is that my brother has an almost identical tank to me; same stocking, light, rock, sand, rock and salt, yet he has non of these issues and his corals are exploding in growth and color.
At this point I am extremely frustrated and confused. My corals look terrible and I have an ugly algae covering everything in my tank. I have no idea if they are related or not. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
