Evil Algae (pics): Can you please help?

[flamehawkfish]

Hi All

In the past 2-3 weeks, my 95g reef tank is showing signs of deterioration. A blanket of noxious brown/red algae is slowly covering my live rock, sand, and strangling my corals- especially the softies. I need to figure out how to overcome this EVIL ALGAE.

Take a look at these pics... this algae is strangling, burning, or blanketing my coral... My yellow polyps- once growing vigorously- appear to be dying. My blue mushrooms are shriveling... My star polyps won't open up anymore.

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b8d604b3127ccec4a6265014ce00000040O00AYtWjdy2cNWIPbz4O/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D480/ry%3D320/

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b8d604b3127ccec4a6406695fb00000040O00AYtWjdy2cNWIPbz4O/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D480/ry%3D320/

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b8d604b3127ccec4a761ccf59500000040O00AYtWjdy2cNWIPbz4O/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D480/ry%3D320/

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b8d604b3127ccec4a65684142200000040O00AYtWjdy2cNWIPbz4O/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D480/ry%3D320/

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b8d604b3127ccec4a6920f95fb00000040O00AYtWjdy2cNWIPbz4O/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D480/ry%3D320/

The weird thing is my clam, open-brain, and acropora aren't showing many bad signs. In fact, my little Maxima seems stronger than I've ever seen him. Also, all my fish, cleaner shrimp, snails, are all in-tact.

The algae itself is not of the thick, gooey, blanketing variety (that can release bubbles of gas). No; it's not that. It's sort of a light, soft, insidious algae that creeps on everything, around the yellow polyps, onto my cup coral, over the coralline, and gets thicker at a very slight but steady rate. It dissipates when you fan the water current against the rock...

Here are some quick specs... No ammonia, nitrite, no nitrate, Salinity: 1.025-1.026, 79-80F, pH: 8.2...very clean water (mix of ocean water & RO water). I do weekly 5g water changes. Sometimes, I struggle with salinity-check, and temp can creep up to 82-83... I have a 48" Outer Orbit T-5/MH (2X250W) combo.

The 95g tank is entirely hang-on-the-back (w' TurboFlotor Multi Skimmer, Aquaclear 110). I dose Rotifer-Diet maybe weekly (it's like Phytoplankton), PurpleUp (or Bi-onic 1/2). Every few months or so, I'll offer the corals 'Coral Frenzy' (as the product was highly recommended). Other than that, my water is not dosed, and only fed fish-food. It showed excellent growth only 1-2 months ago, with all polyps extended, and everything showing great color.

This Evil Algae problem occurred only in the last week or two, and I haven't added or taken away any fish/coral/rock in over two months. In fact, my tank was looking so nice, I posted on Reefcentral, celebrating my achievements. If anything, Kharma backslapped me for boasting, leaving me with noxious algae in my tank! : (

To help fight the problem, I attempted (with little success), the following:

- ran some carbon through the Aquaclear and included some x-Phosphate pads (although I'm not sure they really do anything).

- upgraded my 2 Koralias to improve water-flow. I added a foaming powerhead that runs 20 minutes/day to add additional oxygen and simulate wave-patterns. Not much improvement.

- performend a 5g water-change, and then a 10g water-change- all within a week. On the second, I noticed that salinity creeped up to 1.027-8, so I added enough fresh water to bring it down (1.024-5)...

- reduced the run-time of the Metal Halides by 2 hours (from 8 to 6 hours). I tried running T-5s only for 1-2 days, and that had no effect...

Can anybody suggest anything else? I want to eradicate this algae and salvage what softies I have left!

Please help.

-Flamehawk

[cutegecko3]

What is your nitrate and phos. levels?

[boxfishpooalot]

It looks like diatoms. They thrive on silicate. Its either in the top up water, or in you rotifier water. Not 100% sure but diatoms may be fed to rotifiers and diatoms need silicate, so it can be in that water. If its top up water use silicate busting di resin. Silcate passes through ro memembranes easy.

[hermitage]

How long has the tank been setup? A 5 gal water change weekly is not a lot. I would do no less than 15 gals per week. If you fear something is off...You can even do a 50% water change..or more, depending on the problem.

Not sure I like the Ocean water, RO mix. Unless you live on a reef, that's probably a bad idea.

Also the high temps can cause all kinds of problems. Try to keep the temps consistent. Use some fans, hook em up to a temp controller. You're all set.

You really should get a handle on the salinity of water during water changes. The fluctuation isn't good for your tank..especially if it's happening weekly.

It sounds like you have issues with Salinity, Temp, and water changes. I would address these 3 issues before trying anything else. Then give it some time, and see what happens.

Patience. I'm sure it'll all pass.

[Anemonebuff]

Add DI and try doing waterchanges without natural sea water(NSW). Add some Rowaphos, turkey baster the off the diatoms, and skim wet.

[LoudProudNPunk]

if it was me, i would mix up enough water for a 50 gallon waterchange then use a turkey baster to blast all of the algae into the water column and a siphon to try to catch it in the water while changing out 50 percent.

Did that make sense?

just a suggestion.

[spleify]

Like suggested, I will reiterate.
Larger more frequent water changes, Rawaphos or Phosban, try turning the light of completely for 3 days, if you can cover the glass with a sheet or blanket or paper or something so as to keep ALL light away from the tank. Cut back on feeding, maybe every other day for a couple of weeks. And most important, patience, it will go away if you follow everyone's suggestions.

HTH

Spleify

[flamehawkfish]

To All

I appreciate the advice. I think you nailed one of my issues... temp, salinity, and water changes...

I'll attempt more of a 'wholesale' water change. The ocean water is available from local Bay Area tropical fish stores, and is intended for usage in aquaria. It's collected way offshore, so I'm guessing that it's safe... If I switch to mixed salt, what type do you recommend?

I will also investigate a fan or cooler unit

As for the 'DI Resin, Silica-busting' media, can anyone recommend a media that's worth putting in the AquaClear?

To answer somebody's question, the tank's only been set up for 7 months, but it was an upgrade from a very long established 40g tank... It cycled a bit early during the transition, stabilized for several months and did great, and now it's suffering from this algae problem...

Anybody have other advice? I'll keep peops posted...
Thanks again for the feedback...

[hermitage]

Interesting. I've setup 4 tanks now..everytime around 6 months, I ran into a major diatom problems. It stank, was all over the place. In all 3 cases, I stayed diligent with water changes, and kept everything consistent...it eventually all went away on its own. In all 3 tanks the initial water was Tap water. On my 4th tank, I filled with RODI water....it's been up for 7 months now, no diatom problems.

[Racenrich]

It sounds like you have issues with Salinity, Temp, and water changes.

I second this comment! Salinity and Temp to me are two of the most important factors...people seem to forget that; as they are so concerned about alkalinity and calcium.

Keep them in check and your stability will increase... and the tank will follow.

HTH.

[Anemonebuff]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13231053#post13231053 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by flamehawkfish
To All

I appreciate the advice. I think you nailed one of my issues... temp, salinity, and water changes...

I'll attempt more of a 'wholesale' water change. The ocean water is available from local Bay Area tropical fish stores, and is intended for usage in aquaria. It's collected way offshore, so I'm guessing that it's safe... If I switch to mixed salt, what type do you recommend?

I will also investigate a fan or cooler unit

As for the 'DI Resin, Silica-busting' media, can anyone recommend a media that's worth putting in the AquaClear?

To answer somebody's question, the tank's only been set up for 7 months, but it was an upgrade from a very long established 40g tank... It cycled a bit early during the transition, stabilized for several months and did great, and now it's suffering from this algae problem...

Anybody have other advice? I'll keep peops posted...
Thanks again for the feedback...

Insatant Ocean or Reef Crystals are good salt mixes, the later having higher calcium and trace elements.

The DI resin or silica buster DI resin is used in conjunction with you RO(Reverse Osmosis) filter. It sounds to me that you use store bought RO water/NSW or are using tap water. I would buy a combo RO/DI filter.

You can also add RowaPhos to your AquaClear(hang on?) filter to lower the phosphates and silicates. Phosphate pads are useless as are ceramic phosphate absorbing media...use RowaPhos.

Get an Auto Top Off system to get your salinity fluctuations in check.

A temp of 82-83 is fine. However, a stable temp is best. Your temp should not bounce around. A 2-3 degree swing over the course of a day is the max I can suggest. Just try not to go over 85 degrees. A small fan aimed at the surface will keep the temp down.

All of the things you need can be bought, at a reasonable price, from the sponsors at RC.

[flamehawkfish]

To update everyone, I purchased some 'Rowaphos', and inserted it into my AquaClear hang-on-back filter.

I also tested my water for Phosphate- not much there.

After patience, a couple water changes, reducing the runtime on my Halides, and paying careful attention to salinity & temp, my tank seems 'over the hump' now, and the 'evil algae' is receding.

My mushrooms, star polyps, and cup coral are extending again. My yellow polyps took a beating, but there's still a few stragglers. All the other coral and clams look happy and healthy.

I think 'Rowaphos' is a good (albeit expensive) product, but given that combined several methods for algae reduction at the same time, it's difficult to assess what specific actions helped cure the problem.

Anyway, thank you to everyone who chimed in. I really appreciate it. You gave me a sense of urgency without inducing panic. You also provided sound advice, which I followed to a 'T'.

Thank goodness for Reefcentral. Without it, I'd be relying on my LFS's advice...and we all know where that usually leads us...

[seapug]

glad to hear it's settling down. If you are using a home RO/DI system for topoffs, you may be due for a filter change. I've noticed diatom growth when my filters need to be changed.

[flamehawkfish]

hi Seapug

Thanks for the encouragement. To answer your question, I get my RO water from the LFS, so no changing filters.

Actually, most times I use tap water (dechlorinated). Until this short-lived outbreak of brown algae, I've had no issues w' it. In fact, I've had better coral growth & extension w' the Tap than w' the RO water... Maybe more trace elements? Go figure...