BROWN ALGE

[clone]

we have a really bad brown alge problem.we use ro/di water.and skimm.the lights arent even that bright. we have 4 65w pc's on a 72 bow front...at least i dont think its to much light... can anyone help?!

[caferacermike]

So many options.

Water changes, how often?
What are your water parameters? If you don't have a test kit take a sample to lfs tomorrow.
High phosphate is a likely cause.
how often and what do you feed? Could you be over feeding?
How old is the tank? New tanks cycle a brown algae diatom all over the place that will cure itself.
Are your lights too old? bad spectrum and under powered lighting can slow down nutrient absorbing corals and plants allowing simpler life forms of algae to thrive while your tank "hibernates".

Just a few places to start. Natural predators can help such as tangs or blennies, loads of snails and proper clean up crews.

[clone]

water change-evey three weeks with ro/di=20gl
i have test kits they read alittle under a little over but it shoul be all good in time.
i feed them a cube of miyes at 5pm then a clam on the half shell @ 8pm then half a cube @10:30
not sure how old the tank is but i dont think it should be more than 2 years old befor i put salt water in it
the lighting isnt all that great i have 4 65w pc's on it for now until i can get a deal on a 250w mh..

[Texreefer]

not sure how old the tank is but i dont think it should be more than 2 years old befor i put salt water in it


UHHH not sure i understand that statement.

a clam on the half shell


What are you feeding?

[caferacermike]

How old is the tank, as in how long has it been set up as a saltwater? If less than 2 months it could be a diatomaceous silica algae bloom. This is normal and should clear up. Are you talking about long hair like algae? I hope it's not really a red cyano bacteria.

Old bulbs can lose their spectrum. Lost spectrum creates more yellow which algae thrives upon. Yellowing bulbs can cause good corals and such to quit growing which frees up nutrients for algae to feed upon. At that rate algae will out compete other higher forms of life.

Do you have a refugium to help absorb and export excess nutrients?

[clone]

yeah its only been set up for about 3 months.and the lights may be a little old but im working on get 2 250w mh's