Way tooooo much brown algae! What should I do?

[millstreetzoo]

I have a new 55 gallon tank. I added water on 2/20 - 80 lbs of live sand and 40 lbs of cured live rock with lots of coraline algae. I have a remora Pro skimmer and an Aqua Clear 110 carbon filter. I change 5 gallons of water each week. All of my water comes from an RO/DI unit. I have a current sunpod MH lighting system which I run 10 to 12 hours per day. I test ammonia, nitrite and nitrate every day and all have remained at 0. I haven't seen any spikes. Salinity is 1.023 and PH is 8.2 and has been stable since set up.
Early last week green and brown algae started taking over my tank. On 3/3 I added 8 turbos and 1 green chromis. The next day I added another 6 turbos, 6 hermits and 2 peppermint shrimp. On 3/5 my son brought me a Sailfin Tang and his companion cleaner shrimp as a gift, I know I probably shouldn't have added one so soon but it was so nice of him. I used to have a salt water tank and kept Tangs - they are one of my favorite. Anyway, the green algae is virtually gone but the brown algae is everywhere. I have to clean the glass everyday. Is this normal - will it go away on its own. Is there anything I should add or anything special I can do to get it under control? All of the live stock are doing well. Is this good or bad algae? Thanks for your help!

 

[Amphiprionocellaris]

I'll answer your last question first. There is not really such a thing as an inherently "bad" algae. Any algae can become a problem if they start overgrowing livestock or - in very extreme cases - cause eutrophication (bacteria use up all the oxygen in the water; I've only known one or two cases of this in aquaria). However, brown algae are usually considered "undesirable" because they don't do a very good job of controlling nutrient levels (like macroalgae). At this stage, though, it is nothing to worry about. Almost all new tanks go through a brown algae phase. Fortunately, they "burn out" (use up all the nutrients) very quickly. I would simply continue your care routine for now and not add any more livestock. Adding stuff disrupts the ecological balance of the tank, and it's best to let new tanks establish themselves before adding a lot of new stuff.

 

[millstreetzoo]

I greatly appreciate your response. I will give it time and see what happens. Thanks again!

 

[millstreetzoo]

I greatly appreciate your response. I will give it time and see what happens. Thanks again!

 

[jumpincactus]

Yup what Amphi said is so true New tank burn in Just a fact of life with a newly established tank...... Patience is indespensible in this hobby... Happy reefing

 

[millstreetzoo]

Thanks jumpincactus! Didn't know anything about new tank burn - guess I know now!
I already told my son Thanks for the Tang (he's such a nice kid) - but please wait a couple months before any more gifts!

 

[Meloco14]

I agree with the above. If you would like to slow down the algae growth you can reduce your lighting period. In general most people only run their halides 8-10 hours a day anyway. If you have corals, I would drop them down to 8-9 hours, if you dont have corals you can drop it way down. Also you can add a lot more snails. It looks like you only have turbos. Adding a variety of others like astraea, margarita, cerith, bumblebee, nerite, etc will help control it. Not every snail eats every algae, and different size/shape snails can access different areas to clean, and some are active in the day, while some at night. Having an assortment will give you 24hr, nonstop algae cleaning action. Ceriths, bumblebees, and nassarius will also bury in the sand, stirring it and cleaning it for you. Since you now have a tang you might want to get some macro growing in there, as nutrient export as well as food. If you have a refugium, even better. Make sure you rinse of the filter pad once a week to get the gunk off. Other than that I would say keep doing what youre doing and just be patient. Time will take care of it as long as you keep up your normal maintenance. GL