[scotty57]

i have a 55 gal reef tank w/ a cpr refugium unit (hang on) looked today and noticed a bloom of brown algae have anemone, torch coral,4 chromis 2 small clown.lawn mower blenny,5 line wrass shrimp and 5 snail temp in tank is between 78 and 82 only water change that I have done is ones by evaporation. I am currently using water purifiyer no RO/DI will test nitrites in am up to now been 0 help

[Poseidon]

Do some real water changes... Evaporation is a make up water. It does NOT accomplish the same thing!

[GoinSalt]

How old is your tank? Any lighting upgrades recently?

I battled brown algae and cyno the last few months after going from 110w of pc lighting to over 400w of VHO. I also hooked up an RO/DI unit and after only a couple of weeks with the new water, my algae problems have slowed considerably. I think time also helped as my tank is finally adjusted to the burst of new lighting.

You may just have to wait it out.

Nate

[scotty57]

tank is fairly young tops 4 months not using RO/DI water as of yet have twin compact and 4@65 watt been thinking of using canister filter not sure what to throw in the chamber and also have a diatom all from my fresh water days suggestions?

[The R/C Man]

Hey scotty57!

With your tank only being 4 months old the algae bloom is probably part of the cycle. A tank can take over a year to completely establish it self....

You should definitely consider an RO/DI unit. Over time the contaminents from tap water will build up in your closed system and could cause some problems down the road. Also some of the solids/contaminents may also contribute to your algae problem by adversly effecting your water quality.

Algae feed on nutrients in your tank and there are many ways to help control this. The first thing is don't over feed your tank. Left over food settles in the rock and this is a good place for the algae to propigate. To help eliminate this be sure to have power heads directing water in such a way to eliminate dead spots. You can also use a turkey baster to blast this detritis from the rock on a weekly basis.

A protein skimmer is a must for water quality. This is one piece of equipment you don't want to skimp on. Buy a good quality unit!!! To further enhance the skimmers performance you can always use Ozone on your system. Another great addition for enhanced water quality is the use of a UV sterilizer.

I would not recommend a canister filter as they are typically nitrate traps. I would only add one as a carbon filter.... Carbon is another way to better water quality and help to eliminate algae.

The last thing would be preditors. Certian types of fish eat algae and are great for its control. There are also many other critters that will eat it such as snails and nudibranchs. Just be sure you research the animals before you buy.

As you can see there are many factors that contribute to and can help control algae. A good combination of the above and proper maintenance will help give you an algae free system for years....

I hope that was helpful.....

[GoinSalt]

FWIW, I didn't use a skimmer for the first six months and my tanked crashed around Christmas.

Got a skimmer.

After setting everything up again, battled algae outbreaks when I changed lighting. For the last two months, GHA and brown algae.

Got a tang to eat the GHA, snails and RO/DI water did the rest.

Nate

[The R/C Man]

Glad to hear it is working for the best....