algae, what gives..

[toddbrown]

Well, I just installed my new Metal Halide lights and I have a really bad brown algae issue going on. My parameters are 0 ammonia, .01 nitrites, and nitrates 2.5. My Phosphate is at .001. I am starting a refug to handle the nitrates. Do I just need to wait this out?

[HotHotHot]

I'd like to know about this brown algae too.

ammonia 0
nitrites 0
nitrates 0
phosphates 0
silicates 0

Ed

[codybug]

I have same problem. Really frustrating

thanks

[toddbrown]

What lighting do you guys have?

[Teremei]

Me too 2x65 dual attnic MH 12 hour a day lighting for a 55. Too much lighting? Anything else? I have no fuge, sandbed, a ball of chaeto which is not growing though, skimmer, flow. . .

[codybug]

I have 36 watts PC on for 12 hours a day. I probably should try Phosban - but I'm trying not to add too many chems to my small tank.

thanks

[toddbrown]

Humm, that doesn't seem to be too bad. I have 500 watts of hetal halide on my 80 and that is about average. I am wondering if it could be my wave lenght of light. It is giving off a strange green tint so I ordered new bulbs.

[dudah]

toddbrown - if you just installed the new mh lights that could be the cause. When you make drastic changes to the lighting sometimes the algae will bloom and this will happen. I know it happened when I upgraded from 1 mh to 2.

Have you tested for phosphates? If not then maybe you should just so you aren't trying phosban when you don't have a p04 problem. HTH

It could also be a flow problem. You might make sure you are getting enought water movement where the algae is growing.

[JHReef]

Originally posted by dudah
toddbrown - if you just installed the new mh lights that could be the cause. When you make drastic changes to the lighting sometimes the algae will bloom and this will happen. I know it happened when I upgraded from 1 mh to 2.

My thoughts exactly. It could be nitrates or phospahtes, but a sudden light change will do that sort of thing almost every time. Just be happy it didn't trigger a cyano outbreak instead.

[toddbrown]

Well, it is a new setup so this is the first lighting that it has seen. I was setup for 6 weeks without any lighting and then I put on the dual 250 MH's on it. I heard that brow algae can be from not enough light. I would think that 500 watts would be ok.

[fishman805]

If I'm not mistaken, you have just answered the question yourself.... It's a diatom bloom and is typical of new tank setups .... The lighting did contribute but it will go away on its own....Running a protien skimmer will help get it out too....

[toddbrown]

The strange thing is, my other 2 saltwater tanks never had that happen so I sorta freaked out. I use a AquaC Pro on this 80 gallon. Is that big enough?

[fishman805]

It should be ....

My tank went through it too but anly lasted about 4 days and cleared up .... So you should be ok ....Another thing that I did as well was to cut off my MH's for a bit and just ran the PC's to promote the growth of coraline algae...