Algae question

[tarball]

Hello reefers

I'm having a rather fast growth of brown algae. So I've dropped the light time down to slow growth. I also have purple coraline on the rock, but the brown algae is growing over & covering up the coraline & appears to be stopping coraline growth.
My question is will the brown algae eventually turn into coraline. If so how long will it take. I'm a bit concerned about the brown algae taking over the tank & getting out of control.
Not a bad problem now, but I would like to stay ahead of the Br. algae.
What is the natural color proses to purple coraline on the rocks from a tank that has just finished its cycle to mature coraline.
Water condition
Salinity 1.025
Calcium 460
Alkalinity 180
phosphates 0.0
nitrates 0
nitrites 0
ammonia 0.50
ph 0

 

[trigger11]

Judging from the description of your algae problem as your ammonia being at .5 I am guessing you have a new tank and are still cycling it?
The brown algae (diatom) should go away on it's own within a couple of weeks. Give the tank a few more days to finish cycling and then when you get that ammonia down to zero can add your cleanup crew. Snails and hermits will go to town on the diatoms.
Once the diatoms disappear and the tank starts getting a little more established. Approximately 2 months or so then you should see the coraline start growing again. At least that was how it happened for me.

 

[tarball]

I appreciate you responding Trigger11
The 55g tank I have is 3 months up & running now. I had no algae growth in it until I put the new lights above it.
Then in a matter of a few day the Brown algae started taking over. From what I understand brown algae is a natural part of development of a SWT. I guess my biggest concern is it getting out of control.
I guess its time for a cleaning crew.

 

[trigger11]

Yeah, if you put a stronger powered light in there that would help the algae growth. The good news is that it will even out and you will be able to figure out what the growth rate is compared to how long you leave the lights on. The cleanup crew will really help though. Hermit crabs will be the best bet for getting the algae off of the sand.

 

[geridoc]

What are you using for top-off water? Tap water has silicates in it that permits diatoms to grow. That is one reason why people recommend using RODI for all marine tank water needs.

 

[tarball]

Originally Posted by GeriDoc
What are you using for top-off water? Tap water has silicates in it that permits diatoms to grow. That is one reason why people recommend using RODI for all marine tank water needs.

Hello GeriDoc

I use water from the RO machine at walmart. As silly as it sounds I tested the water from the walmart RO machine & it tested O phosphates both times i tested.
No tap water has been used in the tank.