green algae and diatoms

[gnx87]

Ok heres my story, I had my 75gal reef setup for 5 yrs. 2 months ago i decided to upgrade to a 110gal when i moved it to my finished basement. I also added 70 more lbs of live rock after the move. now heres my problem. tank was clear for about a month after resetup and for the last month i have had a diatom and green algae problem. I use r/o water for makeup and feed a little flake 1 time per day and brine 1 time per day. water specs are below. Anyone have any idea whats causing the outbreak? I use a proclear sump w/ live rock no bioballs, skimmer pulls a little and only needs emptied every few days.

Water temp = 80 F
SG = 1.021
Nitrates = 2.5
Ammonia = 0
Phos = 0.2
Calcium = 450

tank load
1 naso tang
1 kole tang
1 bicolor psuedochromis
1 Firefish goby
1 yelow tang
40 misc crabs and snails


Thanks in advance

 

[Carpentersreef]

Did you transfer any sand at the same time?

Mitch

 

[fungia]

it is very normal for younger tanks. mine did this and it got a lot better, i now have sargussum algae but people here say that will go away too.

maybe you can set your skimmer to collect more wet stuff instead of dry. that is a good way to skim algae in the water. if it is diatoms, you might look into silica filters too, i think there is a optional media for ro systems.

i think you have too many tangs and that may be a problem for nutrient. even if nitrate test low, it might be because the algae is using it up as fast as it is available, so it doesnt always mean overall nitrate is low. the naso tang is the biggest problem because it is the biggest bioload i would trade it back to give it to someone you trust because it will get too big for a 75 gallon.

 

[gnx87]

Yes i transfered the sand from the 75 gallon to the 110. fungia my tank is now a 110 and the naso should be fine. Total water volume including the sump is 140 gallons.

 

[Anonymous]

Adding that much new rock has caused your tank to cycle. Just be patient, keep up with your water changes and things will get better, it just takes time.