# brown algae



## tangy (Apr 23, 2007)

my 55 gal SW tank has recently been receiving a large amount of brown algae lately. my nitrate level is at 20 ppm and i cleaned all my equipment and set all things in working order. 40%water change w/RO water n' lights are on 8 hrs a day. still in less than 2 days a large coat of brown algaeforms all over the tank, like someone spreads cinnamon all over the place. any ideas? ohh, and is 20 ppm far to high for the tiny soft inverts that come along with live rock? thanks


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

How strong is your lighting? How many hours do you switch on the light?


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## tangy (Apr 23, 2007)

110 watts for 55, 8 hrs a day from 7:00am to 3:00pm. too much or too little?to long or to short?


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## usmc121581 (Jul 31, 2006)

First how old is the lights? And what type of bulbs?


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## Robnjo (Apr 17, 2007)

could this also be from dead/slow flow spots in the tank?


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## gymnothorax (Sep 20, 2007)

the algae sounds like brown diatoms, it's caused by excess silicates in your water, which is strange considering that your using ro water, but regardless, I would try adding some phosguard to your filter and see if that doesn't clear it out in a couple of days.


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