Help with algae

[havoc17]

For about 6 months now I've had the hard brown algae on my acrylic. I had a problem with hair algae but that is now under control and is going away. I use RODI water, run SeaGel in a media reactor, and dose with about 2ml of vodka a day. 110 gallon tank with a 25 gallon fuge, 1 Australian Stripey, 1 Emperor Angel, 1 Blue Hippo Tang, 1 Blue Throat Trigger, 1 Goby, 1 Lawnmower blenny, then crabs, snails, and an urchin. Ammonia is 0, Nitrite is 0, and Nitrate is about 15. I have 7 turbos and several other smaller snails that I thought would help clear the front of the tank but they can not get it off. My magnet and scraper will not get off, the only thing I can do is scrub it with a magic eraser about every other week. I do a 20% water change every other week. I also add purple up to help with the coraline algae. Any suggestions on what to do? Thanks!
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[havoc17]

Could old T5s cause this? My bulbs are approx. 11 months old

 

[FutureInterest]

Hard to tell but it looks like diatoms. Not a biggie, they typically dissipate over time.

 

[havoc17]

The tank is going on 2 years up and running, nothing has really changed to create that bloom. It is almost impossible to clear off the tank unless I use a Mr. Clean magic eraser and scrub it. Magnet and scraper will not touch it.

 

[civics14]

You use Mr, Clean magic eraser on the inside of your tank???

 

[FutureInterest]

Yah you shouldn't be having any diatom blooms at the 2 year mark.

Which means you are somehow having silicates introduced to your water column. The most likely culprit is that your ro/di isn't up to par... That's an ez check with the tds meter so I assume it's not that...

The only other thing I can think of is that you've had some sponge die off which will release silicates into the water.

Regardless, you can try manual export by using a rough sponge/cloth to rub the tank wall clear and some of the diatoms should adhere to the material, then rinse the sponge/cloth out. Literally, rinse and repeat. Other thing is you could get a royal urchin which are acrylic safe and will help keep the glass clean. G'luck, I had an acrylic tank and it was painful keeping it spotless .

 

[snowmansnow]

civics14;1058661 wrote: You use Mr, Clean magic eraser on the inside of your tank???

this...

I don't think using a magic eraser is a good idea... No telling what you're adding to the water that may be aiding the algae growth. I know they aren't suppose to be toxic, but there are a lot of non toxic things I wouldn't put in the tank.
Just a thought

 

[crew]

Melamine, which is basically all that a Mr. Clean is, is very high in nitrogen (fertilizer). I wonder if this is the source of your problems.

 

[marquiseo]

Mr. Clean Magic Eraser (Original) poses no threat to your tank besides the chips that can break off while cleaning; fish may try to eat. Here's the MSDS for it: