Ok, here we go. First I will tell what I have, how it is set up, recent changes made and then tell you my problem and maybe someone can help me before I go crazy.
130 GL display with 55 GL sump.
Deep sand bed 6-8 inches in both tanks.
I don’t remember how many pounds of live rock but a bunch (over 150).
c-urchin PRO skimmer (w/ magdrive 3)
trickle filter w/ bio media and filter pads (no charcoal)
4 maxi jet 1200 on a 30 sec. cycling reef timer (no dead spots)
65 watt PC 10k 50/50. This was only light on main tank until 3weeks ago. Now it is on the sump.
520 watt PC 10K 50/50. New 3 weeks ago on main tank.
Had maybe 20 assort. Snails and a few small blue and red leg hermits few damsels ,2 Fire goby, 3 pj card, 1 Clown, 1 sand sifter star, 1 serpent star, 1 brittle star, and recently added 20 turbo 20 zebra 20 cerith 5 porc crabs 3 lettuce nudibranch 3 horseshoe crabs 6 sea cucumbers 3 peppermint shrimp. And a few other things
Mag drive 18 return pump
All lights on timers 11 hours of daylight for display. Then other 13 hours sump lights are on.
Recently started using ro/di water was using prime before that, however I am on a rural water system and it is fairly pure.
Tank cycled with LR and sand only no fish over 8 months ago then I added 3 damsels. And still have all 3
My water has always been excellent but the last 4 months it has been perfect with the NO2 and NO3 being zero.
Ok 4-6 weeks ago I started having some slight growth of green hair like algae. That is why I recently added the other cleaning crew stuff. I added the new lights just a couple days after the new cleaning crew. When I put the new lights in the canopy I decided to take a small new paintbrush a gently brushing away as much of the hair like algae as I could. It was mainly on the top layer of rocks so I turned them over as I cleaned them so that the algae would no longer get any light. I have some purple coralline but not as much as I would like. I have also used “purple up” as directed on label with only minimal results. Now the green algae is pretty much gone. It is well in check with the critters eating it daily.
Now I have a dark brown or dark red algae that is like dust that shows up on the sand and on the rocks daily. It comes off easily as just me swishing the water around with my hand next to the rocks. If I don’t do it daily it slowly accumulates and gets darker. some of the rocks have small little thing sticking out that look like roots or something, maybe ¼ inch long or so. The sump has never grown any algae even though I have tried to get it to. Before the power compact was on the sump it had two standard Fluorescent and was always pristine. Now that I have the power compact on the sump it now is growing some caulerpa. The brown dust looks like the fine diatom I had when the tank first cycled several, several months ago and it now is also in the sump. It has to have something to do with the lighting because one end of the sump is shaded from light by the trickle box filter and the sand on this end does not have any of the brown dust on it.
I am not sure what the brown dust is but I want it gone. I have rearranged the display rock and this slowed it down for a couple of days but it is getting worse again. I think the purple and reds that I do have coming on is getting choked out somewhat by this brown dust. Please someone help me!!
LINK TO PHOTOBUCKET FOR PICTURES
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/i...k/DSC02180.jpg 