Algae identification and Bacterial Bloom

[Pearsonn60]

Hello everyone,

I have a multipart question. I have a fiji peninsula 40 tank. Ive had it running for a few months now after cycling. I’ve since added a few corals including: 2 torch corals, an alveopora, toadstool, and bubble tip anemone. I also have a pair of junvinel clowns.

Everything has been going really well up until recently where Ive had a pretty massive and rapid algea boom. I thought it was diatomes at first but I’m not entirely sure. Also about 2 days ago the tank water started to get really cloudy. I’ve been rigorously checking my parameters and consistently doing water changes every 2 weeks. About a week ago my corals started to show signs of stress. Could someone help me identify the algea? Is it normal to have corals get stressed during algea booms? Could you please help me ID the algae so I can treat it appropriately?

Tank parameters:
Nitrates: 4-5ppm
Phospates: near zero ppm
Amoniona: test strips show safe levels
Temp: ranges from 76-80 but usually sits around 78
Salinity: 1.025
I recently purchased an extra flow pump to help with circulation in the tank. This could potentially be contributing to the cloudy water.

Clean up crew:
1 fire shrimp
3 peppermint shrimp (they have little to no interest in the corals as far as eating them)
5 hermit crabs
4 nassarious snails
5 astra snails

I do not test for calcium or magnesium, though I’ve read this might help. I had one head of my torch die completely. I provided a picture of it healthy and a picture of it struggling.

I understand now that adding torches to a tank that id o ly a few minths old is not a good idea. Admittedly I did not know this at the time I bought and added them, but I’m really trying to keep them alive.

I’ve added a variety of photos from the past few weeks to show the decline.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[VinnyBoy]

Those look pretty rough unfortunately, most of those are gone. What do you mean by safe levels of ammonia? Anything above 0 will bring havoc on corals.

Being a new tank it’s tough to say, a few months is not enough time. Cloudiness could be an algae bloom. You need to know what your alkalinity, calcium, magnesium and pH levels are. What test kits are you using for nitrates and phosphates? You said you added another powerhead that’s a good thing.

Bubble tip anemone specifically require a pretty stable tank. Most don’t recommend adding one until about a year.

Take this as a learning curve and focus on getting through the ugly stage and making sure your tank is testing well. Then after a few months start with some easier corals like zoas.