How do I attack this problem

Hi everyone,

I need help figuring out what happening with this problem I am having. I am getting this brown build up slash filament building up on my substrate. I just stirred my sand last night and was able to removed the brown build up, my substrate was nice and bright. By this afternoon I am seeing brown spots as well as the filaments returning. I've been trying to fix this problem for weeks. I am using a filter sock to trap anything coming into my refugium from the overflow, I replace the socks every 4 to 5 days. I do see some brown buildup on my chaeto in my refug. Could the socks be the problem. I dont know what to do and I am running out of ideas, please help and give advise.

My parameters are as follows:

Calc - 420-440
Alk-9.8
PH-8.3
Temp - 78-80
Phosphate - 0
Nitrates - 0

I do

 

sounds like a dinoflagellate bloom. Does it disappear substantially overnight and get worse as the day progresses?

Does it look somewhat like snot? Do the filaments have air bubbles in them?

If so, you have snot algae.

 

no air bubbles in the filament but it seems to get worse as the day goes by. when I stir the sand it clumps up a bit. It looks more like long strings of hair. I see the same strings on the outside of the filter sock, and a slimy buildup of it on my cheato in the refug. What should I do about it?

 

i would not stir the sand as it causes nitrate spikes that will make it worse

also you may have no nitrates on the test kit because the algae is consuming them all

 

whats your fish load and feeding schedule

 

This is a pic of what it looks like.

 

I have 2 maroons and a yellow watchmen and I feed every 2 to 3 days. I've had these fishes for 3 to 4 weeks,.. but I have been having this issue for longer.

 

it looks a bit like cyano in the picture, but you can tell better then me since pictures arent always accurate.

 

you may be able to make a dent in it by siphoning it out with a airline hose, so the nutrients the algae are hold are no longer in the tank

 

I have a DSB,..do you think I should do that?