my 80 gallon reef tank

[Nebula]

I've been absent from the forums for what feels like an eternity. My aquarium journey started with a humble 55-gallon setup, but I've since upgraded to an impressive 80-gallon deep blue tank, measuring 48x24x16. It's been six months since the new tank has been up and running, and everything's been going smoothly.

However, I'm currently dealing with an issue that's driving me crazy – brown algae or diatoms. I know the general rule of thumb is to give it time, but it's been over a month, and the problem's only getting worse. My research suggests that these algae feed on silicates, and once that food source is depleted, they should disappear. But that's just not happening. My fish and corals are thriving, but the brown gunk is an eyesore. I've run some water tests, and the results are as follows: Ammonia-0, Nitrite-0, Nitrates-.15, Calcium-425, Magnesium-1300, KH-10.7, Phosphates- .04. I used Red Sea pro test kits, and I'm currently using Red Sea pro salt. That being said, I'm planning to mix things up soon by combining Tropic Marin and IO Reef Crystals, as I've heard some concerns about Red Sea salt contributing to cyano issues – maybe that'll help resolve my current problem.

Any advice or ideas would be greatly appreciated.

[dazed_knots]

I'm not sure just manually removing it is the best approach, I've tried scrubbing some of it off but it just comes back. I'm more concerned with figuring out what's causing it, I've read that it's usually a silicate issue but like I said, it's been over a month and it's not going away.