Too much bacteria??

[shobby]

Need some help here. I bought an aquaripure nitrate remover back in September, hooked it up immediately. Took a long time for it to cycle but now my nitrates are at 5 which is great. Started at a really bright red so that is a plus. During this time, had a few problems develop. A couple of weeks after hooking up the machine I got diatoms. Seemed like over night the entire aquarium just turned this ugly color. Walls, rocks, everything was just kind of ugly. In my haste of trying to solve the problem, I pretty much crashed the aquarium which has now come back pretty good. Lost several corals but now back on track. During this time, bubble algae has popped up, not a lot but there none the less. Tries using the potassium remover to get rid of silicates but no change. The potassium is very very low, so that isn't the problem either. Went to the local store and the guy there said I may have too much going on. Live rock in the aquarium, rock rubble in the sump, and the aquaripure working at the same time, may be competing with each other and just making the aquarium recycle over and over again, or something along these lines. Is that possible? I have been fighting the brown algae powder now for 4 months so obviously something is going on. I do water changes, suck out as much as I can, good for two days and BOOM here it is again.
Help please. Shelley

 

[snakeblitz33]

What kind of sand did you use? What are you using for top off water?

 

[shobby]

I am using regular tap water, I have two tanks and only have the problem in the one. Have never had the problem for past ten years till I hooked the machine up. I have though, tested the tap water and no phosphates in the tap water, and no nitrates.

 

[shobby]

Oh, sand was Caribbean something another. About two inches deep.

 

[flower]

I am using regular tap water, I have two tanks and only have the problem in the one. Have never had the problem for past ten years till I hooked the machine up. I have though, tested the tap water and no phosphates in the tap water, and no nitrates.

Hi,

Bubble algae had to be introduced on your live rock. the good news is that it's a macroalgae, and macros absorb Phosphates and nitrates from your water...you are getting a false negative on the phosphate reading, the macro is using it to feed on and grow.

The reason you are having brown algae problems is that you are using tap water. I'm sure if you started topping off, and doing your water changes with RO (reverse osmosis) water, things would clear up nicely. That way instead of all the chemical methods of trying to solve your problem, which isn't working...all it takes is good water quality to begin with. You may not have phosphates or nitrates in your tap water, what you do have is fluoride and bacteria inhibitors as well as other junk you can't test for. Check the TDS, I'm sure it's number off the roof high.

As for the bubble algae, gently remove the bubbles without popping it, or you can invest in some emerald crabs, or you can keep it...I personally think it's pretty, but it can become invasive if your water quality isn't up to snuff, like I said...it feeds on the nasty stuff in your tap water...which is probably a good thing, since hair algae is the usual macro to rear it's ugly head, bubble algae is a dream compared to that nightmare.

 

[Bryce E]

Agreed. Never put tap water in your tank. Especially a tank with coral in it. If you don't have a TDS meter to test for total dissolved solids then just know that you are going to have stuff in your tap water that you do not want in your tank, trace elements of heavy metals (like copper) which can build up over time. Whether this is even your current problem or not... I have to recommend to you to start using cleaner water in your tanks.

 

[flower]

Hi,

As for why one tank and not the other... From a person who had had 3 tanks at once up and running. Every one of them got the same water and food, and yet they were all different and had different issues, at different times. All we can do is address the tank with issues and pray the other continues to do well. Obviously your methods work for the one, but not the other. There may have been more phosphates deep in the live rock you used for the issue prone tank...like I said, I believe the bubble algae was introduced on the live rock.

Oh and one more thing...your LFS guy is crazy, or you misunderstood him... using different methods to battle nuisance algae does not create a brand new cycle over and over again. If you removed and cleaned the rocks and replace them back into the tank, tearing the entire tank apart to do so...maybe

 

[pegasus]

your LFS guy is crazy, or you misunderstood him... using different methods to battle nuisance algae does not create a brand new cycle over and over again. If you removed and cleaned the rocks and replace them back into the tank, tearing the entire tank apart to do so...maybe

+1. Nature has a way of balancing things. You can't have too much bacteria unless it has a limitless food source. The bacteria population will adjust itself to what your tank provides. If there is a major disruption to the system, there may be some bacterial die-off, but the system will normally recover fairly quickly. You'll experience a "mini cycle", unless something catastrophic occurs and you wind up with a full-blown crash. Adding the aquaripure shouldn't cause a recurring cycle, unless some kind of toxin was introduced at the same time, or it's not properly maintained. I'm assuming you have followed the directions to the tee, and are dosing it twice a week with ethanol (or other carbon based food). It's possible that the chemicals from the tap water could be wreaking havoc on the bacteria in the aquaripure, Water conditioners remove a lot of the chemicals and neutralize a lot of the metals in tap water, but it doesn't get everything. If you want a healthy tank, step #1 is pure water.

 

[shobby]

The crash WAS caused by chemicals that were my fault. I started the machine running, shortly after the fact came that crap all over the sand, thinking it was cyno I treated it which in turn did affect the machine and caused it to take longer to cycle. But during all this, it says to check the ph which I did, and it came back low. Added ph checked later, fine, checked couple days later, very low. Added once again ph up at which point, although says will not go past a certain point, made the entire aquarium crash. Yes, that was my fault, but again, never solved the brown algae problem.

Yes, I feed it twice a week, the machine has a nitrate reading of zero. But aquarium still reads five, which is good in my book.

And I figured the guy was wrong, I really didn't understand everything he was saying but basically told me to remove the rubble rock from the sump cause there was to much competition from the bacteria between the three areas, live rock, rock rubble and the aquaripure, that it is just causing the aquarium to continue to cycle per say. That is why I turned to you guys cause I figured he was nuts.

 

[flower]

The crash WAS caused by chemicals that were my fault. I started the machine running, shortly after the fact came that crap all over the sand, thinking it was cyno I treated it which in turn did affect the machine and caused it to take longer to cycle. But during all this, it says to check the ph which I did, and it came back low. Added ph checked later, fine, checked couple days later, very low. Added once again ph up at which point, although says will not go past a certain point, made the entire aquarium crash. Yes, that was my fault, but again, never solved the brown algae problem.

Yes, I feed it twice a week, the machine has a nitrate reading of zero. But aquarium still reads five, which is good in my book.

And I figured the guy was wrong, I really didn't understand everything he was saying but basically told me to remove the rubble rock from the sump cause there was to much competition from the bacteria between the three areas, live rock, rock rubble and the aquaripure, that it is just causing the aquarium to continue to cycle per say. That is why I turned to you guys cause I figured he was nuts.

Hi, I ran an Aquaripure nitrate filter for years, I also had rubble rock and live rock, along with macros. No brown algae and no crash. Instead of watching the PH, which reads differently at different times of the day...pay attention to the alkalinity, the PH up stuff is a waste of effort and is just a band-aid.

Good bacteria will only develop enough for the waste put out, the only time it would be unbalanced is when you add new fish, because it takes time to readjust and grow more colonies to balance it out again, or clean stuff up too well, and destroy the colonies...it will never be in competition with itself no matter where the colonies are growing, be it a sumps rubble rock, or the live rock in the display.

 

[pegasus]

Unless you have heavy aeration, the oxygen-free water coming from your aquaripure could be causing the PH to drop. Just a theory...

 

[shobby]

Well the ph I believe was reading wrong cause of the tester. Funny, I tested it, low, tested again without changing anything and it tested fine so not sure what was going on but the ph was right where it needed to be but since I added all the stuff it just did some damage. Now I pretty much test things twice just in case.

 

[shobby]

Flower, I followed you on a thread you ran before purchasing the machine, then after I got it was having the problems and was hoping to catch you online one day and get a little more out of you about it.

 

[flower]

Flower, I followed you on a thread you ran before purchasing the machine, then after I got it was having the problems and was hoping to catch you online one day and get a little more out of you about it.

hi,

You can always message me if we don't connect on the site. As Pegasus mentioned, you need good aeration ... The water dripping from the Aquaripure should be oxygenated as much as possible. I don't think the drip, drip of that filter will do much to the PH, but good gas exchange is the very life of your tank. The wave is the life of the ocean, and our saltwater tanks.

What test kits are you using?

 

[bang guy]

I don't believe oxygen has much, if any, effect on PH.

I always get disturbed when I read "added PH". This is almost always a mistake, almost.

 

[shobby]

hi,

You can always message me if we don't connect on the site. As Pegasus mentioned, you need good aeration ... The water dripping from the Aquaripure should be oxygenated as much as possible. I don't think the drip, drip of that filter will do much to the PH, but good gas exchange is the very life of your tank. The wave is the life of the ocean, and our saltwater tanks.

What test kits are you using?

I did try to private message you but didn't get a reply. Not sure I did it right though. And the test I use is the API. I know, you are against them.

 

[shobby]

I have very good water movement in the aquarium, it has the two areas that the water comes out plus I have four power heads in it. The top of the aquarium the water is definitely moving. Don't feel that to be the problem, am going to get R.O. Water and try that and see, hopefully that works cause it is just plum ugly like it is.

And yes, learned my lesson on the ph addition. Will just make water changes.