Algae EVERYWHERE!!!!

newsaltwater

newsaltwater

Member
Ok so tank has been up and running in April.
Have four fish 2 clowns, a diamond goby, and a royal gramma. The goby and gramma were just added two or three weeks ago.
I also have a bunch of hermits and a bunch of snails
50-55 pounds of live rock and 50-55 pounds of live sand. (20 more pounds of live rock is curing)
I have a few Ricordias, a few mushrooms, one torch coral(who isnt doing good), and one small thing of some zoos.
(all tests taken a week ago)
Ammonia- .25pp
Nitrite-0ppm
Nitrate-0ppm
Phosphates-0ppm
Calcium-450
Dkh-11
Alk-Dont remember
Will test everything again tomorrow and also get pictures if needed.
So I have this brown algae growing EVERYWHERE...on my sand on my rocks on my glass. I also have green algae growing on my rocks and in my sand.
Another culprit may be my lights...I have them on for 12 hours a day and I am now thinking this may be too much.
If it is the lights should I just leave them completely off for a few days and adjust it to a shorter time period?
If its not the lights what do you think I should do?
ETA: I am using instant ocean salt...but I may switch back to ***** brand....more consistent parameters and never had any algae growth with ***** brand and its also much cheaper. ( I know the salt may not be a problem, but I do know that there is potential for it to be caused my phosphates which could be hiding in the salt.)
 
rort

rort

Member
I believe I just went through this same thing. If you can get pics up we can help you out a lot more in telling you EXACTLY what it is. It is probably a Diatom bloom. Mine was there for about 2 weeks and then just went away.
The only thing I would say is that your Ammonia should be at 0. Just about everyone will tell you on this forum that you need to keep that at 0. It might be from adding the new fish, but your tank should have been established enough to handle that.
When ever I do a water change or add a new fish I use Seachem's Stability.
I am sure more experienced hobbyist here will be more help!
 
smokingreefer

smokingreefer

Member
What type of flow do you have in your tank? Do you do water changes? What type of lighting do you have? What is your SG? The answers to these questions could be a contributing factor on why you have nuisance algae in your tank.
 
newsaltwater

newsaltwater

Member
Originally Posted by smokingreefer
http:///forum/post/2751061
What type of flow do you have in your tank?
3 power heads.
Do you do water changes?
Yes. Normally once a week or once every other week. If the tank needs a water change before the one week I will do it then, but the longest i go without is roughly two weeks, and it has been this way since I got the tank and this problem has just started recently.
What type of lighting do you have?
t5's
What is your SG?
1.023
 
mr_x

mr_x

Active Member
the natural sea water at the reef where we collect these creatures is at .025-.026.
you might want to raise that up slowly.
just because the algae started now, doesn't mean you haven't been building up to it all along.
how do you know when the tank needs a waterchange? if there is some noticable symptom that tells you the tank needs a waterchange, there is your problem.
can you take a picture of the algae? is there any bubbles in the brown algae?
 
newsaltwater

newsaltwater

Member
Originally Posted by Mr_X
http:///forum/post/2751617
how do you know when the tank needs a waterchange? if there is some noticable symptom that tells you the tank needs a waterchange, there is your problem.
Nope. I just normally test the water every other day. If something is too high Ill do a water change. If everything is ok I dont. The only reason that those tests are from a week ago is those are the only ones I have written down and remember.
can you take a picture of the algae? is there any bubbles in the brown algae?
Nope no bubbles in the algae. Here are some pictures that were taken with my cell phone because my digital camera is MIA. (the spots in some of the pictures are either coraline or water drips on the side.




I also just redid the tests
Ammonia is at 0ppm
Nitrite is at 0ppm
and Nitrate is at 5ppm.
And I am doing a 10 gallon water change tomorrow as well.
ETA:And here are pictures of the tank from a little less than a month ago.
http://s20.photobucket.com/albums/b2...20august%2012/
 
peter1215

peter1215

Member
I would get the follwing :
phosphate reactor by two little fishes - $35
algae eating fish like a kole tang or a black sailfin blenny
make sure your resource for RO/DI is reliable..some lfs are known to cut conners
make sure you ligtbulbs are not old
do not over feed
frequent/weekly small water changes: i changed 15g per week on my 220
this should certainly help
 
cveverly

cveverly

Member
Originally Posted by Mr_X
http:///forum/post/2751694
it looks to be brown diatom algae.
i'm voting for excess nutrients.

I agree.
Are you running a skimmer? If so maybe run it a little wetter to pull some of the excess nutrients and algae out.
Larger water changes may help.
 
spanko

spanko

Active Member
Three things strike me here"
Too much nutrient in the water, cut down on feeding and do more water changes. Also if you have a skimmer run it a little wetter. You will have to empty it more ofter but you will get out more nutrient. Also take a turkey baster and blow on the diatoms to get them suspended in the water column for removal by your skimmer - mechanical filter. Change out the filter material more often to ensure you are not dumping more nutrient back in the water because the filter material cannot handle it.
What do you have for a clean up crew any nassarius or cerith snails?
Flow is important, again to keep nutrient suspended for removal. You need to point some power heads down toward the sand. Not enough to cause a sand storm just enough to see that the diatoms are being blown off the sand.
Your real problem is where is the nutrient coming from, fix this along with the things above and you will have a happy tank.
 
newsaltwater

newsaltwater

Member
Ok I will try to answer everything
1. No skimmer
2. I only feed every other day and they eat 95% of it. Do you think that 5% could be causing this much?
3. Only thing I have added to the tank besides water is some liquid calcium, and of course the food.
4. Phosphates are at 0. And have been consistantly at 0 since I started the tank up.
5. I only have a 55 gallon tank so I am pretty sure the Kole Tang is out. Will the black sailfin blenny do ok with the clowns, gramma and diamond goby? Is the 55 a big enough tank for him?
6. Think the Ro/Di water is reliable. But how would I find out if its not?
7. Light bulbs are only a few months old.
8. Will definitely start doing weekly water changes.
9. Will also start changing the filter media more often.
10. Yes I do have nassrius and cerith snails also have hermit crabs
Peter can you explain this?
phosphate reactor by two little fishes - $35
 
cveverly

cveverly

Member
1. No skimmer
*** I would put this at the top of my list. Meanwhile do lots of water changes. The skimmer will export much of the excess nutrients and poo.
2. I only feed every other day and they eat 95% of it. Do you think that 5% could be causing this much?
*** It is adding to your problem compounded by no skimmer.
3. Only thing I have added to the tank besides water is some liquid calcium, and of course the food.
*** Good.
4. Phosphates are at 0. And have been consistantly at 0 since I started the tank up.
*** Do you check your saltwater before you add it to your tank? The algae can lock up the phosphates so your test will show 0.
5. I only have a 55 gallon tank so I am pretty sure the Kole Tang is out. Will the black sailfin blenny do ok with the clowns, gramma and diamond goby? Is the 55 a big enough tank for him?
*** Good on the Tang but no idea on the blenny. Personally I would not rely on a fish to eat you out of this problem.
6. Think the Ro/Di water is reliable. But how would I find out if its not?
*** Get a TDS meter. Cost about $20.
7. Light bulbs are only a few months old.
*** Few months, less than 12? What type of light?
8. Will definitely start doing weekly water changes.
*** Great!
9. Will also start changing the filter media more often.
*** Also a great idea.
10. Yes I do have nassrius and cerith snails also have hermit crabs.
*** How many?
A phosphate reactor is a device to hold media that will remove phosphates. They can also be used for carbon. I am not sure this is needed if your are certain your phosphates are 0.
This is a little controversial but bumping your magnesium to 1400-1500 has be noted to control algae in the short term.
It would not hurt to leave your lights off for a couple of days. Once again this is a band aid, not a cure.
I don't see a PH reading. What is your PH and Alk?
BTW, IO makes good salt. It is just a little low in calcium.
 
newsaltwater

newsaltwater

Member
Originally Posted by cveverly
http:///forum/post/2751955
1. No skimmer
*** I would put this at the top of my list. Meanwhile do lots of water changes. The skimmer will export much of the excess nutrients and poo.
Cost is an issue. It is the only reason I have not gotten one yet. I havent been able to find a quailty skimmer around the $100 range. What would you recommend for a low cost skimmer that is a HOB version? What do you think of the coralife skimmers?
4. Phosphates are at 0. And have been consistantly at 0 since I started the tank up.
*** Do you check your saltwater before you add it to your tank? The algae can lock up the phosphates so your test will show 0.
No I dont check the water before I add it to the tank, but I do check it an hour or so after adding the water to the tank. If it is phosphates causing this could they all be gone within that hour?
7. Light bulbs are only a few months old.
*** Few months, less than 12? What type of light?
Yes less than 12 months less than six actually...probably around 4 months? And T5's. 2 54 watt actinics and 2 54 regular daylight t5s and 8 led moonlights.
10. Yes I do have nassrius and cerith snails also have hermit crabs.
*** How many?
Hmmm at least 10 hermit crabs and maybe 15 snails total? Maybe more.
 
cveverly

cveverly

Member
Cost is an issue. It is the only reason I have not gotten one yet. I havent been able to find a quality skimmer around the $100 range. What would you recommend for a low cost skimmer that is a HOB version? What do you think of the coralife skimmers?
*** I have not used a coralife but I understand they are touchy to set-up and tend to overflow. However, I understand they can perform well for the money once they are dialed in. Look at the Octopus BH-100SS skimmer. Can be bought for around $120. If you want one that has the pump in the skimmer housing look at the BH-100F. The 100F runs about $149.
No I dont check the water before I add it to the tank, but I do check it an hour or so after adding the water to the tank. If it is phosphates causing this could they all be gone within that hour?
*** I would check before adding to the tank just to set my mind at ease. This is also a personal choice but I also test for calcium, magnesium and alkalinity before adding it to my tank. This allows me to adjust the levels where they best match my tank.
Yes less than 12 months less than six actually...probably around 4 months? And T5's. 2 54 watt actinics and 2 54 regular daylight t5s and 8 led moonlights.
*** These should not be the source of your problem although I am not sure of the daylights spectrum.
Hmmm at least 10 hermit crabs and maybe 15 snails total? Maybe more.
*** I am not a fan of crabs but that is a personal choice. If your snails are all living might bump up to 20 - 25.
 
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