Algae removal
- Thread starter mccanei
- Start date
A
amphibious
Guest
Removing certain kinds of algae is not bad. Having an aboundance of algae to remove is a sign that something is amuck in the system. Give me some idea of what you are dealing with. It would be helpful to know the size of your tank, the filtering system, are you running a skimmer, how often are you changing water and how much? Also, what are the water parameters in the tank, PH, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, salinity, Calcium, Alkalinity, Magnesium? All these entertwine in the mix of what is in your tank causing the algae to bloom. What and how many critters do you have in the tank, fish, invertebrates, corals, cleanup crew and how often are you feeding the tank and what? It may sound complicated but, it really isn't. You just have to know these things. I have to know them if you want me to help.
mccanei
Member
Originally Posted by Amphibious
Removing certain kinds of algae is not bad. Having an aboundance of algae to remove is a sign that something is amuck in the system. Give me some idea of what you are dealing with. It would be helpful to know the size of your tank, the filtering system, are you running a skimmer, how often are you changing water and how much? Also, what are the water parameters in the tank, PH, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, salinity, Calcium, Alkalinity, Magnesium? All these entertwine in the mix of what is in your tank causing the algae to bloom. What and how many critters do you have in the tank, fish, invertebrates, corals, cleanup crew and how often are you feeding the tank and what? It may sound complicated but, it really isn't. You just have to know these things. I have to know them if you want me to help.
My setup is a 145 fowlr. I have a 5" clown trigger, 9" surge wrasse, and a 8" porcupine puffer. The only problem I have with algae is the aesthetics. I have various types growing in various places. Green algae grows on sand bed, brown and green on glass, and some purple on the back closer to the lights. I know I should be using RO/DI water but my tap water is pretty good, just has some some phosphates. I perform 15% monthly water changes. I am running the Reef Devil Deluxe Skimmer, which kicks out foam in spurts, maybe a gallon or two a month.
Am:0
Ni:0
Na:0
PH 8.2
SAlininty: 1.019
DOn't test for others because I only keep fish, no inverts or coral beside LR
I feed twice a day, two whole fresh shrimp or supplement with Silversides, clam, or scallops. What should the algae situation be in this tank given all these parameters? How do I minimize this to give a show tank appearence?
Oh yeah, my filtration is a sump w/ bioballs, driven by a pump registering 1000 gallons/hour.
Removing certain kinds of algae is not bad. Having an aboundance of algae to remove is a sign that something is amuck in the system. Give me some idea of what you are dealing with. It would be helpful to know the size of your tank, the filtering system, are you running a skimmer, how often are you changing water and how much? Also, what are the water parameters in the tank, PH, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, salinity, Calcium, Alkalinity, Magnesium? All these entertwine in the mix of what is in your tank causing the algae to bloom. What and how many critters do you have in the tank, fish, invertebrates, corals, cleanup crew and how often are you feeding the tank and what? It may sound complicated but, it really isn't. You just have to know these things. I have to know them if you want me to help.
My setup is a 145 fowlr. I have a 5" clown trigger, 9" surge wrasse, and a 8" porcupine puffer. The only problem I have with algae is the aesthetics. I have various types growing in various places. Green algae grows on sand bed, brown and green on glass, and some purple on the back closer to the lights. I know I should be using RO/DI water but my tap water is pretty good, just has some some phosphates. I perform 15% monthly water changes. I am running the Reef Devil Deluxe Skimmer, which kicks out foam in spurts, maybe a gallon or two a month.
Am:0
Ni:0
Na:0
PH 8.2
SAlininty: 1.019
DOn't test for others because I only keep fish, no inverts or coral beside LR
I feed twice a day, two whole fresh shrimp or supplement with Silversides, clam, or scallops. What should the algae situation be in this tank given all these parameters? How do I minimize this to give a show tank appearence?
Oh yeah, my filtration is a sump w/ bioballs, driven by a pump registering 1000 gallons/hour.
cgrant
Active Member
I use the large mag float, works great!
I usually need to clean my glass ~2-3 weeks or so, if you need to do it every day then something is wrong!
Re-Check water params and also test for phosphates.
edit: also might want to look into doing larger water changes, on my 210 i do 50 gallons a month, ~25%
I test
trates
PH
phos
mag
CA
alk
I usually need to clean my glass ~2-3 weeks or so, if you need to do it every day then something is wrong!
Re-Check water params and also test for phosphates.
edit: also might want to look into doing larger water changes, on my 210 i do 50 gallons a month, ~25%
I test
trates
PH
phos
mag
CA
alk
A
amphibious
Guest
Originally Posted by mccanei
My setup is a 145 fowlr. I have a 5" clown trigger, 9" surge wrasse, and a 8" porcupine puffer. The only problem I have with algae is the aesthetics. I have various types growing in various places. Green algae grows on sand bed, brown and green on glass, and some purple on the back closer to the lights. I know I should be using RO/DI water but my tap water is pretty good, just has some some phosphates. I perform 15% monthly water changes. I am running the Reef Devil Deluxe Skimmer, which kicks out foam in spurts, maybe a gallon or two a month.
Am:0
Ni:0
Na:0
PH 8.2
SAlininty: 1.019
DOn't test for others because I only keep fish, no inverts or coral beside LR
I feed twice a day, two whole fresh shrimp or supplement with Silversides, clam, or scallops. What should the algae situation be in this tank given all these parameters? How do I minimize this to give a show tank appearence?
Oh yeah, my filtration is a sump w/ bioballs, driven by a pump registering 1000 gallons/hour.
I want to comment on things in bold.
Those are some great fish, huge too. They produce a lot of poop which contributes to the algae production. So thats the X in the equation.
Next, the phosphate in your tap water is accumulating even though you are doing water changes. Some salts have phosphates in them, too. Yes, believe it or not, they do. So Phosphate is the Y in the equation.
Not testing for other things is sometimes OK except when you are trying to figure out a problem. In this case the source of algae growth and how to control it. At the very least, in addition to the things you do test for, I'd recommend adding a Phosphate test kit. My guess is you will find it quite high.
Finally and probably the biggest factor are Bio-balls. There are three phases to the nitrogen cycle, Ammonia to Nitrite, Nitrite to Nitrate and Nitrate to Nitrogen gas. Bio-balls do an excellent job converting the first two and absolutely nothing with the last phase. Consequentually, Nitrates can soar. In a FOWLR it not a problem for the fish BUT Nitrates fuel the growth of algae. Nitrates = the Z in the formula of your problem.
Here's what it looks like to me. Waste+Phosphates+Nitrates=Algae growth. How do we solve the problem? Several things need to be done.
First, test for phosphates.
Second, make sure your Nitrate test kit is giving you correct readings. Take a sample to a LFS that offers free testing.
Third, use a phosphate remover.
Fourth, do larger water changes more often.
Any reason you keep your salinity so low???
Anyway, that's my take on your situation. I hope it helps.
----
My setup is a 145 fowlr. I have a 5" clown trigger, 9" surge wrasse, and a 8" porcupine puffer. The only problem I have with algae is the aesthetics. I have various types growing in various places. Green algae grows on sand bed, brown and green on glass, and some purple on the back closer to the lights. I know I should be using RO/DI water but my tap water is pretty good, just has some some phosphates. I perform 15% monthly water changes. I am running the Reef Devil Deluxe Skimmer, which kicks out foam in spurts, maybe a gallon or two a month.
Am:0
Ni:0
Na:0
PH 8.2
SAlininty: 1.019
DOn't test for others because I only keep fish, no inverts or coral beside LR
I feed twice a day, two whole fresh shrimp or supplement with Silversides, clam, or scallops. What should the algae situation be in this tank given all these parameters? How do I minimize this to give a show tank appearence?
Oh yeah, my filtration is a sump w/ bioballs, driven by a pump registering 1000 gallons/hour.
I want to comment on things in bold.
Those are some great fish, huge too. They produce a lot of poop which contributes to the algae production. So thats the X in the equation.
Next, the phosphate in your tap water is accumulating even though you are doing water changes. Some salts have phosphates in them, too. Yes, believe it or not, they do. So Phosphate is the Y in the equation.
Not testing for other things is sometimes OK except when you are trying to figure out a problem. In this case the source of algae growth and how to control it. At the very least, in addition to the things you do test for, I'd recommend adding a Phosphate test kit. My guess is you will find it quite high.
Finally and probably the biggest factor are Bio-balls. There are three phases to the nitrogen cycle, Ammonia to Nitrite, Nitrite to Nitrate and Nitrate to Nitrogen gas. Bio-balls do an excellent job converting the first two and absolutely nothing with the last phase. Consequentually, Nitrates can soar. In a FOWLR it not a problem for the fish BUT Nitrates fuel the growth of algae. Nitrates = the Z in the formula of your problem.
Here's what it looks like to me. Waste+Phosphates+Nitrates=Algae growth. How do we solve the problem? Several things need to be done.
First, test for phosphates.
Second, make sure your Nitrate test kit is giving you correct readings. Take a sample to a LFS that offers free testing.
Third, use a phosphate remover.
Fourth, do larger water changes more often.
Any reason you keep your salinity so low???
Anyway, that's my take on your situation. I hope it helps.
----
mccanei
Member
Thanks alot for the pointers, I will invest in a phosphate kit and start to use RO/DI. AS for the salinity, I was told by my LFS that a salinity between 1.018-1.019 helps minimize the amount of diseases. Any suggestions as what to replace Bio Balls with? Last question can you remove too much algae at once?
A
amphibious
Guest
Originally Posted by mccanei
Thanks alot for the pointers, I will invest in a phosphate kit and start to use RO/DI. AS for the salinity, I was told by my LFS that a salinity between 1.018-1.019 helps minimize the amount of diseases. Any suggestions as what to replace Bio Balls with? Last question can you remove too much algae at once?
Your welcome.
Phosphate kit and RO/DI, a great start.
Hypo salinity. This is true. But, a word of caution, if you are a reefer reading this, DO NOT TRY THIS IN YOUR REEF TANK!!! A reef tank needs salinity up near 1.025 because of the whole calcium, alkalinity, PH Magnesium thing.
Replace bio-balls with LR. Here's a link to a thread with pictures of what I did with my wet/dry. https://www.saltwaterfish.com/vb/showthread.php?t=231237 Check it out and ask questions if you want.
Rich