Algae.

[callaro]

hey everyone.
well i have a 65 gallon hex flatback, with mainly LR and fish, with some small soft corals. anyway, looking through the photos of some of your tanks, i have noticed this, some tanks are spottless from algae,where as some, the back walls and powerheads are just covered. i need to know what to do to mine. scrubbing it all the time would be a huge B.
LMK your answers? thanks
cal.

 

[symon]

There are lots of things to do, I have tried them all and nothing has worked yet!
You can decrease your lighting cycle, check for and elimanate phophates in your water, inprove your water flow,Feed less , Increase your cleaning crew!
Those are just a few things you can do to try to control you alge blooms I hope this helps some and i hope others chome in to help you with this!
But i can almost bet they are going to want to know your water paramiters, so i would post that with your next post!
You know , amm, nitrites, nitrates, lighting, power heads, ECT

 

[poniegirl]

Hi callaro

A lot of it is personal preference and tolerance. I think it also has to do with set up. I would believe that in the larger tanks the output on the filter systems don't come out of the tank except in replacement circumstance.
The water quality is a factor. If algae has a food source, it will grow. Light, nitrates and water flow all contribute.
I recall a thread a while back that asked opinion on scrubbing the back walls of tanks, and I think the common answer was either No, because rock is in the way or No, because the coraline algae growth is appealing.
What is your tank and your feeling on algae? You don't really say in your post. :thinking: I get the feeling you have algae, but don't care for it?

 

[callaro]

Originally Posted by PonieGirl
Hi callaro

A lot of it is personal preference and tolerance. I think it also has to do with set up. I would believe that in the larger tanks the output on the filter systems don't come out of the tank except in replacement circumstance.
The water quality is a factor. If algae has a food source, it will grow. Light, nitrates and water flow all contribute.
I recall a thread a while back that asked opinion on scrubbing the back walls of tanks, and I think the common answer was either No, because rock is in the way or No, because the coraline algae growth is appealing.
What is your tank and your feeling on algae? You don't really say in your post. :thinking: I get the feeling you have algae, but don't care for it?
well i dont really mind the algae...but i REALLY dont want to scrub it all day long. haha. i will keep it off the sides and front, but will let the back go. i havent run any tests yet, but everything appears to be going ok....need more color though, and a black background, im getting sick of seeing my wall.

 

[poniegirl]

Testing your water would be a good idea. I had a nitrate spike after I upgraded my lights (jury is still out on whether or not the two relate) and the result was algae blooms and air bubbles everywhere. Water changes at the rate of 20% every two days brought things back under control. It took a couple of weeks before things were acceptable.
Also purchased several turbo snails, they really do a nice job.
It is normal for some algae to grow. And the tank scrubbing chore is part and parcel to the whole thing. I do scrub only front and the parts of the sides that I can get to.