algea bloom came out of nowhere!!!

bentrue

bentrue

Member
i installed a refugium that solved my algae woes and have been running hair algae free for about 2.5 months now. the grape caulerpa that i have got so thick in the refugium that i started to develop some cynobacteria in the areas with less water movement. when i noticed this starting to happen i went in and cleared out about half of my caulerpa so it can re-grow and fill up the refugium again.
about a week or so later i started noticing tiny clumps of hair algae growing and i figured that my coral beauty, lawnmower blenny, and various snails and emerald crabs would get it. well they didn't and now the hair algae seems to be coming back. what could be going wrong? all water parameters have not changed through this whole process except for the trates dropping after installing the refugium. please help me out with this one. i am not wanting the hair algae scourge to return.
sorry this was so long but i thought background info to be important on this one.
 
ruaround

ruaround

Active Member
Usually hair algae indicates high phosphates. What type of water are you using (RO tap etc.)?
I have had a little success with a phosphate sponge. But the way i got rid of the hair algae was a little elbow grease and using RO water. HTH
 
bradsmack

bradsmack

Member
Most definately could be that summer heat :cool: . I work at the LFS and just around this time our reef tank begins to grow large amounts of hair algae..
 
ed r

ed r

Member
Is your tank getting any sunlight now that it might not have earlier in the year? Has the lighting changed in any way? Are the bulbs well within their normal useful life? When you removed 50% of the algae from the refugium, that might have affected the nitrate level in the main tank for a while until it grows back. If this is the cause, I would not anticipate a major outbreak, but rather a brief annoyance. Keep an eye on it and your nitrate and phosphate levels. Good luck.
 
bentrue

bentrue

Member
tank is not getting any direct sunlight. it is getting close to time to switch to new bulbs. will old light bulbs cause hair algae blooms?
 
nm reef

nm reef

Active Member
Yes...old bulbs that are going out of spectrum can contribute....I'd look into replacing them....plus you may need to test your phosphate levels ...wouldn't hurt to manually remove the stuff as you can....also it may help to cut back on your feedings and avoid excessive wastes...may also be a good idea to start a few weekly/bi-weekly water changes...stay on top of it and prevent it from getting out of control....your refugium combined with preventative measures should help in preventing/controling it......good luck.
 
byrself

byrself

Member
NM is right, plus also i'd like to ask, that ro water you use might not be as pure as you think, especially if it's bottled. i personally use bottled distilled, and have had zero nuisance algae probs since i switched. some ro water isn't distilled, and some bottled ro can have other things in it. if you removed caulerpa and algae increased, you must have alot of it in the tank to take over like that. too much that the previous amounts of caulerpa you had couldn't keep up with. good luck.
 
pb here

pb here

Member
Hey BenTrue,
Have you checked out Aquarium Designs in Pelham yet? Great little place and the guy that owns it is very helpful.
 
bentrue

bentrue

Member
no i haven't. is it a new LFS? i have not heard of it. i usually frequent the Aquarium Imports in hoover. kind of expensive though. where exactly is the pelham LFS?
 
bentrue

bentrue

Member
thanks for the help everyone! i will be doing readings on my ro water and i will buy some distilled to test that also.
i have recently read that PC lights will cause more algae blooms than VHO. is that true?
 
pb here

pb here

Member
BenTrue. It's not really new, just new to me. He specializes in going to people homes and businesses and setting up and maintaining their tanks. He is located in Alpine Square, if you are coming from Hoover, it's about a mile or so past Valley School on your left. He is planning on moving into a new store by the Galleria this August.
Tien, the owner, will want to discuss in great detail about your tank before he will try to sell you anything. I was very impressed with him. Plus, he beat AI quote on a 75 gal. drilled by $15.
 
byrself

byrself

Member
Originally posted by BenTrue:
<strong>thanks for the help everyone! i will be doing readings on my ro water and i will buy some distilled to test that also.
i have recently read that PC lights will cause more algae blooms than VHO. is that true?</strong><hr></blockquote>
i doubt that. in my opinion, no.
 
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