Can i leave lights off to stop algae?

[romeofoeve]

i recently got an algae bloom because i had used tap water for my H20 change. I put in a carbon bag and did a 50% water change with RO water from my lfs. my question is, can i leave the lights off for a few days till the algae gets filtered out, if not how long should i leave them on so the algae wont bloom again?. i have a BTA, a condi, and polyps coral.

 

[xnikki118x]

You can, but I definitely wouldn't. Cut the time you keep the lights on a bit, but anything drastic won't be good for your livestock. If you usually leave your lights on for 10 hours, try it for 8 hours instead, and keep the lighting in the room off if you can. Just a suggestion though, I've never tried it. Last time I had an algae problem, I bought my yellow tang. Hasn't happened since. Hope you get rid of it somehow!

 

[romeofoeve]

its the kind of algae that makes your water green. i was at work and stupidly, had my lights on for 12 hours yesterday. i got home to see a dark green tank and i flipped. after the water change its better but now im afraid to leave th elights on cause i dont want the water to get worse. i have 2 24" PC's 1 actinic, 1 10k on a 29g.

 

[xnikki118x]

Your lighting puts me to shame, haha. Is there maybe a way you can just use the 10k and the actinic until your water clears up? My LFS said that a 10k and an actinic is fine for a 29-gallon last time I was asking him about my lighting, so I doubt that you'll lose any livestock by shutting the power compacts off temporarily. 10% daily water changes aren't a bad idea, either. Just make sure the new water is aged and the parameters are good.
Just out of curiosity, how much did your whole light set-up cost you? Does your tank have a hood? My 29 is an Eclipse and it has the filter and everything like built into the hood, and there's room for 2 tube lights inside. Was yours like that before you got the PC's? Just trying to get an idea of the steps I can take for better lighting because I do need it.

 

[romeofoeve]

well, i have the eclipse hood too, and i went with a retrofit kit. i removed the original light setup and drilled in the new ones onto the cover. the only thing is that you will have to bend the reflector a bit to allow the hood to close fully and you will have to buy a plexiglass cover so water wont splash onto the pc's. i got a sheet of plexiglass and cit it to fit inside the rim of the tank. i am currently working on a custom aquarium stand with a cabinet. i can send you pix. if you are interested, i am willing to sell you my system for a reasonable price, since i want to upgrade to better lighting. i can just remove my setup and ship it to you and you can just switch it out with the eclipse system. i have only had it for less than a month.
my email is romeofoever@hotmail.com

 

[will l]

It went from clear to that green in one day, wow. Theres some stuff called "Its Clear" that they sell on this site (under dry goods). Can anyone vouch for this stuff, is this what its used for? never tryef it myself... How old is your tank, is it well established? Oh by the way the next step after that would be to buy a timer if u havent already.

 

[kimkissyfish]

ROmeo,
Hmmm.. My first inclination is to say that its NOT completely cycled FIRST, if you've only had it less than a month and you have a condi and coral.
Do you think thats your problem? YOur system is in overload, nothing to really do with the lights BUT it conributed to it..
Anyone agree?? I used tap water for years and that didnt happen. RO is best but I am sure that didnt cause that in one day.
I would test your water, i can guarentee you have an ammonia spike and nitrite spike.
Sorry JMO, trying to help, Kim

 

[texasex]

I agree that you probably have too much too soon, but. . . I would bet that the tap water had something to do with your problem, too. While some people can use theirs just fine, others have complete crashes with tap water. It just depends on where you live. Not all tap water is the same! I would definitely test my water before I do another water change. And as far as the lighting, if you are going to try to limit the light to get rid of the algae, you are going to have to cut it back to about 6 hours to make a difference. Eight hours is still enough for it to grow. I am not a believer in using chemicals to rid my tank of algae, as it will get rid of the good algae as well. Or so I have been told!

 

[mrmaroon]

Try and find a way to put a small hang on the back skimmer on that thing. That would help a lot. You most have a lot of ammonia/phosphate/something to get a bloom that big, that fast.

 

[romeofoeve]

i tested my parameters a day ago and they were as follows:
NH3:0
NO2:0
NO3:0
pH:8.0 (i know its low im trying to raise it)
Sal: 1.225
Temp:78-80
i had my phosphate tested at a lfs and i think it read .2? im not sure. but my tank has been up for about 3 months and has fully cycled. my maroon had ick so i used a produst called ich attack, which made my water almost black. it was 100% reef safe and organic. however after i stopped treatment, i did a 33% water change and noticed in the next few days, the water went from brown to yellow to green. yesterday i did a 50% water change and got a timer and now limit my lights to 6 hours. i installed a new filter and also added a bag of activated filter carbon. i would love to get a skimmer or uv filter, but i cant afford one. im thinking of going to my lfs later on and see if they can either lend me one or if theres a product i can use, perhaps a phosphate pad? sometimes its so frustrating when you cannot fix a problem.
on another topic, how do i dose a buffer to raise my ph? can i add it directly to the tank or should i dilute it and add it slowy? im afraid that a big change will harm my fish, i know theyre sensitive to it.
I currently have:
White striped maroon
Scarlet cleaner
sand sifter star
5-6 hermits
4 snails
lawnmower blenny
royal gramma
condi
polyps
small BTA
and a butload of algae

 

[xnikki118x]

I use Seachem Marine Buffer pH 8.3. My LFS recommended it to me when I was having a pH problem similar to yours, and it worked very well. Just dissolve it in a cup or two of hot freshwater and slowly add it to your tank once it's all dissolved.
I'll think about that lighting, thanks for the offer.

 

[texasex]

Okay, correct me if I am wrong, but isn't the ideal ph 8.2, and would you want to put "hot" water in your tank? Just a thought!

 

[xnikki118x]

The buffer has to dissolve completely, and to do that it needs hot water. If you add a cup or two of hot water slowly to your tank, it won't make a difference in the temperature at all.
People keep their tanks at different pH levels, just like not everyone has the same salinity measurement. I keep my pH 8.2-8.3, but I've read that anything from 8.0-8.4 is a decent range. I think the most important thing is consistency in your readings. Fluctuation of chemical levels kills livestock more often than constantly having them a little bit off from what's "ideal", IMO.
:happyfish

 

[texasex]

You are totally correct about it mattering more about the consistency than the value, BUT. . . 8.0 is really too low for a tank that has more than just fish in it. I have been told that 8.0 is way too low for something like a starfish, or some corals. Ophiura, please correct me if I am wrong!

 

[romeofoeve]

well my red star died, i dunno from the ph or not, but as far as my sand star, its good as ever. im just having a hard time controlling each thing, the ph and the algae. it seems the ph just wont stay and im afraid the constant attempts to raise it will stress out and kill my live stock.
as far as the algae, i put a bag of phosphate sponge to try to clean the tank. is phosphate directly related to the algae. i mean, by my removal of the phos, will the algae also clear up or do i have to use a different procedure to clean the green water?

 

[ophiura]

8.0 is not bad, IMO, and I would do some serious searching on alk and PH before you get too far into buffering it up...there is a complex relationship on it. Search for pH, alkalinity and things posted by Bang Guy. I am sure he will have some good advice. Also time of day is important in your pH reading (early will be lowest, end of day will be highest...8.0 is pretty normal, IMO).
Was the red star a red brittlestar?
Your tank is much too young, IMO for any type of star, which are very delicate when it comes to things like acclimation, salinity (which is a bit on the low side, IMO - 1.026 is more reasonable) and other water quality parameters that tend to fluctuate a lot in a young tank. In addition, long acclimation for stars is important...many will die in the first month from acclimation shock. If this was the red brittlestar, it needs a pristine reef tank with ideal salinity, etc, and a long acclimation (4+ hourse). In many cases, it is doomed.
The sand sifter stars commonly starve to death in tanks in 9-12 months after depleting the sand bed of most beneficial critters. If it ever appears to be disintegrating - losing the tips of the arms, or you notice hermits or something eating it...it has starved to death....common in most tanks under 100g. Some may take to spot feeding, which I encourage trying early on (bits of shrimp, squid, etc).

 

[fishieness]

oo!! wait!!! sorry for the off topic back up but i was away for a few days and didnt spend my usual time a day checking all these posts and things. But Romeofoeve .... How did you get enough lighting in your ecplipse to have corals?!!! I was told i would have to buy and whole new top and filter for my 29 gallon and would cost 260 bucks jsut to be able to have them! I did however upgrade my lighting to a coral sun actinic 420 and a reef sun 50/50. Each 24 inches but only 18 watts apiece. It says they are capable and benificial at housing corals and invertebrets, but i asked online and you guys (or at least 2 of you) said i would need about 90 watts to have corals in my tank so it would work. The guy at a local ***** told me to return the ones I had before to get the coral and reef sun ones i have now.(the ones before were a marine glow and a power glow). These ones were less expensive so i figured he wasnt just trying to make a sale. He also said it might be able to do corals and possibly an anenome if i stacked up enough live rock utnil its about 3 inches below the surface.... crap this is turning into a different question than i originaly started. So ill split it in two parts.
1. Are my lights ok for corals and maybe an anenome if it is at the surface?
2. How exactly did you fit those lights in? And wouldnt you need a fan for those compact florecent? (thats what they look like to me)
sorry for the rambling.. and thanks!

 

[romeofoeve]

about your lighting i dont think you have enough, i would upgrade to a minimum of 130w pc's. corals need alot of lights and normal flo. bulbs dont have enough intensity and output to allow corals to thrive. i did the same, i got an 18k and a actinic but then decided to upgrade to pc's, since i can install them and still keep my eclipse hood. if you are interested in a similar setup, email me and i cal tell you all about it. since i leave the back half of the cover open almost always, i dont have to worry about overheating.
back to the original topic on the green water, so far, i have cut mu lighting to 3-4 hours, done a 50% water change, added mangroves, new carbon, 2 extra carbon bags, and i have been using phosphate sponge, still no clarity in the water. any more suggestions? should i move to chemical additives?

 

[texasex]

Ophiura, thank you for your infinite knowledge in all things "starfish."

To Romeofoeve, I read that Coralife has a water clarifier product that is reef safe and won't harm your good algaes (I think I just said this on another post a few days ago.). I have not personally had occasion to use this product, (and hopefully never will!) but if you are still struggling, I guess it is worth a shot! :thinking:

 

[ophiura]

Thanks
I agree....Some of the water clarifiers are "particle clumpers" and clump all that algae together so that it is large enough to be captured by the filter pad. So that might help. Not familiar with how effective it is, or whether it will harm anything though.