Diatoms and green hair algae everywhere, why?

shlap

shlap

Member
I have a new (about 3.5 weeks now) 90 gallon with 90lbs of live rock. The live rock was packed full of life and I bought it on craigslist from a guy about 20 minutes away from me so my dieoff / ammonia spike was only about .5 for a day and 0 ever since. 0 nitrites and nitrates ever since as well, according to my daily aquarium pharmaceuticals (API) tests which I've read are pretty acurate. All was going well until 6 days ago when the brown diatoms exploded all over the substrate and walls. 1-2 days later, the brown turned to green and green hair algae really took off too, it's covering near everything. I keep scraping the sides of the tank and srubing the green hair off the rocks but it's back hours later.
Now the equipment...
Lights : Nova extreme pro 6x54W (Just blues for 1hr morning and night, 10ks + blues for 12hrs. Right now I have only one torch coral that needs light)
Powerheads: 1 850GPH powerhead and 1 270 GPH powerhead. (The two little clowns I put in 2 days ago seem to be getting blown away)
Sand 150lbs Aragamax
Live Rock: 90lbs established
Skimmer: Remora Pro w/Rio 1700 pump
Filter: AquaClear 110
Cleaners: 2 2" turbos, 5 blue-legs, 2 scarlets. I have 20 more of each arriving tomorrow.
I just did my first 10% water change yesterday. I will be doing them weekly from now on but read that you don't want to change the water while a new tank is cycling.
Am I doing everything right so far? Is it normal for a new system to explode with algae and then clear itself up as it matures? Thanks for any insight!
 
oceansidefish

oceansidefish

Active Member
Well diatoms are normal in a new tank...It is also a bit early to have anything in your tank... besides a cleanup crew. What are all your other readings??? Are you feeding the tank? Pics.
 
jackri

jackri

Active Member
Have you tested for phosphates? What kind of water do you use?
Also.. do you have direct sunlight from outside shining in on the tank?
I would start with those 3 I guess.
 
shlap

shlap

Member
Thanks for the input guys. I figured that since my live rock was so established, and my ammonia, nitrates, and nitrites have all been 0 for three weeks I could add some fish, no?
To answer the other questions, it's not near a window, I'm using Glacier water (http://www.glacierwater.com/glacier_quality.html) with Instant Ocean, and I haven't tested for phosphates.
The GHA actually doesn't look too bad in these photos because I scrubbed every rock w/ a toothbrush late last night just before the lights went off and these photos were taken just after the lights came back on this morning. You cann see the green diatoms on the back and my snail tracks, hah!




 
jackri

jackri

Active Member
Is it possible to keep all lights off for a few days?
Light is helping them grow but still sounds like something is fueling them to begin with.
 
shlap

shlap

Member
Originally Posted by jackri
http:///forum/post/3029829
Is it possible to keep all lights off for a few days?
Light is helping them grow but still sounds like something is fueling them to begin with.
I could but I don't think that'd make my torch coral very happy. I got him with the fish last Sunday and he seems to be doing well but I don't want to do anything to stess him. His name's Larry btw.
 
shaded light

shaded light

New Member
are you using tap? be honest, because the phosphates are coming in thru the tap water. the trick is to not do water changes, and run phosguard or roaphos. thus starving the algae. when it's gone, water change.
 
jackri

jackri

Active Member
I didn't bother with the link from Glacier... but doubtful it's as pure as RO or RO/DI.. but I could be wrong.
 
shlap

shlap

Member
I'm not using tap water, I'm using Glacier water. It says it's reverse osmosis.
Here are the treatments... it doesn't get much better, does it?
 
joncat24

joncat24

Active Member
Glacier water is not RO/DI.....ro only, and usually has TDS reading of around 12-14. Not very good for a saltwater tank. Also, if I were you, I would get that metal hose clamp out of the tank. You can use a zip tie if you can't find a plastic hose clamp.
 
shlap

shlap

Member
Originally Posted by joncat24
http:///forum/post/3029958
Glacier water is not RO/DI.....ro only, and usually has TDS reading of around 12-14. Not very good for a saltwater tank. Also, if I were you, I would get that metal hose clamp out of the tank. You can use a zip tie if you can't find a plastic hose clamp.
I've never heard mention of TDS in regards to salt water tanks. I don't know where I'd find better water aside from buying an expensive unit to do it; that's just not in the budget at the moment as I just dropped over 1k on the tank and the wife is not happy about it.
Regarding the clamp, thanks for the reminder, I need to order one of those plastic hose clamps; couldn't find any locally. How do you test for TDS?
 
shobby

shobby

Member
I am no professional but I have fought with the same problem for the past year. Yes, you may be in for a long haul. I too started using the same water as you are, with no harm done. I did test my tap water and no there was no phospates in it or the ro water you are using. Remember though, that water has nothing in it and will drop all of your water perimeters, so don't change to much as I did.
I started changing water every other day, then dropped back to once a week. Bought a sea urchin, they are pretty good at eating the algae, get plenty of snails, and plenty of small hermit crabs. They crabs really have done a wonder on my tank. In about a week after adding thirty of them, the aquarium is just about clean. I also go in and brush off every once in a while, it was daily.
Good luck.
Shell
 
shlap

shlap

Member
goinbroke: Nice tank bud!
Yep, I just had the Glacier water tested today by my LFS and it all params seem to be perfect.
0 Ammonia
0 Nitrate
0 Nitrate
0 Phosphate
380 Calcium
3.09 Alkalinity
1.25 SG
I just threw in 30 crabs and 20 snails yesterday. I can already see a small improvement with the GHA. Still have the green diatoms on the glass growing like crazy!
 
dbestnindy

dbestnindy

Member
Originally Posted by shlap
http:///forum/post/3030419
I've never heard mention of TDS in regards to salt water tanks. I don't know where I'd find better water aside from buying an expensive unit to do it; that's just not in the budget at the moment as I just dropped over 1k on the tank and the wife is not happy about it.
Regarding the clamp, thanks for the reminder, I need to order one of those plastic hose clamps; couldn't find any locally. How do you test for TDS?
I am curius too. I have only been using ro since my lfs only sells that. Without buying an ro/di unit what do you do?
 
big

big

Active Member
The Algae and Diatoms are most always something that we deal with in a new tank setup. Give it some time.
As to having a TDS meter, I would think it is something many if not most all of us have, Total Disolved Solids.
All the money we spend on this obsession a RO-DI should be one of the first things we buy with a tank your size... Some LFS's may not tell you this, they want to keep you coming back to shop and buying water. Brake down and buy a RO_DI Unit. "Airwaterice" makes good ones for not a lot of bucks. Google the term. Their Reef-keeper unit is less than 150 bucks , last time I looked with an TDS meter too!

How much does that Glacial water cost per gallon?. Think of a 10 gallon a week partial every week for the next 5 years or so. PLUS in a 90 about a gallon or more of top off water every day. The RO-DI will pay for itself...........
 
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