Excessive Algae...Help!

[reef dude]

My tank has just finished cycling but the algae growth on the walls is very much. I have 60 turbo snails but about 40-50 of them stay on the rocks, rather than the glass. Its a brown algae that grows on the sand and glass. Yesterday i scrubbed the walls down pretty good and then did a 5% water change. Now today i can see that a lot of it has come back already...that quick! My phosphates are around 0.4 or 0.5 ppm I know thats a little bit more than it should be but can that be causing all of this algae? please help, any suggestions would be great. Would dosing kalk wasser help?

 

[reef dude]

the tank is about 2 1/2 months old and i know that new tanks go through algae blooms but how long do the blooms take to go away on their own. Last time i had algae growing for like a week and it only got worse so i scrubbed it. How long should i let it accumulate?
also the powerheads and pre-filter box seem to attract a lot of brown algae, should i always keep them cleaned off?

 

[memnoch]

Sounds to me like a diatom bloom. This happens when phosphate and silicate levels are high i think. You can avoid this annoying algae type by doing water changes with RO/DI or distilled water. It's a little costly compared to the tap water but a small cost to pay for good algae reduction. I do all water changes with salt mix prepared with RO/DI and do all top off additions with distilled water.

 

[reef dude]

what is RO/DI water? and where can you get it?

 

[eseow]

I have a similar problem. My Phosphates are around 0.1 to 0.2 PPM. This will feed nuisance algae. Also your lighting will contribute. I had my Actinic and white on, but had to cut out all the white lighting or only allow some. That brown algae grows fast! If the tank is less than a 4 months old, then its an algae cycle. you need to drop your Phosphate levels. Try to keep it as low as possible. I'd say 0.1 to 0 ppm. I also got a few janitors so to speak. Red scarlets, nerite and cerith snails to eat up the diatom algae. Be specific with the snails, as for some LFS only sell assorted snails, and won't sell or know the specific snails you need. They may have them, but you have to know what they look like and pick them out. Also, if you have hermits, throw in some empty snail shells for them that are a little larger, so the crabs won't kill your algae control snails for their shells. As for DI water, some grocery stores sell purified bottle water, but at the size of your tank, it would be best to invest in a RO/DI water unit. You can email me for more info.

 

[reef dude]

Currently i have 62 turbo snails. thats the only kind that i have. I am really clueless as to what even is a "DIATOM" algae bloom. If anyone can explain this term to me as simple as possible it would be much appreciated!
What does RO/DI stand for and what do you mean by investing in one of those units?
•How long do these diatoms usually last?
is there any fish that will eat off the sand or glass?

 

[reef dude]

Is it ok for me to scrub the walls instead of letting nature take its course with the algae?
What products are there in order to get rid of phosphates?

 

[jim672]

RO/DI stands for Reverse Osmosis/DeIonized water. You can buy a unit that attaches to your tap/water supply and, like anything else, you can pay from $40 to hundreds and hundreds.
Algea feeds on phosphates, nitrates and light. Too much of any or all of these will cause an algea bloom. It won't go away until the "food" is removed. Nitrates can be "diluted" by water changes with the RO/DI water. (Use that because it's free of phosphates, nitrates and silicates.) If your phosphate is too high you'll need a "phospahte spong"....that's a chemical you add to your filter, sump or directly into your tank. Most LFS carry good phosphate spongs.
How long to you have your lights on and how old are your NO's. If the NO's are older than 4-6 months, replacing them may also help reduce your algea problems. If the MH's are on more than 8 hours a day, reducing the light time may also help.
I hope some of this applies to your situation and will help you with your algea problem.
Jim

 

[steamboat1569]

A diatom is a single cell "bacterial" algea covered by a hard outer shell made from silicate. Closely related to cyanobacteria, another nuisance algae. The rusty brown color are actually the skeletons of dead diatoms stacking up on each other. With high phospates and silicates in your water (I am assuming you are using tap water), you are giving the diatoms what they eat, and they reproduce at a geometric level, very fast.
Most tap water contains high amounts of phosphates and silicates. Reverse osmosis units take everything out of the water except for the water itself, that is why we need to add trace minerals that are beneficial to what we have in our tanks. you do not need an RO unit, they sell this water at most grocery stores. In the long run, it is cheaper to buy an RO unit, as opposed to hauling water from the store. Hope this helps!

 

[bradburycf]

You may also want to check with your local lfs for RO water. Mine sells it to me for 25 cents/gal. I only have a 55 gal tank, so it ends up costing me about $5/mo. to change the water and keep the tank topped off. At that price, it would take ten years for my own unit to pay off. Probably not even then because the RO filter would have to be changed eventually, and they are not cheap either.

 

[joerdie]

Hello!! UV STERILIZER!! i kept saying i didnt need one but my algie problem was getting bad and i tried it. It worked wonderfully!!! i can even keep the blinds pulled giving the tank direct sunlight and there is NO algie in the tank!!!

 

[steamboat1569]

I have heard both good things and bad things about uv sterilizers, so I did some research on these.
Our sun produces UV-A and UV-B light. These sterilizers produce UV-C light. According to scientists, UV-C is so destructive that it kills any life that is exposed to it. In other words it kills both the nuisance algea and bacteria, and the beneficial, as the water runs through it.
It seems to me that this would harm many of the filter feeding organisms in our tanks, as these microscopic life forms are essentially what the filter feeders eat.
Joerdie, as someone who uses a UV sterilizer, have you noticed any change in the invertibrates that rely on filter feeding? I am curious to know, I might look into buying one.

 

[joerdie]

well i dont notice any negative affects after about 2 months. i did a lot of reading on them before the purchase and saw a lot of the same things you are seeing. the thing is that im not used to my filter feeders and inverts growing anyway so as long as they dont die i probably wouldnt notice. but they are healthy so i hope i made the right decition.

 

[reef dude]

thanks for all the replies guys. I dont think i am going to but a UV sterilizer any time soon so what do you suggest i do?
Right this second as i am typing, i am acclimating my first 2 fish of my tank, 2 true percula clowns.
I scrubbed about half the algae on the front glass and left a good amount for the snails.
How about a small water change, and then refill it with RO/DI water, and then use that same type of water for top off.?
Also about that phosphate sponge, What exactly are they, we have one at our LFS but its more of like a tiny mat. not a thick sponge. It goes in the wet/dry filter on top where the water trickles in. should i buy it?

 

[reef dude]

thanks for all the replies guys. I dont think i am going to but a UV sterilizer any time soon so what do you suggest i do?
Right this second as i am typing, i am acclimating my first 2 fish of my tank, 2 true percula clowns.
I scrubbed about half the algae on the front glass and left a good amount for the snails.
How about a small water change, and then refill it with RO/DI water, and then use that same type of water for top off.?
Also about that phosphate sponge, What exactly are they, we have one at our LFS but its more of like a tiny mat. not a thick sponge. It goes in the wet/dry filter on top where the water trickles in. should i buy it?