green algae

[chiquita o]

i have a 40gal tank with 20# LR. When I added new lights (1 metal halide and 2 VHOs) green algae grew rampant in my tank. If I clean it off the sides it just makes my water green/cloudy. otherwise my water is clearish if i leave the algae on the sides. Before the new lights I had no problem at all with algae. Tank had been up and running for about 9 months. ammonia,nitrate,nitrite levels are all at 0. ph is 8.2. since my initial cycle all levels have been stable. I had been leaving the lights on 10 hours a day (metal halide on for 8 hours), so I decreased it to 8 hours (metal halide on for 6). No help. I did add a protein skimmer last week and as i suspected, that did not help either. I previously had no snails in my tank because algae was not a problem, so I did go buy 6 today, but it grows so fast I doubt it will help much. I have a sm. yellow tang, ocellaris clown, lawnmower blenny, neon goby, sm. orange dot goby, 2 cleaner shrimp, 4 sm. peppermint shrimp (just added this week) and a few hermits. I feed them minimally. Only level I did not check is the phosphate level because I don't see how my phospate could be high. Everything I add is phosphate free. Also, water changes do not appear to help. I have been changing 10% weekly since the algae became a problem. Local pet store said I just need to let the algae cycle and it will die down. Does this sound right? The only coral I have in the tank now is a Xenia. It is doing OK but not thriving. I"m afraid the algae will smother it. Help?

 

[bkolfo4]

My LFS said same thing about it will cycle. . .
I did not think I was adding anything that would increase my phosphates, but as I understand it, they can increase with just regular fish feedings.
I bought the cut to size phosphate filters and added to my setup about 10 days ago. Since adding them, the algae has pretty much stopped growing.
Brian

 

[hagfish]

One thing that it took me a LONG time to realize is that algae isn't feeding solely off of the lights. The lights are just a catalyst that helps the algae to flourish. Algae needs nitrates and phosphates to feed off of. I know you're thinking I didn't read that you tested for nitrates, but I did. And I would also test for phosphates btw. What it took a while for me to grasp was that even though the test kits would say zero, that doesn't mean that there were never any nitrates/phosphates. They are at zero because the algae is consuming all of those chemicals until the reading comes to zero. I gaurantee you that you have a problem with one or both of those chemicals and the algae is eating it before you get a chance to test for it.
Now as for what to do about it...
I did the protein skimmer thing too and it helped a little, but not enough (my fault because I bought a crappy skimmer). It sounds like you have little or no clean up crew as far as snails/hermits. They will help a lot I think and I would buy more than the 6 you mentioned. The phosphate filter idea will help, but it's better to find the cause of the problem and fix it there instead of trying to patch it up somewhere else I think.
What kind of substrate do you have? When I switched from CC to LS (and upgraded tank size so chemicals/water ratio was better) is when my hair algae really started going away.
Also, try to make your current flow in a way that minimizes dead spots and is effective at getting detritus into your mechanical filter(s).

 

[hagfish]

BTW, you are right to be worried about the algae smothering your corals. I lost many corals and many more were damaged from my algae problems.

 

[chiquita o]

Thanks for the input... I already to use the cut to size filters, which are not helping in the least. I have about an inch of LS. I'd like to add more sand, but I'm not sure just dumping it in would be the greatest idea, so if there are any suggestions how to do it? Anyway, I did adjust the current to hit as much glass as possible to cut down on the growth. In the past, I have had a hard time keeping snails alive, but the 6 I got seem to be doing well and are doing their job cleaning. I plan on getting some more tomorrow. Those were my trials to make sure they would live before I invested too much $$ on something that would die in a few days. I will also pick up a phosphate test kit tomorrow. I tried to get one the other day but the store I was at did not carry them. So is the hope that the algae will just "cycle" out of the question? I had a difficult time believing it, which is why I wanted to consult more people

 

[hagfish]

Sometimes algae will show up for just a month or so then go away pretty much on it's own so it's not out of the question. But I suggest you be proactive in stopping it as that will also go towards preventing it in the future. BTW, my favorite snails are nassarius and cerith. Turbo's are common in many LFS, but they always die for me (they prefer cooler water, plus they can't flip themselves over if they fall on their shell).
For adding sand, maybe turn off pumps for a while and poor it in through a siphon tube (or a long pvc pipe maybe) so that you can aim where it goes a little. I did that once, but I wasn't adding a whole lot of sand. It worked fairly well, but if you put too much sand in the tube it might get stuck in there.

 

[chiquita o]

I ordered the snails online. It was cheaper that way, so I'm crossing my fingers and hoping it works. First time buying anything living online. I would treat them like any other invert I bought at a pet store. No additional precautions need to be taken right? Am I under the right understanding that inverts do not carry disease? I got both turbos and nassarius. They were out of ceriths, or however they are all spelled. I will pick some up in the future. Also got some blue legged and scarlet hermits and 1 emerald crab. All of these were offered together in a package, so I assume they are compatible? Plus a lettuce nudibranch because they looked cool and I needed something else small to meet the minimum order requirement. Anyway, thanks for the suggestion of how to add sand. That way sounds much better than dumping it in. It won't smother my crabs will it?

 

[hagfish]

You probably want to be careful not to bury your crabs (or anything else). Those animals will all be compatible. The nudibranch might help out with your algae. But after it's gone he'll probably die because they have very strict diets. He's a cool animal though.

 

[anonome]

Be careful with the nudibranch, I haven't had much luck with them. They seem to love to find my intake tubes on my fluvals!!

I have lost 3 to this. Not a pretty sight.

 

[chiquita o]

Algae is slowly going away. snails are doing their job.... but taking their time. I might pick up a few more. The nudibranch has not been seen in about a week. I assume he is alright somewhere, but it is hard to see my LR very well because of all the algae still on the glass. It does me no good to clean the glass because then it makes the water cloudy until it settles back on the glass.

 

[chiquita o]

algae is gone! Water is clear! All my inhabitants have survived the plague of the green tank!