Help me with green algae!

[kris walker]

I totally agree with fishy all the time. Copper can be extracted from your tank despite what some have said. My tank is living proof.
However, if your copper tank had lr in it, and it is still there, i have heard it is more difficult to remove. In that case, you can replace the lr. In any case though, rinse out the substrate thoroughly, do some water changes, and use active charcoal (if you have the means to).
sam

 

[kris walker]

I mean active carbon.

 

[y2says]

My turbos are eating but it doesn't seem to srape the algae off. It seems like they're eating other algae. For my 75g, I've added carbon in my filter. Hopefully the copper will go away.
By the way. Has anyone heard of this? I went to my lfs today and one guy told me that he turned off the lights and closed all the blindes for 2 days and he said that all his algae is gone. What do you think? I asked him about the corals. He said they are doing bette because there's more nutrients for the corals now.

 

[javajoe]

y2says-
as for the 'lights out' approach- in theory it makes sense-- algae needs light to live, so the absence of all light for several days should get rid of it, but if whatever was causing the algae to grow to begin with was still in the tank, it would eventually grow back-- sounds like a temporary solution, but i could be wrong....

 

[diatom]

Y~
Here is the problem, ultimatily you have too many nutrients in your tank. If you kill it off by cutting off the light, it will just grow back. You need some nutrient export. The macro algae will work of you trim it and keep it from going sexual. The other things really don't solve your problem they just mask it. Snails don't eat hair algae, they do eat diatoms as do conchs. If you get a conch, get a fighting one as they don't grow as large as the queens. They do require 1-2 SF of sand bed each.
HTH,
D~

 

[ironreef]

If you have snails now you can add more the copper would have killed them also. Test your tap. You are probally adding alot of minerals, nitrates ect. You are adding bad water to you tank from the start. Theres iron ect. i grew up in Seattle they can let you know what your water is full of. You should try ro water .it thats not possible$$ you can buy it cheap at saltwater city. But I see ro not possible. Dunno then you can try caulerpa but imo its not good in a reef it will take over also. Make a caulerpa sump.What are you using for filtration anyway= skimmer??Carbon 24-7 caulerpa sump?? Maybe you just don't have enough?

 

[y2says]

I don't have a skimmer or a filter. I just have 40lbs l/r and 30 l/s. I'm getting some caulerpa on Wednesday and was thinking about putting it in the tank. The problem is that I don't have room for a sump. I have a cannister filter that I use as a powerhead. Do you think, adding some carbon will help?

 

[ironreef]

Yes adding carbon may help alot. You may concider a skimmer. that should make a big diffence.

 

[kris walker]

Y2SAYS, beware that some active carbon can add phosphates to your tank (I would do a search on this).
I also highly recommend a skimmer. It will remove a lot of the stuff that is contributing to the nutrient problems. I am also having such problems, and I just planted some caulerpa in my tank 4 days ago (not a sump in my case). I'm already seeing a difference--my algae is starting to die back. March on caulerpa!
sam

 

[ironreef]

caulerpa is good in a separate tank. I don't like having it in my main tank= It may just take over like the hair and thats back to stage one= problem caulerpa. In an alga tank its nice to have

 

[kris walker]

Yes, but caulerpa is much easier to remove.
sam

 

[ky]

Installing a UV steralizer solved most of my algae problems. The unit kills something like 99% of the algae spores, which is how it spreads. I noticed a significant difference in about 2 days. Also, having a seperate macroalgae tank (ie. ecosystem) competes for the nutrients that the hair algae needs to thrive.

 

[ironreef]

eco system/caulerpa tank is good but a uv in a reef will kill alot of your plankton and other critter that are good. In a fo its fine In a reef doesn't make sence. Add a skimmer or alga tank. You have nothing so it will help alot. if you want to see to large 100g ecosystems go to Blue sierra. You can also see how much hair alga they have= ecosystems if not ran right can be garbage also. They also only have 3 tangs in the 150g. dsb and an ecosystem wh ydo they have so much hair alga with all that caulerpa?= they don't know what they are doing? The tangs don't eat the hair? They don't feed them and the tanks are fat? They use tap and it adds to much trace back in is what I belive. I would use tap from Seattle

 

[ky]

I'm not sure exactly where you get your information from. A UV steralizer is in no way detramental to a reef tank. They kill >95% of algae, bacteria, parasites, etc. There isn't 'plankton' floating around in a reef tank. That is why I have to ADD DT's phytoplankton 3 times a week to feed my inverts. I turn off the UV steralizer for about 3 hours each time that I add the phytoplankton (because it will kill it, but it is depleated in about 2 hours). Read the literature on phytoplankton, they do not multiply in a reef tank. Talk to your local dealer. If they have a proper set-up, they will have a UV steralizer attached to each filter on their tanks. This, to me (among other things), ensures that I am not getting a critter full of bacteria. I have seen no literature leaning in the direction that UV steralizers are not good for reef tanks, but just the opposite, that they are only beneficial.

 

[h20sl4]

 

[h20sl4]

 

[h20sl4]

 

[kris walker]

Ky, I might be wrong, but I think you and Ironreef are saying the same things. Both of you know that the UV kills plankton. You both think plankton is good to have in reef tanks to feed your corals. However, sound's like Iron gets most of his food from the tank-derived plankton, which exists because he doesn't have a UV sterilizer. You successfully kill all the plankton (including the bad stuff), then replace with good plankton derived from somewhere else. If you both have corals living in your tanks, then it sounds like both methods work.
Also, plankton includes many things, both macroscopic and microscopic. And there has to be plankton in a tank with LR without a UV sterilizer, otherwise many things would not proliferate throughout the tank.
Just my 0.02,
sam
[ December 27, 2001: Message edited by: Surfin Sam ]

 

[ironreef]

plankton you add will die through the uv. .But you shut it off.Any small critter pods thousands of kinds same size as ick will die ect.. Why do you think uv is selective in killing good or bad. In a well run reef you WON"T have alga probs or ick. Its a waste of $$ UV are only most effective when going from tank to tank. Most ick live in the sand and may never go through the uv. Alga spores maybe different but UV don't belong in a reef. they kill to much and are a waste of $$/ Good husbanty is easier.Problem hair alga is easy to solve. PPl just rush. Plankton doesn't grow in reefs unless they are large but theres many critters thats do. if you listen to your LFS yeah buy all there equipment. If you look at there set it they run them inbetween tanks to prevent spread from tank to tank. They are really ineffective at killing bacteria or you would have a problem. bacteria is what keeps the tank alive. it can tell whats good or bad. I suggest you read better books most will say they are a waste in reefs.ure there are reefs that look good with uv. But if you read up on uv they are only effective when running they way overrated(big bulbs) and have slow flow. They may kill alga spores but they kill. reefs are suppose to be an ecosystem. I've been in this hobby awhie now. the only ppl that suggest uv are ppl that sell them. Sure you can buy on try to kill hail alga but alot off ppl have tried it and still doesn't help if they over feed and don't have a good skimmer or alga tank. UV is probally one of the most wated pieces of epuip. I have an old on I was suckered. I know how affective it is. My tank has pos that look like pepper =so small = uv would kill. I have 3 types of breeding snails,tubeworms that spawn all kinds os sponge growth= filter feeders .I never add dt. I have corals well over 2" keep them frageg all corals filter feed but mine feed off the light also= sps. The less I use the better my tank. I went through that uv,ozone, dose everything in the book stage. Less is better. I still use a skimmer cu I like to feed alot. My sandbed looks like a wheat fiels= snails ,worms and bugs sure they maybe more without the skimmer but having a uv wouldn't help any growth of small animals only KILL KILL KILL
[ December 27, 2001: Message edited by: Ironreef ]

 

[y2says]

I just got some caulerpa to combat the microalgae. I'm also cutting my lights back to 8 hours. I only have two clowns and a manderin, so I'm not worried about overfeeding. I don't think I'm going to get a u.v, but maybe a skimmer. We'll see how this works first.