algea control in the reef tank by:reefreak29
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one of the most annoying problems in the home reef tank is endesirable algea.three major problem algeas that ive incuontered in my reef are green hair algea,brown diotoms and red slime algea aka cyono bacteria.
BROWN DIATOM ALGEA: usually accurs in newer reef tanks. mostly because of the introduction of live rock, wich introduces silicates and nutrients to your tank.
a brown film soon coats your sand bed.The control of diotoms is fairly easy.u first need a benificial cleen up crew trochus and astraea snails eagerly consume the brown diotoms. The second thing u want to do is perform regular water changes to remove access nutrients.
CYONO BACTERIA: red slime algea has to be one of the most frustrating for new reefers.It usually breaks out on the surface of the sand substrate.2 ways that i know to remove the cyono is to firstincrease your water flow u want to remove any stagnent areas by the substate. Two remove excess nutrient, I prefer to do a 10 percent weekly water change with ro di water or di water. (do not use tap water) while doing a water change syphon out as much red algea as possible,also dont be afraid to cut your light back and your feeding, I leeve my light on for 10 hrs a day in my 90 gal tank its ok to cut back to 5 hrs for a couple of weeks.
GREEN HAIR ALGEA: who hasnt experienced this.this algea loves bright light and astablished reef tanks. Green hair algea consumes excess nutrients faster then any other algea.Below are measures and steps of riding this FOREVER
1.-make sure u have a protien skimmer and its suitible for your size tank, for proper working conditions make sure u clean out skimmer cup every other day to have 100 percent working capability also make sure your pump stays clean for maximum flow
2. decrease lighting just like with the cyono cut your light in half
3. perform regular water changes again i like 10 percent weekly, when doing a water change suck out as much algea as possible, use only di water or rodi.
never use tap , tap water has high nitrates, phosphates and nitrites.
4.phisicly remove the algea by riping it of the rock,keep a cup of di water next to u to rinse your fingers each time u put your hands back in the tank to insure all spores are off and your not reintroducing the algea to your water,after about 20 hrs of manually removing the algea your inverts aka cleanup crew should keep it under control.
in colclusion please do regular water changes, feed small amounts every other day, only use rodi or di water and dont keep your lights on for more then 10 hrs a day. everyone experiences algea blooms in there tank i hope this help in managing the problem algeas
