Please Help...

[jthomas0385]

I need some help with this algae problem. Its clogging up my skimmer, filter, powerheads and just looks bad. Its really long green hair algae. I use RO water. My parameters are 0 everything (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate) P.H. is good. Salinity is 1.025. I have 340 Watt T-5's that I run 10 hours a day. My tank is 55 gallon 48X18. Is there anyway to stop all of my equipment from getting clogged up while this stuff clears up? I have about 15 snails, 5 hermits. Help would be very very appreciated . Thanks a lot.

 

[big]

If this is a new tank with few or no corals,first try cutting you lighting way back for a week or so. It will not hurt any corals you do have adversly. If prams are all in line cut the light for at least a week. Even doing this on a regular schedule is not a bad idea. ( like a two or three day storm reducing sun light on occasion in nature.
I had one spot that came on a frag of the stuff that I pulled and fought forever.

About 2 months ago I broke a leg on my hood. Sooooooo I keep my lights off or only on with the ATs (blues ones) for short periods for over a week to keep the heat to a minimum till the new one came. Guess what no more green crap!!!! The much reduced lighting was the trick!!!. Now if I ever see a trace of it show up anywhere , back down goes the light for a few days and it magically is gone!!

 

[shinobi9119]

Originally Posted by big
http:///forum/post/2687960
If this is a new tank with few or no corals,first try cutting you lighting way back for a week or so. I will not hurt any corals you do have adversly. If prams are all in line cut the light for at least a week. Even doing this on a regular schedule is not a bad idea. ( like a two or three day storm reducing sun light on occasion in nature.
I had one spot that came on a frag of the stuff that I pulled and fought forever.

About 2 months ago I broke a leg on my hood. Sooooooo I keep my lights off or only on with the ATs (blues ones) for short periods for over a week to keep the heat to a minimum till the new one came. Guess what mo more green crap!!!! The much reduced lighting was the trick!!!. Now if I ever see a trace of it show up anywhere , back down goes the light for a few days and it magically is gone!!
I would give that a try if you can.
Also is your tank in a window getting a lot of direct sunlight? that could be a contributing factor to this algae?

 

[namas05]

You say you are using RO water, but is it RO/DI?
Also have you checked your phosphates, and do you have a way of checking the TDS (total disolved solids).
These are all things that can contribute to the problem.
As stated above the reduction in light will help, but will not solve the problem.

 

[sly]

Low salinity can also lead to algae growth. You said your SG was 1.025... are you checking it with a floating hydrometer? If so then that might not be accurate. I had one build up salt on it (couldn't even see it) and that caused it to float higher than it should have. When I tested my water with a refractometer it showed my SG at 1.017! I slowly raised the salt in the tank and the algae stopped growing.
Also, direct sunlight was mentioned. Does your tank get any?

 

[grue]

Test for phospates. RO water does not remove them. Test your source water for phospates as well. If this was happening to me I would start with tests. To determine if phospates were the problem. If so I would treat the water. Even if there was no to low phospates, I would turn my lights out for 3 days. After that peroid, I would light for 4 hours a day for a week. 2nd week I would add 1 hour. 3rd week add an hour. Etc. till your up to the time you want the tank lit. With good lighting, I don't think you need more than 7 or 8 hours a day. With that said, do you really need the lights on for 10 hours? My 2 Cents
Grue

 

[jthomas0385]

The water I use is only RO water its not DI. I don't have a phosphate test but I will buy one. What would be a safe amount of time for the lighting? I have a button polyps, brain coral, frogspawn, cabbage leather , BT anemone. There is no direct sunlight to my tank also.

 

[sly]

Most people leave their lights on for about 8 hours per day or less.

 

[fishy125]

I cut my lighting back and used some chempure elite and that helped alot.

 

[big]

Try about three days with no light. Look at the results and judge by that. The corals you have will not be hurt........ Also do buy a phosphate kit and if needed be reduce feeding and do more partial changes..... Good luck......

 

[pettyhoe]

On top of all the advise you've recieved, run a bag of Phosgaurd and a bag of Activated carbon, where it will receive a large amount of water flow, this will take out a significant amount of the organic source that feeds the algae. If you kill the lights and end up killing the algae, think, the material of the algae is still in the water, which only feeds the onslaught of another algae attack. Water changes and those products help to leech out these materials. Killing the lights is only a quick fix, or band aid. Find the source. With your setup, you might want to invest in a much larger clean up crew. That is a lot of light for a smaller tank, find more algae eaters and detritus eaters.