Problem with algea

[Sharlord]

First time poster!

So I have had my 55g tank for a little over a year now and unfortunatly I made the mistake of using tap water....now I have a green hair algae outbreak over everything.

Question I have is it to late to rectify the problem? I plan to buy an RO system to start doing things right. Do you guys think the algae will " go away" if I start using the right water or do I need to completely start over?

 

[lmforbis]

It is not too late. It won't go away over night but better water will help. The culprit is phosphate and nitrates in part from your water but also from food and fish waste. They are essentially fertilizers. I made the switch about 10 months ago. I started by buying 5 gallon jugs of RO water at the self serve water station at Walmart for $0.37 per gallon. RO is not as good as RODI but many times better than tap. It was a hassle but it worked till I got my own system. I started with 20% weekly water changes up from my normal 10% to get the phosphates and nitrates down. I also purchased a dual GFO and carbon reactor. The first sign I goT that I was winning was the growth slowed down and eventually stopped. It took quite a while before it went a way.

 

[geridoc]

Algae will eventually go away provided you do the right things to reduce its growth. The big culprit is nutrient in the water - primarily nitrogenous compounds and phosphate. Measuring phosphate will not help you because it will measure zero since the algae are using all of it. You can deal with the problem by practicing aggressive nutrient export - I like algae scrubbers, others like macroalgae in the sump. Either approach will outcompete the hair algae for nitrogenous waste and phosphate, and eventually the algae will diminish and disappear. To speed thins up a bit you can add some herbivorous snails who will steadily much on the algae. But...don't be impatient! It will take time to get things right, but once you do you will not have any algae problems again.

 

[KHow]

Having the same issue here. Red slime and hair. Doing a good water change today, 50%.....this morning I essentially set up a five gallon mechanical filter. Large sieve with filter media in it, on a bucket. I set up a good siphon and scrubbed everything down while siphoning the waste. I then ran that water through anothe layer of filter media and returned it to the tank. I did this twice more... My tank is very clean and I think I removed quite a bit of red slime and hair algae. The water is clearing nicely and my fish seem to be happy. This afternoon I will slightly agitate the tank and de a large water change. With reduced feeding and the addition of a handful of snails... I hope that I can keep ahead of it. I know this sounds aggressive, but action had to be taken! I will update changes, good or bad as they occur!

 

[beaslbob]

algae and cyano are the results of nutrients, carbon dioxide and light.

In order to prevent algae long term IMHO it is best to introduce things to consume the nutrients like macro algae or an algae turf scrubber. to start out the undesirables.

Short term and assuming desirable algae is available in the system (corraline or in a refugium) you can simple kill the lights and suspended all feedings (or at least reduce it to once or twice per week). The algae and cyano will die of rapid and then you can resume with less lighting and feed the adj

 

[KHow]

Tried that.. 36 hour dark cycle reduced cyano. Reduced feeding but came back with a vengeance. Aggressive clean out and water change will start the ball... improved CUC coming.

 

[bang guy]

Tried that.. 36 hour dark cycle reduced cyano. Reduced feeding but came back with a vengeance. Aggressive clean out and water change will start the ball... improved CUC coming.

That's expected. Trying to implement a temporary solution on a long term problem is just going to fail. Good for you to recognize that a long term problem requires a long term solution.

 

[KHow]

Any suggestions for effective CUC team members? I have about six hermits, started with 15 each snails and hermits. Over time, I list all of my snails and half my hermits...probably due to the appetite of a dogface puffer! He has been re-homed!