why so much algae?

mr.clownfish

mr.clownfish

Active Member
i just started a 40gal and it finished cycling, it took about 2 months. i have 156 watt T5's and i turn them on for about 7-8 hours a day. i clean the green algae off the glass twice a day! After i clean it off once, in about 2 hours the same amount of algae comes back. my rocks are COVERED in algae. whats going on? my local market where i buy top off water hasn't had distilled water for a couple months now and ive been using Arrowhead Drinking water instead, could this be the problem?
 
spanko

spanko

Active Member
Yes the drinking water is probably the problem. Adding some type of nutrients to the tank.
 
stanlalee

stanlalee

Active Member
drinking water definately could be contributing and the age of the tank. new set ups after cycling is when tanks often are prone to algae outbreaks. this is definately not the time to use compromised water. you'll need to keep phosphates low by any means and tackle the issue head on. Your rock could also be leaching phosphates contributing. running phosphate binding media couldn't hurt and since the tank is new unless you have the rock epoxied in place manual removal is probably the best option to start from ground zero. During the next water change set aside a bucket of tank water and use a hard brush, knife, file or whatever to manually remove as much algae as possible and use the bucket of tank water to dunk the rock in and collect the removed algae. then do a large water change (as large as possible, even 100% assuming you have nothing but a blenny in there) with GOOD water. If you could bring a cheap media reactor online at the same time (I use a $35 ViaAqua complete with pump and piping) with GFO/GFH (granulated ferric oxide or granulated ferric hydroxide) you'll help slow down algae growth. As the months go by green algae will have a harder time growing than now anyway (assuming you dont have an extreme nuisance algae like bryopsis that takes more than typical measures to irradicate).
 
stanlalee

stanlalee

Active Member
Originally Posted by Mr.clownfish
http:///forum/post/3257837
shoot

but if its not from the drinking water, lets say its because its a new tank, will it go away?
lets say maintenence, bioload and husbandry are up to par. unless its bryopsis it will likely go away in time how ever that could be anywhere from months to over a year depending on the cause. Say the rock is leaching excessive phophates, its could take considerable time before its stops. lets say its organics from die off in the rock, that probably wont take quite as long. either way algae may not take long to occur but usually doesn't go away quickly.
 
mr.clownfish

mr.clownfish

Active Member
my LMB has started to breathe really heavily, its mouth is ajar... its belly is really fat from eating so much algae, could that be the problem?
i placed a phosphate remover in my sump, how long will it take for it to start working?
 
king_neptune

king_neptune

Active Member
what a pig!
i didnt see anything about feeding.
are you feeding any foods?
get an RO-DI system. You're going to save money in the long run anyways.
AS for time for phosphate removers to work....
this will be a slow process, at least a month. Maybe longer.
There are shortcuts, but that's a caution area.
Algae killing aditives are common at LFS and online. Ive used them, they do work.
New tanks are prone to algae outbreaks, give it time.
Im almost 7 months old, and the algae is about 1/100th what it used to be. I still have some, but its not the problem it used to be. A lot of it has to do with experience (things like over feeding, over lighting ect). But mostly its just something that happens to all new tanks.
Some phosphate removers last only a short while. the latest from Kent marine needs to be removed within 48 hours.
I personally would highly recommend a sea hare. I had one in my tank, and he destroyed it within 2 months. And I mean picked it bone dry. I gave him to a new home when he finished his job. For $20 you cant go wrong. They eat nonstop till they starve. They wont rest till the tank is empty. And since you have noone else in the tank besides the LMB, he will be perfectly safe.
 
mr.clownfish

mr.clownfish

Active Member
no i tried a couple times to feed my LMB but it wont eat frozen yet, but when i add some more fish it will learn how they eat food and it will start.
i tried a sea hare once, it ate like half the algae in my tank in like 3 days! it was great but it died after a week... it still had plenty of food.
im using salifert phosphate remover, i dont know if its good remover.

i think my tank is in a pretty good condition, because i started to notice little white copepods yesterday, i jumped for joy!

thanks for your help!
 
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