Algae.. bah

[vader88]

If everyone recalls I had a major diatom outbreak a couple of weeks ago due to being a new tank and the fact I wasn't RODI water.

I've recently ( last week ) started using RODI and a phosban reactor.
I added a queen conch which has done a jam up job on the sand bed, but the brown stuff remains on the rock. On top of all that, I now have what I believe to be green hair algae forming over various spots.

Will it take a while for the combination of the RODI and reactor to catch up and repair the damage I have done ?

I have pretty good flow in the tank I believe, Mag 9.5 pushing about 500gph back to the tank and 3 NanoStreams throttled back to 30 percent.

I purchased a Milley Molley blenny, funny little fish, but left it at the store until I can get my qtank set up and this algae problem under
control

opinions, advice welcome.

[Aquarist007]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12720618#post12720618 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by vader88
If everyone recalls I had a major diatom outbreak a couple of weeks ago due to being a new tank and the fact I wasn't RODI water.

I've recently ( last week ) started using RODI and a phosban reactor.
I added a queen conch which has done a jam up job on the sand bed, but the brown stuff remains on the rock. On top of all that, I now have what I believe to be green hair algae forming over various spots.

Will it take a while for the combination of the RODI and reactor to catch up and repair the damage I have done ?

I have pretty good flow in the tank I believe, Mag 9.5 pushing about 500gph back to the tank and 3 NanoStreams throttled back to 30 percent.

I purchased a Milley Molley blenny, funny little fish, but left it at the store until I can get my qtank set up and this algae problem under
control

opinions, advice welcome.

Tim, I don't know if I have posted this thread to you before--if not there are some tips to try on it

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1329802

I would take a turkey baster and light baste the live rock and surface of the subtrate===with the flow you have that will get some of the phosphates and nitrates back up into the water column where they can be filtered out

[vader88]

I'll give til this weekend to see if it clears up a little more and go from there, I also have chaeto in the fuge.

I may just need to do some heavier water changes, might still be too much in the system.

[Aquarist007]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12720912#post12720912 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by vader88
I'll give til this weekend to see if it clears up a little more and go from there, I also have chaeto in the fuge.

I may just need to do some heavier water changes, might still be too much in the system.

you can also take each rock out--give it a good scrub with a tooth brush and put it back in quickly.

[vader88]

Removing the rock would be hellacious, biggest problem is getting someone over to help me get the light fixture off. I can to the basting thing first to see if it helps. Will take more drastic measures, but will try to starve it off first.

[Aquarist007]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12720996#post12720996 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by vader88
Removing the rock would be hellacious, biggest problem is getting someone over to help me get the light fixture off. I can to the basting thing first to see if it helps. Will take more drastic measures, but will try to starve it off first.

the basting will help in that regard--can you run a micron filter sock over your drain--it will help the skimmer by catching some of the debris ect
When you first do this there is a ton of crap that comes off the rock but the more you do it the less comes off and eventually hardly any and no algae
except corraline;)

[vader88]

will take a little work, but I can run a sock, I would need one that isn't real long though. Unless the sock can sit in the water in the sump, I'm not sure of the proper way.

[klavestat]

What are your nitrate & phospate levels? What's your bioload (how many fish in the tank?

#1 cause for unsightly microalgae infestation is high nutrient load (often due to overfeeding). If you have a problem there you won't solve the problem with high flow rates and any amount of filtration/treatment.

[Aquarist007]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12721287#post12721287 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by vader88
will take a little work, but I can run a sock, I would need one that isn't real long though. Unless the sock can sit in the water in the sump, I'm not sure of the proper way.

it can sit in the water----you only need to run it for 12 hrs or so while and after you baste up all that crap off the rocks