Performing water changes Yes or Now

[Finding_Nemo]

Hi all, please read my situation; I am in a weird situation of not having algae. I am not using a sump, i was going to but then during the cycling process which took about 2-3 months and scrapping algae all day long, all the sudden the algae are gone. I still have them in some small quantities on the rocks and coming on the glass only when i am moving the rocks or sand storming the sand. It usually stays for two days and after one glass scrap done, nothing for days and days.

Now however i have noticed apparition of green algae only after i am performing 10 -15% water changes and adding new salt ( i am using Instant Ocean)

So here is my question; i have lots of corals and they seem to do fine. If there's no algae growth should i still perform water changes?

I am also once in a while adding some supplements from Seachem Called Reef Fundamentals but i am reading in their composition small quantities of copper, iron and other metals. Probably sea salt is also having them as well!


Thank you

[HighlandReefer]

Adding too much iron can increase algae growth. IMHO, doing water changes is more beneficial then not doing them. I would stop the other supplement and see what effect that has along with other procedures to keep algae under control. I suspect that you are adding too much iron using your added supplement and when you do water changes, the iron level is pushed over the edge. FWIW, salt mixes have more than enough heavy metals (micro nutrients), which includes iron for most reef systems, unless you have lots of macroalgae or seagrasses (this is provided you do regular water changes).


There are a lot of hobbyists in your same position. Reducing your nitrate and phosphate levels to a zero reading will help in getting rid of many type of algae pests. IME, reducing nitrate and phosphate levels too low can kill or cause problems for many types of coral. Running GAC & GFO will all help in reducing the growth of these type of pests. In many cases they will not eradicate the pest. Vodka dosing will help reduce the nitrate and phosphate levels also, but will not necessarily eradicate the pest either.

A common problem is being able to identify your pest to a category correctly: true algae, cyano, dino, bacteria & other assorted pests that look similar. In many cases a micro look at your pest is best to properly ID it to one of these categories.

IMHO, if you are faced with an algal type pest problem, it is best to implement an algae pest control program strategy:


1) Wet skimming with a good quality skimmer. Clean your skimmer cup at least once per week.

2) Reduce your nitrates and phosphates to a zero reading using the hobby grade test kits. See Randy's articles regarding this:

Phosphate and the Reef Aquarium
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-09/rhf/index.php

Nitrate in the Reef Aquarium
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/august2003/chem.htm

3) Proper lighting. I find that the higher wavelength bulbs are less conducive to algae growth. I now run 20,000 K bulbs from using 10,000 K bulbs.

4) Proper day length is a good thing also. I would not run your lights for more than 12 hrs total. Keep in mind that light entering from a window nearby is added to this figure.

5) Running GAC is a good practice in my book. It will help reduce the total dissolved organic carbons in your tank water and this is a food source.

6) Proper 30% per month total water changes will help export the DOC as well as some of the pests in the water column. It will help maintain the micro-nutrients as well.

7) Physical removal of the pest by hand, scrubbing and siphoning is important as well. If the amount of pest in your aquarium is overwhelming, perhaps dealing with one section at a time is a better idea.

8) Proper water circulation in your tank to prevent dead zones. When dealing with cyanobacteria pests increasing the flow where it grows seems to help.

9) Use RODI water for all top-off, salt mixing, additive mixes... etc.

10) Dosing iron may have benefits for macro-algae, but if you are experiencing algae pest problems than I would stop dosing it as it can add to the problem in many cases.

11) If you are dosing other supplements such as vitamins, amino acids, or others that contain a mix of supplements other than the basic alk., calcium and magnesium, I would stop these until you gain control of your pest. This includes many of the store bought products with unknown ingredients. Dosing Vodka or sugar to reduce your nitrates and phosphates would be an exception in my opinion.

12) Proper feeding habits. This can be the number one problem when trying to reduce your nitrate and phosphate levels. Use low phosphate fish foods.

13) IMHO, lighted refugiums may be a problem when trying to deal with an algae type pest problem. They are wonderful when it comes to reducing nitrates and phosphates. However, the light over most refugiums is conducive to the microalgae type pests. If the refugium becomes infested with a microalgae pest, I would clean it throughly of all pests as best as possible, remove the macro and turn off the lights until you gain control of your pest. Re-using the same macroalgae later may serve as a source for re-infestation of your pest.

14) Adding fish and other creatures that will eat your algae pest will help.

15) Running a diatom filter which has been suggested by Boomer, makes a lot of sense to me. It will help remove a lot of organic material in your water column.

16) For some additional thoughts regarding switching an algae based system to a bacterial based system see this thread:
(Using a carbon source with appropriate bacterial dosing may possibly help to push your system to where you want it although this is controversial.)

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1781320

17) There are other items that can be added to this list if others care too share and some of the items listed may be disputed.

[HighlandReefer]

Randy goes into the details regarding the benefits of water changes in this article:

Water Changes in Reef Aquaria
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-10/rhf/index.php

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

For the many reasons described int eh above article, I'd plan to do routine water changes. Algae is not the main reason I do them. :)

[Finding_Nemo]

so adding supplements in the old water without changing it, isn't the same thing as performing partial changes?
My tank is doing so great without adding new salt and water.

Here is list of some potential causes that have reduced algae nearly to expansion;

1) Aquamedic Turboflotor 1000 Protein Skimmer , skimming nearly 1 litter of foam /24h
2) UV 24Watt Sterilizer
3) GFO grannular phosphates remover (small quantity added in the skimmer flow compartiment.
4) Beautiful red hard macroalage
5) Two mangroves
6) 5 commercial Oysters
7) about 20 PCS turbo snails + 4 PCs Mexican Snails + 10 Hermit Crabs

[HighlandReefer]

Certainly you can add back trace elements using supplements. One problem with the supplements is they don't disclose all the elements, nor their concentrations. There are no hobby grade test kits to determine these levels in your tank, so it is guessing IMHO. The other major benefit of doing proper water changes, is that skimmers & other filtration devices (including GAC) do not removal all the different organics found in a reef aquarium. Some can be quite toxic. Water changes will help to remove these organics. ;)

[bertoni]

In addition to adding ions that might be depleted, water changes remove ions that are accumulating, which can be very important:

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-09/rhf/index.php

[Finding_Nemo]

a last question would be regarding the times when the water change needs to be performed. I know ideal is on weekly basis but can be done once every two weeks or maybe just one monthly? Of course without having any impact on corals and other creatures.
Thanks again

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Most any routine is likely going to be OK, but the larger the change at once, the greater the chance of stressing something by exposing it or not having the salinity, temp, etc the same.

I change about 1% daily, automatically. :)

[Finding_Nemo]

Most any routine is likely going to be OK, but the larger the change at once, the greater the chance of stressing something by exposing it or not having the salinity, temp, etc the same.

I change about 1% daily, automatically. :)

Sorry but how do you manage to do so?
Automatically through evaporation or you have some cool technologies that are doing it?

That's an interesting idea; my tank has 90 gallon and daily over 0.5 gallon of water evaporates. But the water i am adding is only regular Ro/Di water with calcium.

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

If you want to automate the water change, you can make changes with no level change in the aquarium. Just get a dual head pump and add water at the same time you are removing it. I do that with a Reef Filler, but a dual peristaltic pump works well too. Mine runs on a timer, so it does it when the time is on, whether I'm at work, sleeping, etc.

One big advantage of this type of system, aside from it taking no actual work to do it, is that you need not match salinity, temperature, or anything else since it is swapped in so slowly.


This has more on how that type of water change compares in efficiency to batch type water changes:


Water Changes in Reef Aquaria
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-10/rhf/index.php


Here's a thread on automatic water changes:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1568068