New Tank Algae

[JoeRonda]

Can someone give me advice on my new tank. It is only a month old and the brown diatom bloom has given way to thick hair algae on my powerheads and rockwork. My question is: Is this just a normal stage,Do I just ride it out, or should I take out the powerheads and clean them( actually they probably could use a cleaning) or buy more C.U.C. Right now I have 3 red legged hermit crabs, 4 Mexican Turbo Snails, 3 Nassarius Snails, 6 Astrea Snails, 1 Camel Shrimp, 1 Peppermint Shrimp. Thanks for any and all replies !!!
Joe

[Michael]

Hello-Joe :)

Although it is of course normal for new aquarium set ups to go through stages where nusience algae and bacterias take a hold, in this case I feel you may have a problem, Its very likely you have not cycled yet and the system is not balanced to deal with ammonia and nitrate, Id suggest you remove the powerheads and give them a good clean and turn off the lights to help control the hair, concentrate on getting the tank cycled and stable, and have a good read on parameters and the levels needed to secure life, you could do a water change even at this early stage and try to keep the tank dark whilst cycling, have you got plenty of flow and rock in your tank Joe? and have you got a skimmer at the moment? Im sure it's just a blitch, dont add any more live stock Joe until your 100% sure your cycled and params are stable.

[rayn]

Isn't it possible that the ha is feeding off the nitrates and phosphates? If this is the case a bigger cuc or a GFO reactor would be beneficial. I agree with Micheal about not adding fish, but maybe more snails or crabs. Currently I would take out the powerheads and clean. You could also take out the LR and clean it in some clean saltwater then rinse in some clean saltwater.

[Michael]

Isn't it possible that the ha is feeding off the nitrates and phosphates? If this is the case a bigger cuc or a GFO reactor would be beneficial. I agree with Micheal about not adding fish, but maybe more snails or crabs. Currently I would take out the powerheads and clean. You could also take out the LR and clean it in some clean saltwater then rinse in some clean saltwater.

I agree a reactor would be a good addition, thats a good point i certainely missed, but imo adding further snails is a death sentence if ammonia is present in the tank, its rare for snails to survive ammonia poisoning. Letting the tank cycle and then replacing the dirty water with pure nutrient free is a better option I think. Also cleaning the rocks in matured salt water isnt a bad idea at all.

[lordofthereef]

JMO, but I think jumping on a reactor for a ONE MONTH old tank is way overkill and just a bandaid to the real problem.

What is the CUC like? (is this the tank in your sig? your CUC is way too small for a tank that size. If not, what size tank then?)
How are you feeding the tank?
What fish are in the tank (again back to is this the tank in your sig?)

[aleonn]

What are your water parameters (amm, nit, nitrates)? That would give us some clues as how to proceed.

[Reverend Reefer]

i think you're fine. normal bumps of a new reef. this of course doesn't mean you stop the good fight, get in there and clean that algae up manually. this will be life for the next couple months, consider it like a test on your skills as a reefer! if you leave the nuisance algae to take hold, its very hardy, vigilant and aggressive so keep up with water changes, scrub the algae off your powerheads and anywhere else it starts to take hold. if you really want to get a GFO reactor it might help, a refugium with macroalgae will help, an algae turf scrubber will help, but there's no one piece of expensive equipment that will replace a new reefer with a toothbrush and some elbow grease (well, skip the grease of course!). just be glad you don't have any coral and/or fish to add to your stress while battling the green hair monster.

[JoeRonda]

Hello-Joe :)

Although it is of course normal for new aquarium set ups to go through stages where nusience algae and bacterias take a hold, in this case I feel you may have a problem, Its very likely you have not cycled yet and the system is not balanced to deal with ammonia and nitrate, Id suggest you remove the powerheads and give them a good clean and turn off the lights to help control the hair, concentrate on getting the tank cycled and stable, and have a good read on parameters and the levels needed to secure life, you could do a water change even at this early stage and try to keep the tank dark whilst cycling, have you got plenty of flow and rock in your tank Joe? and have you got a skimmer at the moment? Im sure it's just a blitch, dont add any more live stock Joe until your 100% sure your cycled and params are stable.

Thank you Mike, I do have a skimmer running and it is pulling out a lot of organics. I have a lot of flow also, 5,950 gph in a 120 gal. that is between the return ( 350 gph ) and 4 powerheads ( 1400 gph each )

[JoeRonda]

Isn't it possible that the ha is feeding off the nitrates and phosphates? If this is the case a bigger cuc or a GFO reactor would be beneficial. I agree with Micheal about not adding fish, but maybe more snails or crabs. Currently I would take out the powerheads and clean. You could also take out the LR and clean it in some clean saltwater then rinse in some clean saltwater.

Okay, thanks, I have tested and have 0 NO3, and 0 PO4, also I use only RO/DI water along with Instant Ocean Mix.

[JoeRonda]

JMO, but I think jumping on a reactor for a ONE MONTH old tank is way overkill and just a bandaid to the real problem.

What is the CUC like? (is this the tank in your sig? your CUC is way too small for a tank that size. If not, what size tank then?)
How are you feeding the tank?
What fish are in the tank (again back to is this the tank in your sig?)

Hello LordOfTheReef, yes the tank in question is in my sig. I am going to get more C.U.C. tomorrow only because my parameters check out. pH:8.1-8.2 / NH3:0 / N02:0 / N03:0-5 / P04:0 / KH:7 / Ca:420 / temp:80F-81.2F even though the tank is new I have old and cured LR that I bought locally so there was no die off. Also I added some aged water from the 29 gal LR holding tank that was up and running for 5 mo. before I set up the 120. And finally the fish in the sig are the ones in this tank, and I feed them VERY sparingly, mainly because I don't want to feed the bristleworms anything other than the bait in my Trap 'Em's....LOL. Anyway I saw the Six Line, and the Hogfish hunting and eating the worms right out of their holes, so I know there are things to eat. There are some tiny pods in my traps in the morning and there are tons of brittle stars in the rock. Hope that was all the info you needed. Thanks for the help.

[JoeRonda]

i think you're fine. normal bumps of a new reef. this of course doesn't mean you stop the good fight, get in there and clean that algae up manually. this will be life for the next couple months, consider it like a test on your skills as a reefer! if you leave the nuisance algae to take hold, its very hardy, vigilant and aggressive so keep up with water changes, scrub the algae off your powerheads and anywhere else it starts to take hold. if you really want to get a GFO reactor it might help, a refugium with macroalgae will help, an algae turf scrubber will help, but there's no one piece of expensive equipment that will replace a new reefer with a toothbrush and some elbow grease (well, skip the grease of course!). just be glad you don't have any coral and/or fish to add to your stress while battling the green hair monster.

Hey Reverend Reefer, thanks for the response. I actually have a good bit of caulerpa growing in the middle of my sump on a layer of LR rubble sitting on an egg crate design, so I have that covered, but I am taking your advice and will be scrubbing off the powerheads and tank equip.

[rayn]

Okay, thanks, I have tested and have 0 NO3, and 0 PO4, also I use only RO/DI water along with Instant Ocean Mix.

That tells me you have both. If algea is out of control growth wise, but trate and phosphate are 0 then the algea is consuming it. This is where water changes and possible ly the reactor would help.

I set up my reactor within two weeks of starting my 120 and have had no algea blooms...........yet. I even had to transfer rock that had HA on it and watched it die off within a couple weeks. That is my experience with the reactor and why I suggested it.

[JoeRonda]

[QUOTE=rayn;17829166]That tells me you have both. If algea is out of control growth wise, but trate and phosphate are 0 then the algea is consuming it. This is where water changes and possible ly the reactor would help.

I set up my reactor within two weeks of starting my 120 and have had no algea blooms...........yet. I even had to transfer rock that had HA on it and watched it die off within a couple weeks. That is my experience with the reactor and why I suggested it.[/QUOTE

That sounds like it is worth putting in my system. What kind of reactor is it? What kind of media do you use in it? And where do I find it at? Thanks for all the info.
Joe