PDA

View Full Version : Out of control algae


conk12301
06/08/2011, 01:20 PM
I got through my diatom phase already but now I just have all different types of algae growing like crazy. I think it might have something to do with the lights - it's been growing at a much faster rate ever since I got more lighting and doubled my wattage a few weeks ago. Also I dosed with PurpleTech a couple times, which might be a factor.

Is there anyway to slow this down or get this under control? I have about 20 hermit crabs and four purple snails in there right now for 36 gallons. Do I need more?

If you can't tell from the picture, there's two good patches of coralline on the bottom left of the rocks (and it is spreading, quickly which is good). The rest is COVERED in green algae.. the rocks, the sand, the glass. And then inside the green is some sprinkling of red and even some hard looking white stuff. Could this be the beginning or some red coralline?

Man I thought the diatoms were bad... this is way worse. My family looks at the tank like "Ugh... What happen?"

BIG_KAHUNA
06/08/2011, 02:27 PM
Need info. tank size how long its been running parameters etc

Baldguy
06/08/2011, 08:58 PM
I'm just starting a 120g and had an algae problem too. I got 4 turbo snails and within a week or two almost all algae is gone! In your tank I would add one. I'm kinda worried about what they will eat now. Don't want the guys to starve.

duncantse
06/08/2011, 09:13 PM
Algae is very common in new tanks because of silicates and phosphates from sand. I wouldn't worry about it.

Off topic: I really like your aquascape!

skrillnet
06/08/2011, 11:33 PM
Well, you can shorten your light cycle, do a big water change, manually scrub the rocks, etc etc etc.

Or you can buy a grazing fish, I recommend a starry blenny for the downright awesomeness of them, and he will make short work of your algae.

docbattysreef
06/08/2011, 11:57 PM
Algae blooms are a common part of the cycling process. Maintain good aquarium practices ie. cleaning, water changes etc. and it should subside.

organism
06/09/2011, 12:11 AM
How long are your lights on and what is the k rating on the bulbs? My guess is you have them on 10-12ish hours, set them to 6. How often and how much are you feeding? Cut it down to once every two days, turn off the pumps and make sure you feed as little as possible. A good way to do it is to feed little pinches with the pumps off, then when they stop eating you're good.

Throwing in food to float around is just creating more problems, we've all done it when starting out though, those fish always look so cute and hungry :)

organism
06/09/2011, 12:12 AM
Also, don't get an algae blenny for a 36 gallon nor any fish to eat the algae, they'll just starve to death once it's gone.

conk12301
06/09/2011, 05:18 AM
The tank is about 3 months old and is 36 gallons. And I have 110W. Two 10k daylights and two blue actintic.

I run the lights about 12 hours a day. Now that I have three coral frags don't I have to do this?

All the parameters are good. Been doing 25% changes weekly for the last 3 months.

Would a turbo snail be appropriate? And do they really knock over rockwork as I've read? Mine isn't glued/poxied together.

skrillnet
06/09/2011, 06:02 AM
Blenny wont starve if you can get one that eats nori.

If it were me I would avoid turbid, they don't last long and if they fall on their back they die.

Reefcleaners.org is a great place for snails. Dwaarf ceriths are good as well as the full size version.

Corals don't need 12 hours a day (I thought the same thing). In fact most can survive with aslittle as an hour a day. Notice I said survive bot thrive. I currently have a similar lighting system on our 75 and have it set for an 8 hour light cycle.

You can run some GFO also that will definitely help with algae problems as well.

e46slc
06/09/2011, 09:25 AM
You should definitely cut down on your lighting schedule. When I had hair algae, I would go in with a toothbrush and scrub as much as I could during a water change. This helped tremendously and then I cut down on my feeding and it seemed to do the trick.

thegrun
06/09/2011, 10:34 AM
The tank is about 3 months old and is 36 gallons. And I have 110W. Two 10k daylights and two blue actintic.

I run the lights about 12 hours a day. Now that I have three coral frags don't I have to do this?

All the parameters are good. Been doing 25% changes weekly for the last 3 months.

Would a turbo snail be appropriate? And do they really knock over rockwork as I've read? Mine isn't glued/poxied together.

1. You can run your aactinic bulbs for 12 hours a day, but the daytime bulbs should only run for 7-8 hours max.
2. Two or three Turbos would be fine. They generaly do not knock over rocks unless the rocks are small, but they will knock over corals mounted on plugs or freshly glued on corals. I would lean more towards a mix of about 20-30 smaller snails. 10 cerith snails, 10 nerite snails and 10 nassarius snails for the sandbed would be good. I would not add any more hermit crabs.
3. In addition to cutting back on your light durations, you are likely overfeeding. Try to only give the fish as much food as they can eat in one minute.

pnavarro170
06/09/2011, 02:17 PM
yups its the lighting, the tank isnt old enough to be used to that much lighting. id go down to about 6hrs of actinics and 4 hrs of whites. or even less and start adding one hour a month to get it up to 10-12 hrs blue. and 6-7 hrs white.

firebirdude
06/09/2011, 05:22 PM
Ouch. With that much algae, I think I'd go lights out for a couple days. Then shorten whites to 6 hours and actinics to 8. Run a bag of GFO in the back too.

conk12301
06/09/2011, 06:24 PM
I will make sure the lights run less.

And here are the additions to my CUC today:


In addition to the four trochus snails and 20 hermit crabs I already had, the LFS rep suggested 10 black turbos (not the big Mexican ones) and six cerith snails. I asked if this sounded like a bit much and he said that it would be fine. What do you guys think? It sure LOOKS like a lot - my tank looks like a snail tank instead of a fish tank now lol.

Also he suggested gettting PhosBan, which I bought. It turns out my phosphate levels were at zero once I checked when I got home. So I'm afraid that was a waste of money, but hopefully it will help to keep phosphates from developing in the future.


I also got a torch coral frag with 20 heads on it for just 12 bucks... I know it's a tougher coral to keep but I couldn't resist. It's beautiful.

firebirdude
06/09/2011, 06:48 PM
Testing for phosphate is almost pointless. Generally, you're test will always read zero because the algae is using it up just as fast as it's being produced.

Make sure you're using RO/DI to do your water changes. Phosban is a quality product. It will eat phosphate and help starve out the algae.

conk12301
06/09/2011, 10:11 PM
Got it. Thanks.

Is my new CUC too big?

firebirdude
06/09/2011, 10:15 PM
Meh. Hard to have a CUC that's too big. 20 hermits seems like a lot. You're going to see some kill off. The hermits will kill each other and snails. Just the way it is man.

firebirdude
06/09/2011, 10:16 PM
Testing for phosphate is almost pointless. Generally, your test will always read zero because the algae is using it up just as fast as it's being produced.

Make sure you're using RO/DI to do your water changes. Phosban is a quality product. It will eat phosphate and help starve out the algae.Damn it. Was trying to edit my grammar in this post and hit quote by accident. Why can't we delete??:rolleyes:

conk12301
06/21/2011, 12:05 PM
So it's been about two weeks since I added 10 black turbo snails and some other clean up crew as well as phosban.... and the green algae has stopped spreading, but it is not going away....

Any suggestions? Pretty tired of having a dirty looking tank.

firebirdude
06/21/2011, 12:08 PM
Manual removal via siphon. Hold the siphon at the back of your hand and use your thumb and index fingers to remove the algae. The siphon should suck it right up.

Mr.Tan
06/21/2011, 12:29 PM
not to thread jack, but can improper flow lead to hair algae? i have some RHA growing that i can't get rid of in certain spots and i feel like its due to a lack in flow at those areas

kurens
06/21/2011, 12:42 PM
ups.from pic i can see that i got the same thing on my rocks and some on glass and its really hard to scrub(used credit card to clean it from front glass)i thought its coralline algea,isn it?thanks

jong11
06/21/2011, 12:50 PM
can't really tell what kind of algae it is by the pic? i think its reefcleaners.org that has a pretty good algae id page.

kurens
06/21/2011, 02:03 PM
i checked id guide on their site and cant find anything similar to what he and me got on rocks.i hope its coralline algae:)

Andrew17030
06/21/2011, 11:46 PM
I may be mistaken but I think that I have read that over time the spectrum changes in most lights and can become more algae friendly. Something else to consider if you are unsure of the age of your bulbs. Same thing happened to me when I started my last tank and for about three or four months I would have random surges of algae growth. When I added a refugium with macro algae, they stopped happening. I did not have enough area (fine sand) for a bacterial population to process the nutrients that they algae were growing from.

kurens
06/22/2011, 04:53 PM
I may be mistaken but I think that I have read that over time the spectrum changes in most lights and can become more algae friendly. Something else to consider if you are unsure of the age of your bulbs. Same thing happened to me when I started my last tank and for about three or four months I would have random surges of algae growth. When I added a refugium with macro algae, they stopped happening. I did not have enough area (fine sand) for a bacterial population to process the nutrients that they algae were growing from.

i got refugium with chaeto and leds for lighting from begining tank is 3 months old:)ordered gfo and carbon reactor,maybe it helps.

heckfire
06/22/2011, 05:10 PM
Testing for phosphate is almost pointless. Generally, you're test will always read zero because the algae is using it up just as fast as it's being produced.

Make sure you're using RO/DI to do your water changes. Phosban is a quality product. It will eat phosphate and help starve out the algae.

will the phosban also starve out macros in a fuge????

firebirdude
06/22/2011, 06:10 PM
will the phosban also starve out macros in a fuge????Most of the time....yes.

heckfire
06/22/2011, 06:16 PM
well then we have a problem......