advice or suggestions...algae issues

[ctmgardea]

I have an almost 4 year old, 130 gallon tank that has had it's ups and downs, recently I have been going through an algae issue with this tank. Film algae that appears hours after cleaning the glass, a bright green algae that has seemed to attach it self to each individual grain of substrate, a tiny bit of cyno, and now I have noticed bubble algae in the sand bed....
I run GFO, GAC, have a 180 gl. rated skimmer, changed bulbs on T5's, and do a 50 gallon water change on this tank every 2 weeks. I have used some Bioptim and Biodigest, nothing seems to work yet.

I just dosed with Microbe Lift Special blend which I have used in the past with good results so we'll see what happens. I'm hoping to avoid tearing down and re starting this tank, many people have suggested the rocks releasing phosphate, I hope not, as I really like the rock work in this tank. I think I'm going to try and suck out the BA under the sand bed on the next water change this weekend.

as usual, the water parameters check out pretty normal...
This tank has a cream angel, yellow fin tang, CUC and a basketball sized rock covered in pulsing Xenia.

any advice or suggestions are welcome.:headwally:

 

[CoralNerd]

Do you use RODI water with 0 TDS for top off?

How about your saltwater same question?

How long do you run your lights?

Do you have good circulation?

 

[ChefZilla]

Do you use RODI water with 0 TDS for top off?

How about your saltwater same question?

How long do you run your lights?

Do you have good circulation?

+1. Also try dr tims waste away... possibly get a more efficient skimmer?

 

[Crusty Old Shellback]

Nutrient export is your friend.

Excess nutrients are the main cause. Phosphate is one of the main ingredients that algae like.

I've used Dr. Tims Waste away with good success.

 

[ctmgardea]

Do you use RODI water with 0 TDS for top off?

How about your saltwater same question?

How long do you run your lights?

Do you have good circulation?

0 TDS in RODI water
same used for salt water mixing
lighting 2 24 inch T5's 1 180 watt LED fixture run about 8-9 hours a day
circulation 2 MP40's 100% anti sync reef crest mode

I use the same RODI/Saltwater for my 180 SPS tank, with higher lighting
no issues in that tank.

I have also just unplugged all lights for now going to try a black out for a few days...

 

[CoralNerd]

Wow, maybe your feeding too much or like you said the rock issue.
What kind of rock?

+1 Dr Tims sounds like a good idea.
+1 Bigger or more efficient skimmer.

 

[ctmgardea]

Wow, maybe your feeding too much or like you said the rock issue.
What kind of rock?

+1 Dr Tims sounds like a good idea.
+1 Bigger or more efficient skimmer.

feeding once a day to every other day, pinch of sinking pellets
Marco rock was used to setup this tank, substrate is mostly fine sand with some smaller grain crushed coral for areas with high flow.
:headwalls:

 

[discotu]

what are your nitrate and phos levels? UV/ozone will help but isn't a fix.

 

[ctmgardea]

what are your nitrate and phos levels? UV/ozone will help but isn't a fix.

as usual, these are showing up as zeros, but we all know that usually these are bound up in the algae...

 

[organism]

Could be old tank syndrome or something along those lines, have you tried vodka dosing? I had a similar issue a while ago and after a few months of vodka dosing the tank was spotless, I've been using it ever since with great results. Your skimmer will start pulling out the nastiest stuff you've ever seen, all of it coming from gunk in your rocks and sandbed.

 

[ctmgardea]

Could be old tank syndrome or something along those lines, have you tried vodka dosing? I had a similar issue a while ago and after a few months of vodka dosing the tank was spotless, I've been using it ever since with great results. Your skimmer will start pulling out the nastiest stuff you've ever seen, all of it coming from gunk in your rocks and sandbed.

I have heard of vodka dosing, but am not versed on it at all...any easy to follow instructions??

 

[prug]

Hi, this thread by tom helped me a lot with carbon dosing, like what to expect and other variables that may come to play. Quite lengthy but worth reading-

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2134105

I would suggest sticking with either vodka/vinegar or a combination of both.

 

[organism]

This is the article I used, if you follow the dose schedule it works great.

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2008-08/nftt/

 

[dodgerblew]

What tds meter are you using? Has it been calibrated regularly?

 

[billyzbear]

I would think you have crap in the sand. Suck some of the sand out, replace, water change, repeat. You don't want to do a lot at a time. 1/4 or so at a time like a week apart. Larger water change.
Could also try a conch or two and some other sand type cleaners. They'll take longer to clean.
To really test p04 you need an expensive tester. I have my LFS test it for me. I think Aarons is 300 or so. At least have it double checked...
One of many reasons I don't have sand. All the crap gets blowned to a corner and I siphon out. You would really be surprised how much there is after a week. I have like 10 smaller fish in a 150g.

 

[ctmgardea]

This is the article I used, if you follow the dose schedule it works great.

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2008-08/nftt/

Thanks organism, I was actually looking at this one.

 

[ctmgardea]

What tds meter are you using? Has it been calibrated regularly?

Dodgerblew, the TDS meter is on my BRS 6 stage RODI unit, seems pretty accurate. same water I use on my 180 SPS for top off and saltwater, no issues in that tank, Knock on wood....

I would think you have crap in the sand. Suck some of the sand out, replace, water change, repeat. You don't want to do a lot at a time. 1/4 or so at a time like a week apart. Larger water change.
Could also try a conch or two and some other sand type cleaners. They'll take longer to clean.
To really test p04 you need an expensive tester. I have my LFS test it for me. I think Aarons is 300 or so. At least have it double checked...
One of many reasons I don't have sand. All the crap gets blowned to a corner and I siphon out. You would really be surprised how much there is after a week. I have like 10 smaller fish in a 150g.

Billyzbear, I think I'm running into an old tank syndrome, to much build up of crap everywhere, in the substrate, rock work. I think I am going to suck out some of the sand bed and the bubble algae just below the surface.
I can't see myself going bare bottom, just cant get behind that look.

 

[ctmgardea]

what test kits seem to be the best for Nitrate and Phosphate?

 

[calistyle]

what test kits seem to be the best for Nitrate and Phosphate?

I use Hanna for po4/alk , salifert for rest.

 

[gregr]

Every time I hook up my auto-feeder to go out of town I come back to see algae popping up. Remove the feeder [sinking pellets] and the algae eventually retreats.
You got tons of great suggestions but maybe changing food to frozen will help without having to resort to more extreme measures.