Algae algae on my glass

[jasonvm]

Algae algae on my glass

I have green algae only on my glass it is not on the sand or the rock, in 24 hours I can barely see into the tank . I have tried everything I can think of. I am running ro-di water with a good tester 2 of them, I am running a phos ban reactor, I test weekly for
Calcium 420
Alkalinity 8 dkh
Salinity 1.026
Temperature 79.5
Ph 8.2
Magnesium 1300
Phosphate is very very very light blue on test kit
Ammonia 0
Iron is ok as well
Salt that i uses is Red sea coral pro
skimmer is a tunze 9010

The lighting is a coralife pro 48" light fixture. 2 150 watt metal halide, 2 96 watt atinic, 4 blue leds. Remote ballasts. 2 power heads, sump.

What am I missing here, Any Help would be great.

 

[jun_celis]

Nitrate? Algae on the glass pretty much tells you that you have some nutrients in your tank which everyone has. But if you get within 24 hrs, then you might have more that usual. Are getting alot of skimmate?

 

[jasonvm]

i have tested Nitrates and the comeup 0, the skimmer comes up with about 300 ml or so each day

 

[taillonjohn]

I did not note the size of your tank, or the strengh of your powerheads. If your nitrates and phosphates are low, its cause the algae is taking it up. I also did not note hoe long your lights are on. Anyways, I would suggest:
1. cut the light period in half
2. cut feeding in half (even better, feed only once this week)
3. run carbon
4. make sure some kinda flow is on the glass
5. increase water changes (nutrients out)
this SHOULD help cut back your problem, then you can start to up your lighting period and up your feedings, till you find that balance. if you do too much, the algae will come back. its a matter of learning your tank

 

[Canarygirl]

what type of food do you feed, and how much? Is it pre-rinsed?

what type of skimmer, and what color is the skimmate you are getting?

 

[jasonvm]

skimmer is a tunze 9010
food is a pinch omega one flakes and pellit
skim is brown green

 

[Canarygirl]

okay, well, flakes and pellet foods are both very high in phosphates. I mean, really high. So you are feeding algae food every time you use it.

Would it be possible to switch to frozen food, something meaty, without fillers/binders like wheat (avoid San Francisco brand), and rinse it in RO/DI water before you feed your fish? This will make a big difference in the amount of algae fuel you are adding to the tank.

Are you using your own RO/DI unit to make your top-off and water changes? If so, how long has it been since you changed your filters/resin?

How much total water volume do you have and what kind of power heads do you have? 2 powerheads may not be enough, depending on the size of your tank.

How long since you've changed your bulbs? After 8-9 months, bulbs tend to shift spectrum in a way that favors algae growth.

Last question...what have you got going on for clean-up crew? Do you have plenty of snails/hermits to eat detritus?

okay, I lied...how many fish do you have and what kind?

 

[jasonvm]

yes we have tried the food thing no diff

yes we use our own ro/di was change 3 months ago and we have a 2 meters on the water that are tested.

2 power heads 600 gal each

85 gallon tank with sump

4 month on bulbs

yes on snals and hermits

fish 7

 

[Canarygirl]

how long did you do the food thing for before you stopped?

What is the quantity and frequency of your water changes?

I tried Red Sea Pro Coral Salt and felt that I was getting more algae build-up on my tank walls so I stopped. You could experiment with a different salt and see if it makes any difference. Rumor has it that RS salt is evaporated and may retain some algae spores....that's just what I've heard.....

 

[jasonvm]

6 month on the food

water change every two weeks 20 gallons

 

[Canarygirl]

hmmm....it sounds like you're doing most everything right....how often do you change your phosphate remover? If you have a lot of phosphate in your tank it will need to be replaced every month.

All I can recommend is add 2 more powerheads of the same strength, and try switching brands of salt. I still think it's a bad idea to feed flakes/pellets because of their high PO4 levels...

you could also try adding a refugium with macro algae, light it on a reverse schedule to your display tank.

 

[jasonvm]

I have already done the macro algae, light it on a reverse schedule to your display tank

 

[reefkeeper135]

tagging along, going thru the same thing

 

[Dustin1300]

You happen to add some more rock here recently and cause you tank to start a mini-cycle? If so, this might be another source of your problems...

 

[jasonvm]

No the rock is 4-5 yours old

 

[badhand2222]

its got to be the food and the feeding, what style tank do you have? i mean how many overflows and what is the size of your return pump? if you want to start fresh and get rid of all algae right away, turn off lights for two days and cover the tank so no light escapes. then turn lights on, reduce light cycle and feeding till you get a balance. And don't worry about the lights being of effecting any fish or corals, the ocean naturally has black out days etc... also is you tank located next to a window?

 

[jasonvm]

Its a 75gal glass with 10-15 gal sump pump is eheim 1262.

some sun hits the tank in the late afternoon for about 30-45 mins

 

[miwoodar]

Re: Algae algae on my glass

Phosphate is very very very light blue on test kit

I would change your phosphate remover a few times next month and see what happens.

 

[Sk8r]

Phosphates will never test present: they're in the algae.
A refugium 1/3 the size of your tank will solve your problem, given 2-3 months.

 

[Canarygirl]

Phosphates will never test present: they're in the algae.

I personally agree with this. I always get very low readings on my Elos PO4 test kit (like, .01), but I have lots of algae of different sorts growing.