algea problem need advice please

[JLAURIA751]

Im having algea problems. I think my problem is the high temperature in my aquarium it stays between 82-84 my phosphate is not zero but it is low .2 my ph is 8.3 specific gravity is 1.025 nitrate 20-25 ppm nitite 0 amonnia 0 . it also could be bacuse I have a 150 watt mh light with 28 watt t5 on a 25 gallon aquapod. would anyone give me advice should i invest in a chiller if my temperature was around 76-78 would that help with the algea. or could u guys give me advice on how to get rid of it or direct me to forums that talk about it thanks for the help.

 

[romsoccer12]

what kind of algae? there are many ways to prevent heat instead of buying a chiller. try getting some cooling fans that can blow into the water.

 

[KarlBob]

Have you checked alkalinity and/or magnesium? I've been told that low alkalinity sometimes appears to contribute to algae outbreaks, and several people hear at RC have advised raising Mg to unusually high levels to suppress some vaieties of algae.

 

[Aqua Keepers]

I'm not sure but I don't think temp will cause algae.

What is your water source (tap,ro/di)?
What test kit are you using to test phosphate? Most phosphate test kits on the market are crap.

 

[JLAURIA751]

i beleve my magnesium is high the salt I use has extra mannesium (coral Life) plus I supplement magnesium stronium and iodine every 2 weeks. I use bottled distilled water I buy from walmart for 76 cents a gallon it doesnt have any copper in it I checked. My Lfs tested my water I only have tests for nitrite nitrate, and ammonia. I think they use red sea test kit api test strips. I upgraded my lights but, Im trying to figure out if I lower the temperature would it help control the algea or whould I start using compact florecent lighting.

 

[KarlBob]

Are you periodically testing (or having the LFS test) the elements you're supplementing? Continuing to add supplements without knowing the current level of each element can cause problems, usually when you over-shoot the recommended levels.

 

[Aqua Keepers]

Copper was not my concern in water source, but phosphate from tap water was. However you should be OK with walmarts distilled water.
I agree with KarlBob. You should not dose anything that you are not testing for. It is dangerous. If you don't know the level by testing, how do you know you need to dose it. Stop dosing and get yourself some good test kits. I like elo's.

 

[Poeticlydead]

Ok so I may be a little bit of a nub but how long have you had the 24 gallon tank set up?
What do you have for a clean up crew?
Live rock, live sand, filtration?
How often and in what quantity are you doing water changes?
How high is that MH off your water surface?

 

[JLAURIA751]

its only been up and running for about 2 months, I had a 12gallon aquapod break and moved most of the water and all the live sand and live rock to my empty 24 gallon aquapod. for filtration I have the back chamber filled with live rock rubble the porcelin glass, and about 50 bio balls. My biggest filtration is I do 3 gallon a week water changes every week without exception. My matal halide is about 5-6 inches above the water. Its a 150 watt 15,000k hqi bulb. I dont know if a 10,000k bulb would help I havent added carbon yet I could give that a try.

 

[Aqua Keepers]

If you have LR and LS in the main display, get the rock, porcelin glass, and bio balls out of the back chamber. All it will do is collect detritus, and become a nitrate factory.
I like to have carbon on every tank.
Also, if you just transferred everything you could of had some die off that resulted in algae. Stirring up used sand can cause issues as well.
How old are the MH bulbs?

 

[romsoccer12]

what algae is it or what does it look like. Cyano has big outbreaks with high temperature.

 

[JLAURIA751]

its brown and hair like algea, I definatly have a problem with sand stiring up I added about 20lbs caribi sugar sand it was a big mistake im going to remove it all soon and repace it with thicker sand. the sand get stirred up so easy. The metal halide bulbs are about 2 - 3 weeks old the aquapod was used and the bulbs were worn out so I upgraded to a 150watt metal halide and 2 14watt t5 acintics. so the bulbs and the fixture are new my light cycle is 10am -10pm acintics t5 light and 11am to 9pm metal halides I dont have moon lights. I lowered the photo period to 6 hrs for the metal halides. I havent adjusted the the t5 because my diamond goby needs to get used to the light cycle.

 

[JLAURIA751]

I think the sand might be the problem it gets stirred up alot but im not sure

 

[Poeticlydead]

I wouldn't go any closer then 6 on that MH as for the rest with the tank only being up for 2 months I wouldn't worry overly though if you have no clean up crew you should really look into it. I recently went through an algae outbreak my self, I beefed up my clean up crew a bit with a couple extra austrea, shortened my photo period, did a normal water change and left it the hell alone (that last one being a key factor sometimes we fiddle before things have time to run their course).

As for your water temps I have heard of people running that high and doing fine but usually in larger tanks with live stock that perfer higher temps.

Like I stated I am a nub compared to some of the veterans here but I have recently been through another new tank set up and the best advice I have is don't freak out just yet. Let the guys here know as much as you can about the current conditions and determine the type of algae. You may even want to post a pic or two.

 

[Flipper62]

Your temp of 82 / 84 is not out of line. The only concern is the 84 & where it will go to with the summer weather in Florida.

What do you you have for a CUC ( clean up crew ) ?

High netruients will feed hair algae, but a good CUC will keep it under control. Emerald crabs will eat it, You need a few Hermit crabs, Turbo snails, Astrea snails. Also a few Nassarius snails to surf under the sand. All of these guys will eat algae & keep the tank clean

 

[Aqua Keepers]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15296445#post15296445 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by JLAURIA751
I think the sand might be the problem it gets stirred up alot but im not sure

If it's just the top layer blowing around then it's not an issue, but when you transferred the sand from one tank to the other, you most likely stirred up the whole thing. That would release all kinds of nastiest into the water and could cause the algae. Honestly, I think that all of the most likely scenarios have been covered, and now you just need to put all the advice above to work. Keep us posted.

 

[JLAURIA751]

thanks ill try to post pictures of my tank later

 

[wab]

Hi, Sounds like a regular cycle for a tank 2 months old. A clean up crew +1 and lots of patience. Good luck

 

[JLAURIA751]

i need to beef up my cuc because my 12 gallon was very well established I didnt have any algea problems except for keeping the coraline algea off the glass and my mantis shrimp killed most of my cuc. I can keep the temp down to 80-82 if I add a fan but then I have to ad a half gallon of water a day because the evaporation that might be the best thing because I really cant afford a chiller right now. but thank you all for the advice if u have any more let me know.

 

[Aqua Keepers]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15298488#post15298488 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by wab
Hi, Sounds like a regular cycle for a tank 2 months old. A clean up crew +1 and lots of patience. Good luck

I wouldn't consider this a new tank. It's more of an involuntary upgrade


JLAURIA751, you say that the bulbs are new, but how old were the older bulbs. The spectrum shift could have caused the algae too. Again, put all the advice above to practice & Keep us posted.