Brown/Green Algae help needed.

[Jackooze]

I can't get a handle on algae problems in my tank. My sand is turning brown and my glass needs to be cleaned everyday. I thought by adding a phosban reactor would help but apparently it isn't. My Rodi water is def 0ppm, my media is brand new, and I reduced my lights to 8 hrs. I have no clue why this is happening.A few days ago I got 4 snails which ate all the algae on the back wall and can finally see the purple algae. The sand is turning all brown and the glass all green.

Could it be that I don't have enough cuc?
Could it be that my tank sits right next to the window ?

Jbj NC28
All levels are at 0
Cal 450
Alk 9.6
Mag 1450

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[ange062]

Adding a phosban reactor won't immediately knock out algae issues, often times the phosphates have leached into your sand and rock and will take some time for them to leach back out into the water column to be removed by the GFO.

In the interim, keep up your WC's, make sure you aren't overfeeding, and that your bioload isn't too high for your tank.

And just remember, nothing good happens quickly in reefing, only bad things happen quickly.

 

[Ginu]

Also having the tank near the window can also mess up with algae.

I got a sand dollar and he patrols the sand non stop (sometimes reorganizing everything on the sandbed) but my sand is fairly white.

Have you ever considered some sort of sand shifting fish/shrimp? My personal favorite is the YGW and pistol

 

[brandon429]

Do pics let's see what we are working with

 

[W8lifts]

How old is the tank?

 

[brandon429]

did you get the pictures

 

[Jackooze]

Adding a phosban reactor won't immediately knock out algae issues, often times the phosphates have leached into your sand and rock and will take some time for them to leach back out into the water column to be removed by the GFO.

In the interim, keep up your WC's, make sure you aren't overfeeding, and that your bioload isn't too high for your tank.

And just remember, nothing good happens quickly in reefing, only bad things happen quickly.

Thanks ange.

Do you think it's a good idea to stir the sand and increase phosban in the reactor ?

 

[Jackooze]

Do pics let's see what we are working with

I am out for the weekend. Wish I could show you. I bet when I get back Sunday night the tank will look a mess. :headwally:

 

[Jackooze]

How old is the tank?

Tank is almost 7 months old. I think it should be mature enough to nOt experience these problems.

 

[ange062]

Thanks ange.

Do you think it's a good idea to stir the sand and increase phosban in the reactor ?

It wouldnt hurt to siphon off a small amount of the top layer of the sand on your next WC, I routinely do this and replace with fresh sand when it gets low. But just don't dig too deep, you don't want to stir up all the junk down there and make things worse.

You are still using 1/3 cup right? You can increase a little at a time, but you don't want to use too much or it'll cause both an alk and pH drop.

Still think patience is key

 

[Jackooze]

It wouldnt hurt to siphon off a small amount of the top layer of the sand on your next WC, I routinely do this and replace with fresh sand when it gets low. But just don't dig too deep, you don't want to stir up all the junk down there and make things worse.

You are still using 1/3 cup right? You can increase a little at a time, but you don't want to use too much or it'll cause both an alk and pH drop.

Still think patience is key

I guess I will siphon the top layer out and do a water change. How often do you change phosban ? Yes I am using 1/3 cup good memory I will wait as u suggested before I add more.

 

[Jackooze]

Finally got the chance to take pics. This is how the tank looks after two days of not cleaning.