Cant get rid of Algae help

[Teh Noob Reefer]

Heyo everyone.:wavehand: Im sort of a noobie( only had my tank for about 8 months) and i cant seem to get rid of this algae in my tank. I have a 29 gal tank with about 30 lbs of live rock. I have a prizm skimmer,an aquatic life fixture with two actic and 2 10000k.
My nitates and nitrites are both practicaly nonexistent and my waterflow is high. I do regular water changes and siphon off chunks of algae whenever i can, but it comes back way too fast.:sad2: My current inhabitants are only a royal gramma and a neon cleaner goby along with some snails(5 or 6), but i am planning on buying a lawnmower blenny to see if he can chow down on some of the hair algae.
I am looking for any suggestions on how to tackle this nusience algae, anything would be helpful. Thanks:fun2:

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

well it's good to note that you have 'practically nonexistent" nitrates and phosphates (N and P), the hairalgae is feeding on and removing all the N and P and that's why it's "nonexistent" I would suggest adding a macroalgae to compete for N and P so you can hopefully starve it out. Out of all the macroalgae's I would suggest chaetomorpha, It'll do the job.

 

[gtphale]

RO/DI water? How much are you feeding. I found out my tank was getting overfeed and thats what my biggest problem was. Since then my tank is almost algea free. Need to know some of your water test and the numbers. So if you can post them up I'm sure someone can help you out. Also remember that old media can be a nitrate factory and be feeding your algea and thats why your nitrates are so low.

 

[corrado007]

Are we talking green hair algae?
Typically when you have algae problems it's due to water quality and lighting.
It takes a considerable amount of time to get rid of nuisance algae. Best bet is to cut down on your photo period (length of time lights are on each day) if your corals can handle it. How long is your photo period right now? You can manually scrub off algae with a toothbrush or other scrub brush and then siphon it out while doing water changes more frequently. You'll likely have to do this several times, perhaps once a week for a while until the algae gets under control. Also, are you overfeeding? This can lead to throwing your water parameters off and feeding the algae as well. Also consider how old your bulbs are. I've read once or twice that as light bulbs age the spectrum of light that they produce shifts and can become less effective for your desired inhabitants like corals and more effective at growing plant life like algae. Another huge source of problems can be your water source. What type of water are you using? Tap water, water from a "water store", water from a vending machine outside a grocery store, RO/DI water? RO/DI is really the only way to go if you want to be successful in the long run keeping corals. It can often be bought at your LFS (local fish store) if you don't have an RO/DI unit yet. One of those units may not seem very exciting as a purchase for your hobby but it will really be one of the best purchases you can make for your tank. As far as getting an algae blenny, that will likely not make much difference except to increase your bio load while you already have an algae issue. They may eat a bit but they won't fix the cause of the problem.
Good luck.

 

[Teh Noob Reefer]

Thanks for the suggestions. I have been using distiled water from various places for my top-offs and water changes, so i dont think that it could cause the algae. Or I could be totally wrong. I would buy RO/DI water, but I dont have a unit and no pet stores(all I have is a Petco) in my area sells it. I'll try cutting down my photo period and then if that doesnt work see if I cant find some of that chaetomorpha stuff. The lame test strips that I have only test for nitrate, nitrite, pH, and alkalinity. Everything is in the acceptable range. Maybe there is something like phosphates that could cause this .Anyways Im not sure, just taking a stab in the dark. Oh and i forgot to mention that i also have ?cyano? algae also. I am not sure exatly, but its brownish red and makes layers with bubbles.

 

[RiffRaff]

Hermit crabs love hair algae as well. Never underestimate theM. And lawnmower blennies prefer to have the smaller algaes. Mine really goes to town on the glass when I don't clean it.

 

[jdieck]

Green algae and cyano indicate you have a water quality issue. Here are the steps you could take.

a) Skimmer: Prism is not what I would call an effective skimmer. I would (If economically possible) switch it to a hang on the back (or side) CPR skimmer.

b) If you want to use chaetomorpha I would not do it in the main tank but in a refugium. CPR also has some hang on the back small tanks that are sold as refugiums for such small systems.

c) Watch out for smaller feedings. ou need to feed once every other day and only what the fish can eat in two or three minutes. Turn off all your pumps when doing so so the food is not blown to unreachable locations.

d) For the time being, do not add any food supplements like zooplex, cyclopeze or similar, they could be polluters in a bottle.

e) If you feed frozen food, rinse it properly using a fine net to remove all the juices. Fish no dot eat the juices and they are ladden with phosphates.

f) During water changes, siphon out all cyano and green algae you can.

g) Replace your bulbs if necessary, It is recommended to replace them every 8 to 12 months.

h) Continue your water changes using distilled water, increase water changes to a 25 % volume per week for 4 weeks and then 10 to 15% per week after that.

i) Get rid of the strip tests and get good test kits. I would recommend LaMotte for Alkalinity and Nitrate, and salifert for calcium, magnesium and phosphates. Maintain proper levels of Calcium, Alkalinity and Nitrates.

j) If you do not have one, you may want to get a good refractometer for measuring salinity. Keep a salinity in the 1.026 level (35 ppt)

K) Try increasing the number and variety of snails. Get some Tonga for the sand and some trochus for the rest and one Mexican Turbo (only one for such a small system will be enough). Get some scarlet hermits (I would not get blue legged hermits that may not be reef safe).

l) A lawnmower blenny may help.

m) If everything else fails with getting rid of the cyano you can use chemi-clean or red slime remover as a last resort.

n) Even with good flow, detritus will accumulate in the rock crevices. After siphoning all possible algae and cyano, use a maxijet 1200 powrhead to blow off the detritus from the rock crevices while using a mechanical filter. Repeat weekly until the level of blown off detritus diminishes. You can cut and add the front half of a turkey baster to the powerhead outlet to increase the flow velocity and you can use your thumb to throttle the suction of the powerhead.

Good luck!

 

[Forgiven1973]

wow

wow

jdieck, GREAT info!! Im new to the hobby and have had some algae troubles since buying a established tank from someone at work. You've helped me out alot with a very detailed post.. I have improved the water parameters since taking over the tank but not to where it needs to be.

THANK YOU!!!

 

[javickrey]

You can also use GFO and Carbon, or try Vodka or vinager dosing. It is definatly phosphates or nitrates as stated above some nice test kits will be more accurate. D&D also makes a nice phos test.

 

[Teh Noob Reefer]

GFO? and D&D? Sorry but i must really be a noob, although i have read the article on ethanol dosing and thought that i might give a go

And jdieck really good stuff thanks for the time you took to diagnose my tank

 

[javickrey]

sorry on the GFO, it absorbs phosphates. there are many brands like phosban or Bulk reef supply has their own. D&D is the brand of the phos test kit Marine Depot sells it. As for the Vodka dosing you will have to be very carefull not to overdose on a 29gal. you could end up with a huge algae bloom or worse drunk fish. lol

 

[Teh Noob Reefer]

thanks, the drunk fish potential is a real hazard that slipped my mind :rolleye1:
I'll look into the GFO it seems like a really quick cheap and easy fix to my high phosphates

 

[rcoughtrey]

I changed my bulbs for better quality and done the 3 day blackout with no light. Every bit of aglea disappeared I was shocked at how well that worked. I'm now doing a 3 day blackout every month.

 

[Rudolph]

I also had luck with phosphate pads........absorbs quickly and might be good to try with the additional ideas already noted...

 

[Seventy]

Don't think this has been mentioned yet, but ambient light from a window etc can cause algae problems as well. For example, if your light cycle is 1pm-11pm(for your viewing pleasure), but the sun comes up at 8am, then you might actually have a 15 hour light cycle, not a 10 hour one.

 

[drukkosz]

have you tried a uv sterilizer