Changing over to RO/DI Water

[dntx5b9]

After months of battling green hair algae, I have decided to switch from tap water to RO/DI. So far, I have done three 20% water changes with the RO/DI water. It's been almost three weeks. This is what's happening so far in my tank.

1. Green hair algae growth seems to have slowed somewhat, but still growing, I think

2. Brown slime algae have returned. Not bad, but it's there and it wasn't there before. It seems to appear in the first couple of days after the water change, but seems to go away after that.

3. Still getting lots algae on the glass (may be little less than before but still enough)

Is this normal? Or do I have other issues with the tank? I don't have a skimmer, yet. Any comments would be appreciated.

 

[racer69]

You really need the skimmer now. You have excess nutrients in your water and the skimmer will help eliminate them.

 

[Agu]

You need to physically remove the excess nutrients/minerals you've added to the tank. For most people skimming is less work than removing the rock and scrubbing off the algae.

Best choice is to do both..........

 

[dntx5b9]

I've heard that skimmer is not completely necessary. I do weekly 20% water changes and also have 30lb of LR and 4" sandbed. I was under the impression that this setup would be fine w/o a skimmer. I do understand that a skimmer would definitely help and I am looking into getting one, but not something I must have to maintain a healthy tank with a setup like mine ...?

 

[bertoni]

Skimmers aren't absolutely necessary, but the bioload on your tank is very high, so I'd say either look into a skimmer or do more water changes. I would have stopped adding fish with the pair of clowns.

 

[AZDesertRat]

You have quite a bio load for a 20G. You need some way to export nutrients aka nitrates. A skimmer is your best bet along with more live rock, less feeding and less fish.
What is your lighting, temperature and water movement? Does the tank get any direct sunlight during the day? What do you feed, how much and how often? All of these can contribute to your problems.

 

[dntx5b9]

Actuall, I don't have the blenny anymore, so it's one less fish. I feed once or twice a day with New Life Spectrun pellets and chopped up shrimp now and then. I got 135W PC, AC powerhead, 79F, and no direct sunlight. Nitrate level is actually not bad. Also, I thought the whole point behind the LR and LS is to complete the nitrogen cycle.

 

[AZDesertRat]

It is, the more live rock the better. In a tank your size you don't have enough surface area for a fully functioning deep sand bed so you will have to rely on the rock. Nitreates can be hard to measure accurately when you have hair algae present, it can be masking and skewing the results. Sounds like you need more water movement too. A skimmer would also help with the movement.

 

[bertoni]

Okay, that's a much better fish load, then. How much are you feeding? You might be overloading the live rock that way.

 

[dntx5b9]

I feed my fish once or twice a day. I don't feed that much. The clowns always seem hungry and I keep them that way. I am looking to get a skimmer as I am planning to add more corals in the tank. When I add a skimmer, could I add more fish? Also, would adding an anemone in my tank cause any issues? I think the algae growth is slowly (too slow) getting better.

 

[bertoni]

Adding an anemone would likely be a bad idea. They tend to be very demanding, and also place a fair amount of strain on the filtration. I have an anemone in a 29g tank without fish, and it's really a bit too much. I wouldn't add any more fish into that tank, even with a skimmer.

 

[dntx5b9]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6918005#post6918005 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bertoni
Okay, that's a much better fish load, then. How much are you feeding? You might be overloading the live rock that way.

What did you mean by overloading the LR? You mean too much nutrient for the LR to breakdown? By the way, algae situation is getting better, but still lots of algae growing. Since my two clowns died two weeks ago, I really don't feed that much anymore, but still lots of algae ...

 

[dntx5b9]

by the way, what would be a good fish to add if I were to get something else?

 

[bertoni]

Yes, by "overloading" I meant feeding more than the live rock can fully export. The algae might continue to grow for quite a while if the nutrients have built up in the system. Harvesting the algae will help the process, although it might be time-consuming.

There are lots of fish to consider for a 20g tank. Maybe some neon gobies? They might be interesting.

 

[Litespeeds]

If you can't use a protein skimmer, you might try a phosban reactor. If that is not possible, try a Poly Filter pad as that will remove some of your phosphates and will help on the algae problem. Water changes are a must and you should try and do it every week until it is under control.
I have a 12 gallon JBL nano that went through a serious hair algae problem and I have it pretty much under control now.

 

[dntx5b9]

Are phosphates by-products of the aquarium waste lifecycle? I know nitrates are but I was wondering how the phosphates get added to the tanks. By the way, I have been doing weekly 20% water changes with the DI water for the last two months.

 

[AZDesertRat]

Phosphates are usually byproducts of food, especially flake foods. There may also be low levels of phosphates in source water.

 

[dntx5b9]

By the way, what would be the cause of return of red slime algae? It's not bad, but it returned when I switched from tap water to the DI water. By the way, DI water can't contain any phosphates, right?