Daily algae battle from the sun

E

emm0909

New member
I am battling a daily algae bloom that is caused from the tank being in direct sunlight. Moving the tank is not an option. Closing the blinds is obvious but not very practical (Meaning it's not going to happen). The tank is full of astreas. I Was thinking of stocking up on fat nerites to take care of this problem every night. Any thoughts from anyone here on how to fight this?

We're only running a CPR bakpak. The front glass can be scraped daily. The back glass gets buildup really fast. I now have a pump aimed directly at the back. 55 gallon, Aquaclear filter, K2, phosban reactor filled with carbon, Nitrates are not an issue.

Eric
 
Sounds like a nutrient issue to me. Sunlight hitting the tank should be a bonus for the corals.

Are you doing anything to reduce phosphates (GFO)?
 
I never use RO water. The reef tanks at my house always have tap water in them.

I was running phosphate material in my reactor before I switched to carbon last week. Phosphate isn't an issue. Nutrients in the water are not an issue. Perhaps sunlight could be an added bonus to corals but I'm not concerned about coral, I'm concerned about algae.
 
I always ended up with hair algae problems in tanks that used tap water. Solids in tap water include a number of nutrients that hair algae consumes.

Additionally, you most likely aren't measuring high levels of nitrate or phosphate because the algae is consuming it. My nitrates and phosphates are 0, yet I prune the macro algae in my refugium twice a month. The growth of the macro algae is evidence that it is effectively consuming nutrients from my system.
 
Well it happens continuously. I can do a 75% water change on the system and it'll still grow.

So honestly, no one here thinks that algae grows from the sunlight?
 
BTW: Just about everyone I know uses tap water. We're from Rochester. We have the best fresh water in the world. Tom at TRS uses tap water in his displays.

One big problem is that there is only a CPR BakPak on the tank. That will not effectively filter through all that tank water in a night leaving plenty of suspended algae in there. A larger skimmer would help for sure.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14949366#post14949366 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by emm0909
Well it happens continuously. I can do a 75% water change on the system and it'll still grow.

So honestly, no one here thinks that algae grows from the sunlight?
Click to expand...

Not every tank that is exposed to sunlight grows algae. This logically leaves the answer that some other factor comes into play. That factor is the water quality. ;)
 
Hair algae won't grow in complete darkness, and it won't grow under intense light without nutrient. It requires both. I used to have HA problems in my FOWLR, and the algae was strongest on the side that was near the window. My old 55 gal and current 75 gal reef tanks were in the same location and never experienced HA. The difference in those systems wasn't the sunlight, but the filtration (RO/DI, stronger skimmer, refugium).

In WNY, the majority of us have access to sources of fresh water that are excellent for human consumption. However, the water frequently contains metals, minerals, and nutrients that lead to problems in reef tansk over time. Without a TDS reading, it's had to know for sure. My water has a reading of between 150-200 out of the tap, and 0-1 out of my RO/DI.

It sounds like you're convinced that the problem is caused by the sun and that it has nothing to do with the water, but have determined that there's nothing that you can do about the sun.
 
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I agree with cardiffgiant 100% if the tank cant be moved i would invest some money in an r/o unit and a better skimmer! i have a window directly across from my 150 and it gets hit with natural sunlight for about 6 hours of the day with NO algae problems whatsoever
 
>Well it happens continuously. I can do a 75% water change on the system and it'll still grow.


if your tap water has nutrients in it that HA consumes... every time you do a waterchange, you are adding more of those nutrients. in this case, waterchanges may be doing more to fuel you HA growth, than to stop it.
 
Sounds good. I'll have to have that water tested straight out of the tap. I have tested it for basics like nitrate and copper to see if that would have anything to do with it but I have never had a problem with tap water. I guess I've just become immune to the thought. I will check that.

The tank is at my mothers house so I do not get to constantly look at it. I head over there once every week or two and the glass is always covered. She's getting really frustrated and the local store she goes to (Name not mentioned) does nothing but keep selling her ridiculous medications to solve her current problem whatever it may be. Afterwards it'll just spawn a new issue so a water change will be done but the algae on the glass continues to stay.

If it is the water from the faucet that is causing it I would like to figure out a way to keep the tank going without using RO/DI water just so that my mother can keep the tank. That's a lot of water to lug over there. We cannot afford the space for a RO unit in her house.
 
It does seem that you are stuck in between a rock and a hard place. Not much room left to place things, can't move things, access problems, etc. It's tough and we all run into that. If you are stern on not having a RO system I would at least try to invest in a better Skimmer. I myself don't have money laying around as I'm sure most of us don't. So, see what you can do. You are tackling this problem well and trying to figure out the factors. I hope everything works out in the end, we love to see aquariums prosper. Keep us updated!
 
I know it's not really what you want to hear... but I would seriously try and make room for a small(er) RODI unit. They are very easy to hook-up (she can run it off a sink faucet and store it when not in use). It's a very small investment in this hobby that can save you some serious headaches and aggrivation.

PS- I would be VERY surprised if the claim of Tom at TRS using tap in his tanks were true. I will most certainly ask! :)
 
I am pretty sure he sells RO water, I would think that would make it into his tanks as well. I know he does big water changes
 
How about an HOB refugium with a pretty powerful grow lamp? Out-compete the algae.

Remember, you need to test your tap for nitrates, phosphate, and silicates along with oxidative reduction potential
 
Tom told me as recently as last week, "...no, I don't use it (ro/di). I'd rather sell it." btw, there were a lot of other customers within earshot. So don't be twisting this around, okay?
 
Regardless of who does and who does not use RO/DI, the OP is using tap water, hasn't posted the TDS reading of said water, and is having problems with nuisance algae.

The only unknowns in this equation have to do with water quality. If it were me, I would buy or borrow a handheld TDS meter at the very least to see what the TDS of the tap water is.

emm0909- I have an extra handheld TDS meter I can lend you. PM me if you're interested.
 
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