Hi all -
I recently returned to the hobby after a few years off and I am in need of some assistance. I started at what I thought would be a simple 55g FOWLR in about November 2017 and it's recently gotten messy. Set up is as follows....
- 55 g
- about 50 lbs of LR
- Hydor slim skimmer
- two powerheads on each bottom back corner
- 75 g mechanical filter by Aqueon
- 10g WC every two weeks
- custom cutting board bottom (read about this before set up and gave it a shot... looks like sand but easier to maintain)
Current Bioload: ocellaris clown, stag horn damsel, yellow tail damsel, fromia star, and coral banded shrimp.
Everything was going really well. Very little algae. I'd clean glass and siphon out bottom with my WCs. Pretty easy maintenance. Then about a month ago, I changed out by stock flourescents for Current USA Orbit Marine LEDs. Thought it would make things pop. But it also seems to have made algae grow faster than my WCs and cleanings can keep up with.
Right now, I'm dealing with a bunch of algae - (pictures attached)
- daily glass cleaning - that basic cloudy, greenish, brownish stuff that comes off easily
- little tough crusty red/pink spots that have to be scraped off the glass - maybe coralline if I remember correcly?
- clumpy/drippy red stuff that grows on my rock - can easily be siphoned off during WCs but comes back within a few days
- and some pink algae growing on the cutting board bottom, it does not get scraped off at all
Measurements:
- 0 Ammonia
- 0 Nitrites
- 0 Nitrates
- About 1 ppm Phosphate a few days ago (tough to read those tests)
What I've done:
- Noticed the skimmer wasn't collecting as much as it used to, so I cleaned it out and reset it.
- Added GFO reactor.
- Took off the mechanical filter, cleaned it out, and decided to put it aside for now. Had plenty of algae growing on it, so maybe it was storing up too many nutrients.
- Added another powerhead right in the middle of the bottom where algae was most prevalent
Here's my questions:
- Could the new stronger lights be enabling the accelerated algae growth I've seen since adding them?
- Considering my measurements are all good enough, is the skimmer (I think) getting fouled up for a couple weeks likely my culprit?
- Is 1 ppm of phosphate enough to set off significant algae events?
- Is circulation a factor in algae growth? Pretty sure it's not but I have to ask.
- Should I leave the mechanical filter off for now and see how it goes?
- Does the red stuff on the rocks look like cyano? If so, how do I deal with it?
There's nothing catastrophic going on here... pretty sudden, my tank went from low maintenance to me having a much tougher time staying ahead of the algae. Something's gotta be up. I know, I know sump/refugium and all that is best, but I have a pretty light bioload. It shouldn't be this hard.
What does everyone recommend is next? I want to get this back under control.
Thanks guys! :thumbsup:
I recently returned to the hobby after a few years off and I am in need of some assistance. I started at what I thought would be a simple 55g FOWLR in about November 2017 and it's recently gotten messy. Set up is as follows....
- 55 g
- about 50 lbs of LR
- Hydor slim skimmer
- two powerheads on each bottom back corner
- 75 g mechanical filter by Aqueon
- 10g WC every two weeks
- custom cutting board bottom (read about this before set up and gave it a shot... looks like sand but easier to maintain)
Current Bioload: ocellaris clown, stag horn damsel, yellow tail damsel, fromia star, and coral banded shrimp.
Everything was going really well. Very little algae. I'd clean glass and siphon out bottom with my WCs. Pretty easy maintenance. Then about a month ago, I changed out by stock flourescents for Current USA Orbit Marine LEDs. Thought it would make things pop. But it also seems to have made algae grow faster than my WCs and cleanings can keep up with.
Right now, I'm dealing with a bunch of algae - (pictures attached)
- daily glass cleaning - that basic cloudy, greenish, brownish stuff that comes off easily
- little tough crusty red/pink spots that have to be scraped off the glass - maybe coralline if I remember correcly?
- clumpy/drippy red stuff that grows on my rock - can easily be siphoned off during WCs but comes back within a few days
- and some pink algae growing on the cutting board bottom, it does not get scraped off at all
Measurements:
- 0 Ammonia
- 0 Nitrites
- 0 Nitrates
- About 1 ppm Phosphate a few days ago (tough to read those tests)
What I've done:
- Noticed the skimmer wasn't collecting as much as it used to, so I cleaned it out and reset it.
- Added GFO reactor.
- Took off the mechanical filter, cleaned it out, and decided to put it aside for now. Had plenty of algae growing on it, so maybe it was storing up too many nutrients.
- Added another powerhead right in the middle of the bottom where algae was most prevalent
Here's my questions:
- Could the new stronger lights be enabling the accelerated algae growth I've seen since adding them?
- Considering my measurements are all good enough, is the skimmer (I think) getting fouled up for a couple weeks likely my culprit?
- Is 1 ppm of phosphate enough to set off significant algae events?
- Is circulation a factor in algae growth? Pretty sure it's not but I have to ask.
- Should I leave the mechanical filter off for now and see how it goes?
- Does the red stuff on the rocks look like cyano? If so, how do I deal with it?
There's nothing catastrophic going on here... pretty sudden, my tank went from low maintenance to me having a much tougher time staying ahead of the algae. Something's gotta be up. I know, I know sump/refugium and all that is best, but I have a pretty light bioload. It shouldn't be this hard.
What does everyone recommend is next? I want to get this back under control.
Thanks guys! :thumbsup:
