Green Hair Algae and pink algae

[marinereef01]

I cannot kick this green hair algae and the pinkish algae in my tank. I have no clue what is causing it....

Tank has been set up for about 6 months now..

I use RO/DI water for water changes and change 20% every 2 weeks.

I have a phosphate upflow chamber with the kent marine phosphate sponge in there..

My parameters are:

Salinity: 1.031 (uh yeah... need to do a large water change to get this down. I messed up the batch of water last time with too much salt)
pH: 8.28
Alkalinity: 12
Calcium: 400
Ammonia: .25 (raised due to a couple things dying... Im guessing from high salinity)
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0
Phosphate: 0
Magnesium: 1400


Any clues???

 

[newyorkstyles]

Check out this video to find the answers you seek. Good luck

<iframe width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/0Pha1h4ayCc?rel=0&hd=1" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[olemiss reb]

The large Mexican turbos will eat the pink hair algae. I'm not familiar with a phosphate sponge but have had success using gfo in a reactor. There is phosphate in your tank but the algae is consuming it before the test can pick it up. Test your RO/DIs TDS for a possible source.

I'd recommend smaller more frequent water changes to bring your salinity down.

 

[Bilk]

The first thing to take care of is getting your water parameters in line. The ammonia is feeding the algae so this also needs to be at zero. You didn't post results of nitrates but I suspect they're greater than they should be since NH3 is elevated.

Additionally any filter media such as sponges, filter socks and anything else that can trap detritus and other particulates need to be cleaned daily IMO or they break down and feed the algae. The phosphate sponge probably isn't a good idea if it's inconvenient or difficult to clean daily. And I'm sure you know the deal about good skimming.