Had a Triton Analysis Done to Explain Excess Algae Issues

tylersarah

tylersarah

Member
I've had MANY different kinds of algae and have tried as many ways to eradicate it: heavy skimming, lights out, feeding little, GFO, basting, kent tech-M, lanthanum chloride, cheato, algae eaters, sand sifters, more flow, less light, remove green/red spectrum etc. I have not tried peroxide because I like my pods. I've religiously done weekly/biweekly water changes for many years with Reef Crystals and now recently Tropic Marin Pro - just to see what would happen, still to early to say.

Also, feeding didn't affect the algae, even when the display was fallow the algae thrived.

Also I've used BRS high capacity GFO for years, it's expensive and 2 months ago I took it offline for no reason other than to see what happened. No change in algae, but I don't have to chase dipping alk levels since, which is a real bonus.

Currently there's bubble algae, cotton candy algae, green hair algae, grape caulerpa, red/green slime and there's been bryopsis and dinos, but not for years. Each week I lightly rake the top of the sand and pull about 1C of algae/sand mix out and pull various species off the rocks.

Right now I have a big clump of cheato doing well in the sump. I should also note that Salifert says and has always said my nitrate levels are zero.

Here's the tank after I thoroughly raked the sand and pulled clumps of algae:
11745873_10153496514663114_4756351775194240404_n.jpg


I decided to send in a water sample to Triton thinking I must be feeding this nuisance with silicates, iron etc. Here's my results, that are nothing but counter-intuitive, check out the phosphate reading!

http://i.imgur.com/22pVpCy.png

Deviations:
*Magnesium a bit high
*Boron is low
*Lithium is high
*Molybdenum is low
*Iodine is low
*Phosphorus and Phosphate are oddly zero

Things I've learned from the analysis:

1. I've been adding too much magnesium. Results were 1507 mg/l. Salifert reading was 1470 ppm the same day I took the sample.
2. There are some trace elements I could use like borate, iodine and molybdenum
3. Potassium level is more than sufficient
4. No heavy metal issues
5. Lithium is quite high, which is a common result; probably from salt mix
6. My chloride vs sulfate ratio is good
7. No excess silicate or iron - there goes my excess algae hypothesis
8. Phosphorus and phosphate both resulted in zero. Either this is a mistake or now I'm more confused as to why I have so much algae
 
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When it comes to phosphates, I can only assume the readings will be misleading whether you use a Triton test, or a regular cheap test kit. The reading is low because the algae itself is consuming it from the water? What's the source of your water?

I was considering getting my water tested by them to at some point in the near future.
 
I don't see anything in those test results that would point to a problem.

Is there any live rock in the sump? The system doesn't seem to have much for filtration.
 
I keep tabs on the RO membranes, changed every 6 mo.

Thanks for looking over the results Bertoni, there's about 20lbs live rock in sump, chaeto clump and a jumbo skimmer.
 
Currently there's bubble algae, cotton candy algae, green hair algae, grape caulerpa, red/green slime and there's been bryopsis and dinos, but not for years.

I don't see anything in the test results to cause concern aside from the zero P reading. I'd probably test PO4 independently
Many types of algae are oligotrophic( thrive in low nutrient water) , ime most rhopdophyta and baryopsis for example. One culd probably starve them for PO4 or nitrogen but would likely starve some corals along the way.
 
The calcium is on the high side, I wonder if that could mean alkalinity is on the low side. Sometimes a higher alkalinity can start out competing green algae by increasing growth of coralline algae. I don't see any herbivorous fish. Always good to have at least one grazing tang too IMO.
 
tmz said:
Currently there's bubble algae, cotton candy algae, green hair algae, grape caulerpa, red/green slime and there's been bryopsis and dinos, but not for years.

I don't see anything in the test results to cause concern aside from the zero P reading. I'd probably test PO4 independently
Many types of algae are oligotrophic( thrive in low nutrient water) , ime most rhopdophyta and baryopsis for example. One culd probably starve them for PO4 or nitrogen but would likely starve some corals along the way.
Click to expand...

I have a low range Hanna phosphate checker, it has never displayed 0.00 ppm.

I'm going to look into my lighting schedule, make sure it's not too long/day, increase flow, see if I can find some more room for live rock like Bertoni said and continue on as is.
 
tapio said:
The calcium is on the high side, I wonder if that could mean alkalinity is on the low side. Sometimes a higher alkalinity can start out competing green algae by increasing growth of coralline algae. I don't see any herbivorous fish. Always good to have at least one grazing tang too IMO.
Click to expand...

I keep alk at 9.0 dKH according to Salifert, I hesitate to increase it much. There's a bristletooth tang, although he doesn't eat anything other than my homemade food blend and New Era Grazer rounds. There's also 2 conchs, I've had them for a long time.
 
tylersarah said:
I keep alk at 9.0 dKH according to Salifert, I hesitate to increase it much. There's a bristletooth tang, although he doesn't eat anything other than my homemade food blend and New Era Grazer rounds. There's also 2 conchs, I've had them for a long time.
Click to expand...
That alkalinity is high enough. You are fine there. Sometimes an algae problem just takes a little time to get rid of. As frustrating as it is I have always found it beneficial and necessary to scrub off large patches of algae regularly during the fight to eradicate it.
 
Hmm, I'm not sure what the total amount of live rock is, but guessing there's 30-40 pounds, I'd say the tank might need more for filtration. There are alternatives, like De*Nitrate and the Marine Pure blocks, as well.
 
Iron test result is included and low, so not that. Its a mystery to me. The tank is close to a window - does it get much natural sunlight? If so that could be a contributing factor.

-droog
 
Reefvet said:
How much light does the tank get from that window to the left ?
Click to expand...

It's very minimal as there's a tree line about 10' from the window.

There's more rock in there than it looks. If I had to guess 80-100lbs incl sump, I've moved it enough times, there's a couple rocks alone easily 30lbs each.

Side view:
11752607_10153496514253114_6463462266638536627_n.jpg


There's 2ppm iron in the well water, but the Iron Curtain, water softener and rodi system remove it.

I even switched cat litter in case the dust is getting in the tank - you never know.
 
How old is your tank? I've progressed through a few tanks in the passed 5 years or so that I've been back in the hobby. The one thing I've noticed is that there is a seemingly innate "algae" cycle that the tank goes through as it matures. I've found that no matter what I dosed, fed or tried, it always followed the same path. Having good, consistent practices like removing detritus from your sump and overflows regularly, cleaning your skimmer, not over-feeding ALL the time, changing RODI filters etc. have a much bigger (albeit slower) effect on the overall growth of algae than dosing or filtration media. I'm by far NOT an expert and my tank isn't amazing so take what I say with a grain of salt but if your tank is less than, say, 2 years old, I'd ride it out. Be vigilant with your maintenance, have some beers and enjoy the tank more :)
 
Great looking tank! Your urchin has a huge piece of bubble algae in it. It made me smile, got to love those guys.

Stick with it and add more clean up crew members to help you with gha.
 
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