How to remove/reduce this algae?

C

cpllongjk

Active member
Ok, so heres the basics...

Setup has been going for 3 months as of today. I used dry Fiji rock cleaned with muriatic acid and rinsed very well over a week, changing out every day with RODI water.

The parameters are:
SG 35ppt
Temp 76.5-78.5
pH 8.0-8.3
Nitrate 0.2ppm
PO4 0.05ppm
Mg 1320ppm
Ca 430ppm
dKH 7.5-8.0

2 ATI Actinics and 2 ATI Blue + on for 10 hours a day.
1 250w MH Radium at reduced lighting for 4 hours a day. Cannot increase until algae is under control.

Obviously there are nutrients because there is algae but nothing I have done seems to curb it. I have turned off lights for 3 days (total darkness 3 days). This helped but as soon as the 250w radium fires back up, even at 4 hours per day, the algae comes back fast. I have added snails and they eat but cannot eat fast enough to curb it either. When phosphates creep up to 0.10-0.15 I add ROWAPHOS to bring it back down to 0.03-0.04.

I was adding acropower at a reduced amount but have stopped to try and stop the algae first. I do not feel I have been overfeeding, I would say I am underfeeding and I feed a blend of pellets and frozen food that is rinsed well before added to the tank.

I have 3 chromis, 1 yellow tang (no police), 1 helfrichi firefish, and 1 tailspot blenny. I feed only what my fish can consume in 1-2 minutes once to twice a day.

I am having no other problems other than the algae.

Anyone have any ideas on how to get rid of this algae? I am afraid it is from using dry rock and not cycling the rock prior to adding it straight to the tank on setting up the system. The rock is obviously cycled now since running for 3 months in this system it just has this algae growth I can't seem to get rid of.


Please Help,

Jared
 
I forgot to mention I change about 2.5 Liters of water on 43 gallons total system volume daily. I might skip a day or two, but not three.

I also change out filter socks every Sunday/Tuesday/and Thursday and I skim heavily.
 
Wow! That is quite a bit of livestock for a 3 month old tank. Generally phosphates are the cause of algae outbreaks. Rock that is dry will still leach phosphates, you could try running GFO for a bit longer.

Good luck.
 
reymin said:
Wow! That is quite a bit of livestock for a 3 month old tank. Generally phosphates are the cause of algae outbreaks. Rock that is dry will still leach phosphates, you could try running GFO for a bit longer.

Good luck.
Click to expand...

I'll continue the GFO for now but I'm really worried it wont be enough.
 
crocogator106 said:
You might try incorporating an ATS in your system to help eat the excess nutrients.
Click to expand...

I've thought about that but cannot find anything small enough for my needs. Are there any ATSs that fit a 60g total system? Everything from AlgaeSrubbing is too large I think.
 
Questions...

Who did you buy the rock from?

Are you running GFO?

Do you have a good LFS near you, mine will let you buy or rent a sea hair and return it when your tank is clean, works quite well they constantly munch on this type of algae.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
 
Turbosreef said:
Questions...

Who did you buy the rock from?

Are you running GFO?

Do you have a good LFS near you, mine will let you buy or rent a sea hair and return it when your tank is clean, works quite well they constantly munch on this type of algae.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Got the rock from BRS, it was dry fiji rock.

Yes I am running GFO in a filter sock. I can add it to a reactor if needed. Was trying to get away with not using a reactor.

Nah I dont have any good LFS in my area and I am going full sps and dont want to put in a sea hare or have anything get caught in propeller to kill my sps.
 
Unless you have open blades in your tank it won't be a problem. They really are like lawn mowers, I would say get a big one and you would have no chance of an accident I have seen them in my tank avoid the circulation pumps but I would also be cautious of aggressive fish hassling it but if your sps guy probably don't have too many fish.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
 
FWIW I think GFO needs to be in a reactor, I have tried both ways carbon can be tossed in a filter sock or the sump but GFO needs to tumble for max effectiveness, you should know (I went through the same thing on my last tank) GFO will not get rid of the algae you have you have to scrub it off or get some critters to do it for you. Have you tried emerald crabs? Hermits will also eat that but will prob annoy your sps. Other than that you can limit lighting although that takes forever as well

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
 
Yeah I know GFO wont rid the tank it will just slow its growth. Once I get my frag tank installed soon I plan on taking out the sps and placing them in the frag tank. Then squirting the rocks just where the algae is with h2o2. I might try lights off and placing snails on rock first though to make sure they work on the rock only.
 
Well, I have a few things here...

First off, how big is your DT? You said you have 43 gallons total water volume but you have a yellow tang? Seems a bit small.

Second, be careful with SPS on a 3 month tank as they usually have problems being in newer tanks. Sometimes it's not an issue, but most of the time SPS require a mature tank to thrive and survive in (Hopefully, this tank is an exception to the rule and you're all good!)

Next, look for some Mexican turbo snails online. I had almost the exact same problem as you and within 5 days every single piece of algae was gone and these guys are cleaning up spots I never knew a snail would go. Realize they are huge (let's just say I ordered WAY too many) so only get a few of them and I'm sure they will start to chow down.

Lastly, realize that the snails are or sea hares are only a band-aid for the algae problems, you need to find a solution. Running GFO in a reactor or even the ATS will help, and if you have a sump and the return pump is strong enough you can run them both off of this (in my system, I run both my refugium and media reactor off of my main return pump, less things plugged in.)

Sorry this got long, but I know the effects algae has and how much of a pain it can be. But believe me, if you put in the time and use the right tools to remove it, there's nothing better than looking it an algae-less tank with a bunch of beautiful corals and fish!!
 
This looks like it might be hair algae (pictures hard to see). There are different kinds of hair algae, and some kinds have to be attacked differently. In general there are a few things for all. First, feeding the algae. It will consume phosphate nitrate silicates etc, and light. Try and get these numbers down to 0, and reduce your 4 ATI bulbs down to 4 hours as well.

There are lots of ways to reduce nutrients, I believe water changes are best. Algae turf scrubbers seem to do an excellent job, but it can take a couple months for them to get going strong. Carbon dosing, lanthanum chloride, GFO, nitrate filters, refugium, etc etc are other options.

Magnesium has been known to help reduce hair algae (especially Kent tech M). I'd dose a little every day. Some people will raise the mag level up to 1600 or 1700 while fighting hair algae. In the past, I've taken a syringe (or turkey baster) full of Tech M, turned off all flow, and squirted directly on the algae every day. Spots that I was able to really soak would turn white and die within a week.

If it's normal common hair algae your tang and snails should graze on it, unless you are over feeding. The tang would rather eat the fish food than the algae. Derbesia hair algae is much less appetizing, and very few things will eat bryopsis. You can try more turbo snails, an assortment of other snails and crabs, pincushion urchins, sea hair, etc. Sea hairs really are like lawnmowers. They usually are big enough not to get sucked into powerheads, but if they do die, they can crash your tank. Blue phase atlantic blue tangs have been known to eat bryopsis, but it doesn't sound like you have any more room for fish.

Lastly, manual removal. While changing water with a siphon hose, you can pluck the algae off of the rocks while simultaneously sucking it out to prevent it from spreading. Also you can take a bucket of old tank water, pull each rock out one by one, and scrub the algae off in the bucket using a pot scrubbing brush. Might be a good idea to have a second bucket of saltwater to rinse the rock with before returning it to the tank.

Keep us updated...
 
stephenhall1987 said:
This looks like it might be hair algae (pictures hard to see). There are different kinds of hair algae, and some kinds have to be attacked differently. In general there are a few things for all. First, feeding the algae. It will consume phosphate nitrate silicates etc, and light. Try and get these numbers down to 0, and reduce your 4 ATI bulbs down to 4 hours as well.

There are lots of ways to reduce nutrients, I believe water changes are best. Algae turf scrubbers seem to do an excellent job, but it can take a couple months for them to get going strong. Carbon dosing, lanthanum chloride, GFO, nitrate filters, refugium, etc etc are other options.

Magnesium has been known to help reduce hair algae (especially Kent tech M). I'd dose a little every day. Some people will raise the mag level up to 1600 or 1700 while fighting hair algae. In the past, I've taken a syringe (or turkey baster) full of Tech M, turned off all flow, and squirted directly on the algae every day. Spots that I was able to really soak would turn white and die within a week.

If it's normal common hair algae your tang and snails should graze on it, unless you are over feeding. The tang would rather eat the fish food than the algae. Derbesia hair algae is much less appetizing, and very few things will eat bryopsis. You can try more turbo snails, an assortment of other snails and crabs, pincushion urchins, sea hair, etc. Sea hairs really are like lawnmowers. They usually are big enough not to get sucked into powerheads, but if they do die, they can crash your tank. Blue phase atlantic blue tangs have been known to eat bryopsis, but it doesn't sound like you have any more room for fish.

Lastly, manual removal. While changing water with a siphon hose, you can pluck the algae off of the rocks while simultaneously sucking it out to prevent it from spreading. Also you can take a bucket of old tank water, pull each rock out one by one, and scrub the algae off in the bucket using a pot scrubbing brush. Might be a good idea to have a second bucket of saltwater to rinse the rock with before returning it to the tank.

Keep us updated...
Click to expand...

I think that might be the single best answer I've seen on ways or removing GHA. Concise and to the point!
 
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