lighting problem causing asymmetric algae growth?

nolen1503

New member
Hello! Thanks in advance for your help.

I have a 125 gal coral reef tank with lots of green hair algae--only on the right side of the tank. I'm pretty sure it must be a lighting problem, but what? The bulbs are all replaced at the same time. Tank and lighting parameters below. The lighting schedule is:
blue actinics 8:30 AM to 10:30 PM
daylight 10:30 AM to 8:30 PM
metal halides 12:30 PM to 6:30 PM

125 gal with 250 lb lr/250 lb aconite & live sand, RO/DI water (cartridges changed 12/8/12), Life Reef skimmer/sump/refugium;
Lighting: metal halides 250W 14K installed 1/8/13; CF Daylight 10K; CF SunPaq Dual Actinic 420/460nm 96W installed 4/15/13;
Water: Ca 460, KH 9, Mg 1390, NH3/PO4/NO3 0
Corals: acropora, montipora, ricordia, acans, zoas, stylophora, gsp, frogspawn, leathers
Fish: black ice clown pair, Helfrich firefish, 3 blue green chromis, yellowtail blue damselfish, 2 blue neon gobies, gem tang, pair of black line fang blennies, blotched anthias
Inverts: glass shrimp, scarlet cleaner shrimp
CUC: astrea snails, hermit crabs, emerald crabs

Fran
 

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Your lighting should be reduced a little (actinic down to 12 hours and daylight down to 8 hours), but I don’t think it is the main cause. It would be a good idea to run either GFO or phosphate reducing resin in a reactor to reduce your phosphates. I know your tests show zero, but if you have algae growth you do have phosphate, it is just being masked by the algae. When I see algae dominate on one side of the tank I suspect the rock is leaching phosphates. I think you will get good results by adding a GFO reactor.
 
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