Need help with algae problems

[AwesomeDavid]

Hello everyone,
So I have a 75 gallon sumpless tank, which was more of a reef tank at one point, but is about 2 years old now. As it sits, I have 3 PJ cardinals, a harptail blenny, a blue neon goby, 2 ocellaris clownfish, and an orchid dottyback. For invertebrates, I have some xenia coral, a single very small ricordea, and a few left hand and blue leg hermit crabs. Unfortunately, I have lost a couple of inverts along the way (but no fish), including 2 scarlet skunk cleaners which lasted about a year, a serpent star which often had an injury in the central disk, and duncan, blasto, and mushroom corals. After these deaths happened (they were spread out over a few months), the tank has become completely covered in algae. The fish are still content, but I need to make the algae go away. My current parameters are as follows:
Nitrates: about 0 (done with API saltwater test kit)
pH: about 8 (done with API saltwater test kit)
Salinity: 40 ppt (done with a calibrated refractometer, I am working to reduce this salinity to 35 ppt)
Magnesium: 1350 (done with salifert test kit)
Alkalinity: 11.5 (done with salifert test kit)
Calcium: 350 (done with salifert test kit)
I also have the following equipment:
SunSun canister filter
Coralife super skimmer
Current USA Orbit Marine LED
2x Hydor Koralia Nano 425
Current USA dual light T5 HO fixture
So I know that Canister filters have a tendency to become nitrate factories without frequent cleaning (which is something I have found to be difficult with my stand), so my idea is to replace the canister filter with a power filter, do more water changes, and add an additional powerhead (I have some that I got from a friend and I don't know the exact model at this time; I do know they are larger than my current ones though). I need some help to make sure I am doing the right thing. Thanks!

 

[CSmooth2009]

What is ur lighting schedule?


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[CSmooth2009]

And what is ur ammonia and nitrites?


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[Betaktical]

Do you have a phosphate test kit? Get that before you do anything else. How old are the t5 bulbs

 

[nereefpat]

Looks to be mostly cyanobacteria. I would start with some water changes, sucking out as much of that stuff as you can in the process.

What is you water change schedule like? Do you use RODI water?

 

[lpsouth1978]

I have to agree with nereefpat on this one. It looks to be almost entirely cyano. Removing as much of it as possible will certainly help. This is a pretty easy process, it usually comes off in chunks or sheets. Also increasing flow in the tank will help a great deal, cyano does not do well in high flow areas.

Something is feeding the cyano and needs to be eliminated. If it was me, I would remove the canister and replace it with nothing. The rock should be enough to manage the waste in the tank between water changes (which should be OFTEN and large until the cyano is clear). The only time you might want/need to use a power filter is if you were to put some carbon and/or GFO for short term use, otherwise it is really not needed. Just make sure you have PLENTY of flow in the tank and do regular (I do weekly 10%) water changes.

 

[CSmooth2009]

Turn off ur lights for a few days with the increased flow as well will help get rid of the cyano [emoji1360]


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[AwesomeDavid]

So my lighting schedule is to turn on the t5s at around 6:30 AM and have the Orbit marine turn on around 7:00 AM, and leave both to run until about 6:45 PM when the Orbit turns off automatically. I do not have a phosphate test kit, and my T5 bulbs are about a month old. As for my water change schedule, It is kind of inconsistent and I do need to stay on top of it better. I also do use RO/DI water. Finally, so you would recommend that I add the additional powerhead? I have also been removing the cyanobacteria but it continues to replenish itself. I also would prefer to not do a blackout so I do not harm the few corals I have left.

 

[Uncle99]

Quick fix is red slime remover.
Weekly WC consistently until gone.
Nitrate seems low for the tank you describe, I would expect more like 5-15 ppm, 5 is good
12 hours too much, dial back to 8-9
Phosphate should be .02-.04

Most of the time, Cyno is just a phase, some think it starts with a build of silicates so
Make sure your TDS of water after RODI is less than 3ppm

 

[AwesomeDavid]

Thanks for the advice, everyone! From what I am hearing, I really just need to stop being lazy and do more water changes. Also, I should eliminate the canister filter and add additional flow to better deal with the bacteria. Finally, I need to get a turkey baster (which is a really good idea!) and manually remove the stuff, as well as cutting back on the daytime hours. I will also check the TDS of my RO water and get a phosphate test kit. Another question that is related, my corals should hypothetically begin recovering after these changes, correct? Because I have not yet had good luck even with mushrooms and Xenia.

 

[mcgyvr]

I would not recommend a turkey baster.. You have too much work to do for that..
You need something like 3/8" to 1/2" vinyl tube to suck a crap ton of that stuff out at a time while doing water changes..
As you are siphoning out water for the water change suck as much of that cyano out as you can.. Work fast..
Then turn lights off for 3 days..
Then siphon whats left out with another water change and just see how it does..

I'd probably recommend at least 10G water change each time..

Repeat that process as needed until its gone..

 

[NikonN8]

Looking in to peroxide dosing might not be a bad idea either. It certainly helped my system out.