ok, I admit I need help

Shuriken23

New member
New to the forum. I have had my 30 gallon reef running for 2 years, and Ive had substantial luck keeping it algae free. But recently, green and purple bubble algae, as well as cyano, have just taken over these past 2 weeks.I put 5 tsp of phosban into a stocking today, and prepped the water for yet another water change. I know the HOB isnt helping my cause, but there must be a way to get this under control

setup is PS1 fluval pro. skim, HOB emp 400,
 
Really, Phosban without a reactor is not going to work half as well as with. That's probably the heart of your problem. Phosphate got into your water somehow---a new rock, tapwater, a failing ro/di cylinder, or overfeeding of green food.
 
5 teaspoons of phosban isn't very much. what is the recommended dose for your tank? it might be helpful to ramp up to more. any GFO will be more effective in a reactor, but failing that the bag should do just fine.

for bubble algae, my best success has been manual removal in conjunction with limiting nutrients. typically during my water changes i would take some dedicated tank tweezers and pluck everything i could, letting it go straight down my siphon hose. i got a 3/8" piece of rigid airline tubing attached to some vinyl hose that is very helpful for that task.

why run the HOB filter if you have a skimmer? any particular reason?

what is your light cycle and feeding regimen like? for the bubble algae i've found it fairly heart in regards to low light conditions, but every little bit helps, and reducing your light cycle may potentially help reduce the cyano as well. along the same lines, what kind of lights are you using? sometimes old bulbs can shift their color temp and help to encourage nuisance algae (if you're using T5/PC/MH).

you may also want to consider increasing the flow in the tank, and blowing out your rocks with a turkey baster on your next water change, and trying to siphon out as much of the detritus as possible that you stir up.

finally, temperature and ambient lighting. i find that my cyano increases in the summer as the tank temperature ticks up with the outside temperature. i also tend to get more early morning sunlight hitting the tank during the summer months, that can also contribute to algae issues.
 
5 tablespoons, sorry. around 3 and 1/2 would be good for 50, but directions claim you can use more than that. id get a reactor but its not in the budget for another 2 months (financial responsibility, what a drag!) Ill take your advice Mondo, scrub down everything. You dont feel the HOB is necessary? I mean that would be great, getting rid of it. Fish get fed very little in the morning and before bed. Ive got a fluval aquasky led (24 in) running for maybe 10 hours a day, its about 6 months old now
 
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