brandon429
Active member
double post
pico reef pest algae problem challenge
- Thread starter brandon429
- Start date
brandon429
Active member
also, for one last safety angle I recommend no other collateral treatments like vodka or the mb7 during times where there will be peroxide in the water. feel free to do extra large water changes since your tank is used to that anyway
the peroxide becomes rather inert in just two or so days so just after your treatments and water changes you can resume the normal dosing you use.
the peroxide becomes rather inert in just two or so days so just after your treatments and water changes you can resume the normal dosing you use.
1DeR9_3Hy
New member
Thanks Brandon, i might give this a shot next week. I picked up a new Melev 150 GPD boosted ro/di system that came with a new dual inline Hanna TDS meter. The NEW meter says my old source water is showing around 8-10 TDS...which might be my problem.
I got my RO hooked up now, making up some water. The same meter says my new water is 22 tds into the DI resin, and 0 coming out...so hopefully i just had two bad TDS meters and the real problem here is the source water.
Appreciate the help, and if i dont feel the algae is going away quick enough ill be giving the dunk method a shot with befores and afters
I got my RO hooked up now, making up some water. The same meter says my new water is 22 tds into the DI resin, and 0 coming out...so hopefully i just had two bad TDS meters and the real problem here is the source water.
Appreciate the help, and if i dont feel the algae is going away quick enough ill be giving the dunk method a shot with befores and afters
30hrs in and the algae has reduced dramatically on both rocks treated, however a trumpet coral that got some on has pretty much disintegrated away!
From this:
To this:
There is however a snail all over the rock!
The 2nd rock looks like this:
To this:
The anemone stayed on the rock whilst I was treating it, no solution touched the nem (fortunately).
From this:
To this:
There is however a snail all over the rock!
The 2nd rock looks like this:
To this:
The anemone stayed on the rock whilst I was treating it, no solution touched the nem (fortunately).
Last edited:
30hrs in and the algae has reduced dramatically on both rocks treated, however a trumpet coral that got some on has pretty much disintegrated away!
From this:
To this:
There is however a snail all over the rock!
The 2nd rock looks like this:
http://i982.photobucket.com/albums/ae304/bwgan/image_zpsed79fa51.jpg
To this:
http://i982.photobucket.com/albums/ae304/bwgan/image_zpse2402ffb.jpg
The anemone stayed on the rock whilst I was treating it, no solution touched the nem (fortunately).
From this:
To this:
There is however a snail all over the rock!
The 2nd rock looks like this:
http://i982.photobucket.com/albums/ae304/bwgan/image_zpsed79fa51.jpg
To this:
http://i982.photobucket.com/albums/ae304/bwgan/image_zpse2402ffb.jpg
The anemone stayed on the rock whilst I was treating it, no solution touched the nem (fortunately).
brandon429
Active member
Its ok those are great pics
Even the caulastrea will come back it will just take awhile so don't give up on it!
In three days you will really like the clean rocks
Even the caulastrea will come back it will just take awhile so don't give up on it!
In three days you will really like the clean rocks
bmullikin1
New member
Here's my algae problem, i think red turf, 120g mixed reef, but cant take rock out as its all glued together, some could be treated by draining tank half way, but some is on bottom rocks, so debating in tank treatment.
brandon429
Active member
It will definitely kill that stuff in six days but I don't think we ever got an in tank treatment to do it full of water
I beat that same kind in my reefbowl with drain and treats
Since its so thick bodied that wiry algae needs the direct contact and a good 4 min soak time, won't hurt anything. Might consider spot wetting any emersed corals while the drain and treat is working, I've done that before just to keep the polyp safer. Most of the time I just let all my coral air out lol
Nice pics of unidentified rhodophyta
I beat that same kind in my reefbowl with drain and treats
Since its so thick bodied that wiry algae needs the direct contact and a good 4 min soak time, won't hurt anything. Might consider spot wetting any emersed corals while the drain and treat is working, I've done that before just to keep the polyp safer. Most of the time I just let all my coral air out lol
Nice pics of unidentified rhodophyta
brandon429
Active member
lol that sounds funny. I think it might kill them with direct contact, so just a q tip application only on the shell
How about a tough green algae that grows only on the glass, and floats like powder on the surface of the water? If left for more than 12 hours on the glass it grows hard enough to be unaffected by a magnet cleaner. It does not grow on my rocks or substrate. I have a couple of snails that do their best, but they can't handle the load.
I have a 5.5 gallon pico under PAR38 lighting, with only one simple pump/filter, and a secondary circulation pump. It's been running for almost a year without any problem. I've cut back feeding to nearly nothing, and I've reduced the light cycle to 8 hrs, with no help.
Any suggestions?
I have a 5.5 gallon pico under PAR38 lighting, with only one simple pump/filter, and a secondary circulation pump. It's been running for almost a year without any problem. I've cut back feeding to nearly nothing, and I've reduced the light cycle to 8 hrs, with no help.
Any suggestions?
brandon429
Active member
For sure we'd like that challenge especially since its a small tank
Can you post a few pics of the closeups i can't see any bad algae
This is a nice tank. High bioload but really sharp, looks like a larger tank
I want my lights to have that tone, I'm still using power compact lol
Can you post a few pics of the closeups i can't see any bad algae
This is a nice tank. High bioload but really sharp, looks like a larger tank
I want my lights to have that tone, I'm still using power compact lol
Here are a couple of pics. I'm sure that the green algae that grows on the glass is the same crap that everyone deals with regularly. It's just curious because it's exploded over the last month or so, and I can't seem to figure out why. Also, it grows so tough that I have to scrape it with a razor to get it off... even sandpaper can't handle it.
The other bother is the surface scum that I get every day now. I've been skimming it off with a coffee filter, and though you can't see it in the photo, it's green and powdery. I have a ton of water movement in this little tank, so it's irritating.
The other bother is the surface scum that I get every day now. I've been skimming it off with a coffee filter, and though you can't see it in the photo, it's green and powdery. I have a ton of water movement in this little tank, so it's irritating.
brandon429
Active member
I think that is a very normal plating on the glass of microalgae and its what would be expected for the bioloading of the tank.
mine looks similar each week if its not cleaned
actually I might not recommend peroxide for that until it morphs to different genera on the rocks but your tank is new enough you can arrest that process if we are lucky
I would use a razor blade epoxied to a wooden dowel as a long angled scraper and keep the glass clean.
regarding the oil slick, thats proteins collecting on the surface, its a reflection of the organic loading into the water column from the life forms in the reef. you would have to resort to old school extra skimming, + water changes to defeat that
sure some will recommend better circulation to distribute it throughout the tank, but thats a bandaid, removal is what you want. Running GFO in a filter would be indicated for this tank and its bioload for sure, but be careful not to overdo it thats for sure. The tank is really sharp looking and there's time to fix the nutrient issues before they migrate onto the rocks, that happens at about the year mark in most tanks like this.
The green deposits on the glass are probably best cured with manual removal that will be timed based on how the tank processes the feed and waste the fish require. It may be more than weekly...at least razors on dowels don't scratch.
In my tanks where the drain is easy I just wipe over those deposits with 35% peroxide and it cleans them off with no scraping, but your tank isn't as easy to drain so we ought to look into some additional nutrient controls on this tank due to its size and fish loading.
If you are already using phosphate binders, we'll need to up that as this is the early stages of eutrophication but it hasn't taken hold yet.
mine looks similar each week if its not cleaned
actually I might not recommend peroxide for that until it morphs to different genera on the rocks but your tank is new enough you can arrest that process if we are lucky
I would use a razor blade epoxied to a wooden dowel as a long angled scraper and keep the glass clean.
regarding the oil slick, thats proteins collecting on the surface, its a reflection of the organic loading into the water column from the life forms in the reef. you would have to resort to old school extra skimming, + water changes to defeat that
sure some will recommend better circulation to distribute it throughout the tank, but thats a bandaid, removal is what you want. Running GFO in a filter would be indicated for this tank and its bioload for sure, but be careful not to overdo it thats for sure. The tank is really sharp looking and there's time to fix the nutrient issues before they migrate onto the rocks, that happens at about the year mark in most tanks like this.
The green deposits on the glass are probably best cured with manual removal that will be timed based on how the tank processes the feed and waste the fish require. It may be more than weekly...at least razors on dowels don't scratch.
In my tanks where the drain is easy I just wipe over those deposits with 35% peroxide and it cleans them off with no scraping, but your tank isn't as easy to drain so we ought to look into some additional nutrient controls on this tank due to its size and fish loading.
If you are already using phosphate binders, we'll need to up that as this is the early stages of eutrophication but it hasn't taken hold yet.
Planning on refreshing and increasing the Chemipure that I run through the little filter...maybe it's just gotten old...
I figured the surface scum might be excess protein that a skimmer would normally remove, but it's green. Is that protein? I thought skimmate was usually brown.
I figured the surface scum might be excess protein that a skimmer would normally remove, but it's green. Is that protein? I thought skimmate was usually brown.
Planning on refreshing and increasing the Chemipure that I run through the little filter...maybe it's just gotten old...
I figured the surface scum might be excess protein that a skimmer would normally remove, but it's green. Is that protein? I thought skimmate was usually brown.
I figured the surface scum might be excess protein that a skimmer would normally remove, but it's green. Is that protein? I thought skimmate was usually brown.
