PLEASE help me!!!!!

matrixpb03

In Memoriam
I set up my 75 reef tank about 3 weeks to a month ago. And I have been having a air bubble problem from day one. They are not coming from the skimmer or powerheads. And they are ONLY on the algae. Like there is a spot on the glass where the algae cuts off and there is only bubbles on the algae. PLZ HELP!!!

thanks
matt
 
It doesn't sound like bubble problems; more like algae problems. At 3 or 4 weeks in that probably isn't that much of a problem as long as your doing your water changes, skimming and not going nuts on food (if you have anything to feed).
 
I do not have any fish. and I just got some snails hermits and emerald crabs. So I have not been feeding and I have done 3 water changes so far. and I just got my octopus skimmer and its workin great. so if i take care of the algae the bubbles will go away?
 
The cyano will generate bubbles constantly. It's a byproduct of their feeding. Once your tank matures and the cyano and algae disappears you'll be in good shape.
 
I heard once there is cyano it will just go out of controll? or is this only if you give it something to eat (fish waste, extra food)??
 
i am curious about this same thing. i had the same problem with air bubbles but the bubbles in my tank were on the rock and sand. i have cut back on my lights and done some siphoning off of the sand to control the brown algae. things are better now but i am afraid if i go back to regular lighting the problem will return again since the sand still shows signs of brown film on it. my zoas get a brown film on them and i try to keep them cleaned off with a turkey baster. so i hope just being patient and diligent will do the trick.
 
Could be from water source , low flow , to much main light at setup . More info like all equipment used ,amount of LR and LS , water source and water readings? Anystock?
 
Sounds like you need to get some flow in there... what do you have for lighting? and why no stock at all? That's kinda, well odd, at 3 months.......
 
Wow this really doesn't sound like a crisis to me.

Can we somehow encourage members to make the title ACTUALLY DESCRIPTIVE OF THE CONTENT?
 
My water source is my well, no phosphates or heavy metals(tested). I have 2 Seio pumps 620 & 1500 gph moving the water in the tank. An Aqua Medic Turbo protein skimmer & 80 lbs of live sand. I have about a 4" sand bed. The rest of the info you need you can find by clicking on my gallery or looking at the bottom of my post for LR amounts.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11918761#post11918761 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Larah
Sounds like you need to get some flow in there... what do you have for lighting? and why no stock at all? That's kinda, well odd, at 3 months.......

3 weeks.
 
Time to upgrade to an R/O unit (Water) Most well and tap water contains phosphates and can generate/promote algae growth...One way to help with process is a UV sterilizer...hopefully I spelt that correctly..lol
 
Algae needs nutrients to grow. Nitrates and phosphates being the easiest to test for. Somehow those two things are in your tank. Consider the source of your water. I would not trust your well water unless you have tested it and know its TDS, nitrate levels, phosphate levels etc....Even then, a good RO-DI unit would be a good idea.

Also consider the rock you put into your tank. 3 weeks is still very early, and it is probably still in the 'cure' process.

Algae needs light to survive. You might want to try shutting off your tank lighting for 3 or 4 days. Many people have reported great things from trying this method of killing photosynthetic organisms.

You might also want to consider a phosphate reactor. They are fairly inexpensive and work great at removing phosphates from the water.

The bubbles are a normal part of the photosynthetic activity in some types of algae and cyano. The algae goes away with good maintenance. Almost all of us have dealt with this before and it is not any fun.

Understand there is a difference fundamentally in the two solutions I provided.

Turning off your lights kills the algae, but then the dead algae remains in your tank and decomposes back into your tank. This sort of correction is cosmetic only. At no point in time did you reduce your nutrient levels. All this will do is help make your tank look pretty when you turn your lights back on.

Using a phosphate reactor is a method of absorbing a nutrient out of your water and then you can physically remove those nutrients when you change your phosphate absorbing media. This is an example of nutrient export. It has a side effect of making your tank pretty when you export out all the nutrients, but its main goal is just nutrient reduction.

Other good examples of nutrient export are protien skimmers, refugiums with macroalgae and water changes.

By all means try the lights out method. Everyone should have a pretty tank. But do not forget to plan your lights out around a solid method of nutrient export. Otherwise you will never get your problem under control.
 
Another thing to consider when testing for nitrate, or phosphate in our tanks is that the tests most of us use are rather limited in their abilities.

The presence of algae in a tank is a clear indicator that some levels of each are present even if the test kits show nothing at all. The algae is just uptaking the nutrients as fast as they become available in the water.

Thinnk of it like ammonia in our tanks. Beneficial bacteria become populous enough to consume all the amonia inour tanks, but the ammonia is still present. Dying microorganisms and fish waste produce it on a constant basis. A test of zero means you have hit an equilibrium between consuming factors (like algae or bacteria) and producing factors (like decaying material and fish waste).

You need to start controlling the introduction of nutrients into your tank and then start selectivly reducing the quantities of nutrients.

Use only RO-DI water (well water can have untestable compunds in it that will feed algae like iron). And try using a phosphate reactor and heavy protien skimming.

Controlled feeding is another good idea. I only feed about every two to three days. And I only use quality foods, (spectrum thera A+) and rinse my frozen food.

You might also want to check out your tanks parameters for alkalinity (dKH) and pH. Improper levels of either usually accompanies algae blooms and maintaining proper levels helps create an enviroment that is not favorable for algae. I keep my dKH at 11 dKH and my pH at 8.4.

Also be aware that phosphate media can use the alkalinity in a tank when it soaks up the phosphates from the water. So testing becomes even more important then. Manual dosing of 2 part solution or superbuffer dKH (soda ash) becomes important if you see your dKH levels drop.

Even at three months, your rockwork is still potentially in the middle of a cure process. Not all rock is created equal. I do a presentation for local reef clubs about making aragocrete (man made live rock). Part of the presentation is about what happens to the rock as it develops and becomes live. At the end of the presentation, I do a pretty interesting experiment where I compare the aragocrete to normal Fiji rock and some premium rock. Trust me, not all rock is the same! Here is a link to the presentation. Just skip to the end.
http://www.airinheresreef.com/Aragocrete Rock.html

I also have a short article about water. It is by no means comprehensive, but it does give some helpful insight.
http://www.airinheresreef.com/Water.html
 
airinhere - those are some really detailed articles. i enjoyed reading them. you have a great perspective on the live rock and water qualities. thanks for the info.
 
I'm with lara. You need big time flow or else the bubbles will be unlikely to dissipate to the surface. Photosynthesis releases gasses. If there isn't sufficient flow, those gasses will appear as bubbles stuck to the plants.

Increase flow and add a monster cleaning crew IMO. On a 75g, it wouldn't hurt (given your situation) to put 35 hermits, 35 snails and 1 to 3 emerald crabs in there.

but do increase the flow as a first measure. A reef tank should have a GPH turnover sufficient enough to dislodge photosynthetic algae byproducts 10x over.
 
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