Algae takeover without nutrients? I keep a very clean reef environment, maintaining 0ppm nitrates and 0ppm phosphates at all times (API - 2 different kits), however I'm getting an explosion of red hair algae, not sure of the taxonomy, but if you look at the attached photo you'll see what I mean. This has been going on for the past 4 months or so. I do not dose any supplement which contains iron either. So...nutrients are non-existent with algae flourishing. I did upgrade my T5HO bulbs in my fixture a few months ago (ATI Coral Plus, Actinic White, Purple Plus & 10K). But even so, light shouldn't be the reason, the algae needs nutrients in the water, right? I'm afraid that the red hair algae willl spread and affect my corals. Any experienced reef keepers have any thoughts or suggestions? Am I missing something? lol Greatly appreciated!
Red Hair Algae w/no nutrients in water?
- Thread starter cdefla
- Start date
Jerzey
New member
Ive been battling dinoflagellates the past month its nasty stuff and got it down to about.beat...even Tho its not technically an algae (dino) it does behave like 1....I syphoned daily both sand and LR the ran the water through a filter sock and poured it back in the tank also used a turkey baster to blast my rocks as clean as i could....stopped doing water changes to starve it out doing wc only introduced more nutrients 4 it to feed on....also ran GFO and carbon and changed the carbon everyfew days....I went blacked out for two days and lowered my light output to starve it of a light source...bascilly forcing it to finish off whatever nutrient was left to eat.....I to was reading 0 nitrate and phosphate....also increased my flow rate..elevated ph to 8.6 ..its a combination of things to win any algea battle...I know Dino acts a bit Diff but the ways to beat it are similar....all my corals are still doing great too! I did lose my crabs and coral shrimp as they were covered in the Dino slime
Hey guys I had the same problem. I increased my flow to and from the sump as much as possible, through a sock, into skimmer and then gfo and carbon reactor. Also dosed Hydrogen peroxide, buy it a Dollar general its cheap and safe. 1 Ml per 10 gallons for 9 days. Safely raises ph and helps knock that dino out. Don't give up if you don't start seeing results immediately, it takes a few days to really see any results. I only water change once a month when I replace gfo and carbon.
Don't know your complete setup but there are nutrients in the tank. P04 testing is a waste of time and money. Just like ammonia is in the tank from the fish, and then removed by bacteria thus testing at 0ppm, the same is true with algae consuming P04 and Nitrates. Algae removes them from the water, which is good, but is ugly.
You need to focus your attention on nutrient removal. Again maybe you have these but you didn't mention them.
#1. Get a protein skimmer
#2. Get a phosphate reactor with GFO or equivalent.
#3. Get a refugium and grow macro-algae
#4. 10-15% weekly water changes.
#5. Reduce amount of added nutrients from feeding. Small pinch twice a day.
There are other forms of more advanced nutrient controls such as deep sand beds and algae scrubbers, etc, but the 5 things above will fix your issue in combination with good lighting, which you already addressed it seems.
You need to focus your attention on nutrient removal. Again maybe you have these but you didn't mention them.
#1. Get a protein skimmer
#2. Get a phosphate reactor with GFO or equivalent.
#3. Get a refugium and grow macro-algae
#4. 10-15% weekly water changes.
#5. Reduce amount of added nutrients from feeding. Small pinch twice a day.
There are other forms of more advanced nutrient controls such as deep sand beds and algae scrubbers, etc, but the 5 things above will fix your issue in combination with good lighting, which you already addressed it seems.
reef_of_flames
Member
Yup +1 right here
0ppm test readings because algae is consuming them before you test the water.
brandon429
Well-known member
welcome to the world of modern reefing, nutrient starving and hands off as the only acceptable reef method.
the ocean has purer water than we'll ever get, yet hawaiian reefs and elsewhere are getting choked by algae when grazers are missing.
yes the nutrients get there, we don't have sterile tanks even if you run 50lbs of gfo, that's just not the way to battle it.
the reason nutrient management is always the go-to is because its ok to try that and we might get lucky. but, if any invader begins in spite of it, you simply manually remove it. there are fifty ways. I used to lift infected rocks out and burn them with a windproof lighter. then re treat as needed. peroxide works great which is why we have a 60 page thread about it with a thousand posts of joy.
there is no guarantee that whatever you use is one off, treat x1 and be done with it. but thats what everyone expects, it just only occurs if you get lucky,
you can now see these invaders in rhodophyta class are very resistant to common controls which is why we had to get creative to beat them.
dont treat directly in tank, thick bodied red algae dont die as easily as other comparatives like dinos.
for all rhodophyta variants, you must treat externally. simply lift out your infected rocks and put peroxide on the bad areas outside the tank, let sit for a few mins, rinse and put back in.
no corals are hurt by this, we do it commonly
if you want to see proof threads first, search in nanos forum for pest algae problem challenge thread its all there.
if you have cleaner shrimp, better get a good custom plan before use or they will die
post pics of your setup lets see how to cure it
B
the ocean has purer water than we'll ever get, yet hawaiian reefs and elsewhere are getting choked by algae when grazers are missing.
yes the nutrients get there, we don't have sterile tanks even if you run 50lbs of gfo, that's just not the way to battle it.
the reason nutrient management is always the go-to is because its ok to try that and we might get lucky. but, if any invader begins in spite of it, you simply manually remove it. there are fifty ways. I used to lift infected rocks out and burn them with a windproof lighter. then re treat as needed. peroxide works great which is why we have a 60 page thread about it with a thousand posts of joy.
there is no guarantee that whatever you use is one off, treat x1 and be done with it. but thats what everyone expects, it just only occurs if you get lucky,
you can now see these invaders in rhodophyta class are very resistant to common controls which is why we had to get creative to beat them.
dont treat directly in tank, thick bodied red algae dont die as easily as other comparatives like dinos.
for all rhodophyta variants, you must treat externally. simply lift out your infected rocks and put peroxide on the bad areas outside the tank, let sit for a few mins, rinse and put back in.
no corals are hurt by this, we do it commonly
if you want to see proof threads first, search in nanos forum for pest algae problem challenge thread its all there.
if you have cleaner shrimp, better get a good custom plan before use or they will die
post pics of your setup lets see how to cure it
B
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Check your RO DI first... something is feeding it... your post starting with zero nutrients suggests you dont have much experience, but think about it , if its growing its being fed. figure out the source and you will eliminate the problem. water changes, scrub with toothbrush etc... do you have a good skimmer?
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