Still have Algae

[jonto]

Hello Folks
Started up 75gal tank on 8/11 and it cycled in 3 weeks. Used BRS Pukani
(70 lbs) that I sent through acid bath and then pressue washed and
Caribsea Aragonite sand. Use Red Sea Coral Pro Salt.
About 10/1 the green algae started with no livestock in tank. My
green algae still persists. It doesn't seem to be spreading now but
is still hanging around.
Have an Octo1000 HOB skimmer and Aquaflow 110 with Chemi-pure Blue
and Poly filter. Have 2 Starfire led lights (with 3 channels) that run
9 hrs a day. Brown algae came and went in about 2 weeks. Everyting
was crystal clear.
Since the water tests were great I added 6 small fish on 10/10 and a small
Cleanup Crew. On 11/15 I added a 2.5in Lawnmower Blenny and
a 2in Foxface. The Blenny is really going to town on the algae and
the Foxface is also munching.
In the morning when I turn on the lights the water is
slightly cloudy. By evening is is totally clear. Is this the algae
cleaning any gunk from the water?
Tomorrow I am going to turn down the intensity of the white
light spectrum. Don't know what else to try.
Today I ran all the water tests I have:
Nitrite, Nitrate, Amonia ....... 0
pH......................................... 8.2
kH ........................................ 7
Phosphate ........................... 0
Salinity ................................ 1.024
Temp .................................. 78.5
Am I just being impatient or can I try something else?
Are there other tests I should be checking for?
Thanks for ANY ideas!
Jim

 

[jonto]

Forgot to mention I'm using RODI water.

 

[RussC]

I am dealing with the same exact thing. I started my tank on 8/29. Big brown algae outbreak that came and went. Now dealing with what I believe is nutrient starved green hair algae that is brown. It won't go away and seems to be localized to one area of my substrate. However, noticed over the last 4 days its beginning to spread and I'm having another brown algae outbreak. I believe I provided the nutrients for this second outbreak with SeaChem Fuel and Reef Roids. Still haven't figured out what has the hair algae growing. I picked a lot out by hand. But in the long run, ended up spreading it.

 

[mcgyvr]

Am I just being impatient or can I try something else?

yes and try ignoring it
Algae should absolutely be expected to some level or another in new tanks IMO...
Keep up with expected/normal maintenance and go on with life..

 

[rtparty]

Not to be negative and a downer but you need to be ready for lots of uglies especially starting a tank with dry pukani. Things can (and probably will) get much worse. Especially if you don't keep your nutrients elevated. Nitrates at 10ppm and phosphate at .10ppm.

 

[snowlynx]

I have 3 green algaes, one on dry rock, thin film on on glass walls(scrape off
each weekend) and fern one overtaking zoas.

running white lights 4 hours/day. doesn't seem to do much. I have not
really vacuum sand bed either. Been about 5 months now.

 

[Bpb]

+1. All you guys starting your tanks with dry Pukani rock are par for the course. Expect tank wide algae infestations during the first 6-12 months of your tanks life. It is just part of the process. Avoid adding too many corals during the first year as they'll likely be stressed when battling for space with the algae. You can run massive amounts of phosphate remover and try to strip the water sterile but honestly that will kind of slow down the process a little. Those of you with tons of algae like that. Just pick up a couple urchins and turbo snails and it'll keep them fed. Stock whatever fish you want to have and add some real live rock. Just be patient.


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[Sk8r]

Phosphate can soak out of rock and sand and cause this. Since it soaks slowly, it continues to deliver for quite a while. GFO is your best solution, changing the media once monthly.

 

[jonto]

I guess being a newbie I don't understand how my phosphate test shows 0 but folks say it is my problem. The algae seems is declining and there is no longer growth on the glass and sand. This morning there was very little cloudiness unlike the past several weeks where it was cloudy in the morning and clear by night. Maybe I'm getting past the peak.
My 3 inch Lawnmower Blenny is amazing and munching away and the Foxface is also but to a lesser extent.
My stock list:
Blue Leg Hermit Crab
Emerald Crab
Rose BubbleTip Anemone
Blue Tip Sebae Anemone
Melanarus Wrasse
Purple Firefish Goby
Royal Gramma (2)
Springer Damsel
Tailspot Blenny
Yellow Watchman Shrimpgoby
Lawnmower Blenny
One Spot FoxFace

 

[jonto]

Should note, I haven't seen the crabs since adding them. I assume they come out at night.

 

[outy]

I guess being a newbie I don't understand how my phosphate test shows 0 but folks say it is my problem.

because it is absorbed by the algae

My test kits always show 0, once I took my water to the reef store just to double check, it showed 0 there to on low range test.


Its all part of a new tank. It will pass.

As the tank matures higher levels of good nitrifying bacteria will populate and keep things more stable.

It never hurts to use GFO or a macro fuge or chaeto to help export the by product of nutrients lessening the amount of food for bad algae

 

[Bpb]

You don't have to have enough of an excess of phosphate in the water for a test to register. Algae can pull it directly from the rocks and also absorb it from the water completely. The rocks are supplying it


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[ReeferNoob4ever]

I'm on like day 275 and just started getting GHA. I had brown/diatoms first, then Cyano (Red Slime Remover to fix it), and now GHA. I figure it's part of the process even though it can be a bit frustrating. I try to pick off the long stuff when I do a water change and have added an urchin. I am also just about ready to add an algae reactor to the mix. I bought a 5 stage RO/DI from BRS for black Friday because I am somewhat convinced my cheesey eBay RO/DI unit needs replacing already after 40 weeks of use. I used to be able to fill a gallon up in 12 minutes it now takes 17 minutes. Check your RO/DI systems for TDS just in case and be patient. Tanks usually don't become 'balanced' until about the 1 yr mark IME.

You're not alone!

 

[jonto]

Thanks folks. That was my guess that it was pulling it straight from the rock. My livestock is doing great and looks healthy so will let everything just time out.
I will do some reading on GFO. Not using a sump so don't know what options are available, just using the skimmer and Aquaflow filter. With all the rock I hope the system will stabilize without a sump system.

 

[jonto]

Question.
If my water test is showing 0 phosphate why would GFO help? If the algae is pulling straight from the rock it doesn't seem that GFO would have anything to pull from the water.

 

[NS Mike D]

you feed your fish, your fish produce nutrients for algae. watch the BRS video on algae, especially all the dumb things we do to chasing nutrient ghosts . FWIW API test kits, IME, are not sensitive enough to measure the low levels of NO3 & PO4 for reef tanks and will produce, IMO, false zero readings. Some algae like cyano are very resourceful and can pull N out sources other than NO3 for which we can't test.

Don't sweat it. Keep up the tank maintenance, keep testing (and get better test kits for NO3& PO4), watch your feeding (we all tend to over feed), keep learning (our little ecosytems have billions of life forms interacting) and above all be patient to let mother nature do her thing.

 

[Small Heavens]

The "ugly tank" stage is something you gotta ride out, while making sure nothing is overlooked or gets out of control.

Your water column is clear of nutrients but the algae is part of the biocycle that removes it already. It can help to keep a decorative algae that eats the nutrients before uglier algae can benefit from it. It can also help to add liquid Carbon daily, to kick start the Anaerobic bacteria living already in your tank, to make sure they optimalise their consumption of phosphates and nitrates as well, robbing the nuisance algae of its place in the food chain. Peanutworms are also good at cleaning LR.

 

[RussC]

Jonto, when I started my tank I had a brown diatom outbreak about 1 month in. First thing I thought was it must be something I'm doing. So I immediately installed a media reactor and started running GFO. Got my phosphates to zero very quickly (Hannah ULR checker) but the algae didn't budge. I cut back on lighting and feeding thinking that might help. Not really. I couldn't figure out what was going on. The best advice I got was to calm down and let Mother Nature do her thing. This is standard operating procedure for a new tank. It was pointed out that silicates also feed algae. Silicates are in all kinds of substrate and rocks. Not really something GFO absorbs. So to get rid of silicates you have to let the algae consume it. So the second best advice I got was feed the beast. So I did maintain a regular feeding schedule but cut back slightly on the amount each feeding. And I increased my light schedule from 8 to 12. The algae started growing. More growth requires more food. The theory was it would eat its supply. Then one day, as quick as it arrived, the bloom disappeared. I still have a little here and there. But I haven't run GFO in over a month.

 

[ReeferNoob4ever]

I watched a good BRS video hosted by Ryan where he did a good job giving his perspective on the lack of evidence for Phosphate leeching from rocks and what not. I don't have an opinion either way. I tend to like to go the more 'natural' route (except for cyano, I Red Slime Remover that right away and also Flatworm exit if I see even one flat worm) so I would try to find a way for you to increase the sponges and macro algae in your system to soak up silicates and phosphates while also reducing nitrates.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zft6lJraRg&t=1383s

 

[rtparty]

Couple thoughts and myths that need to be corrected.

1) Algae is NOT bad. We can't lump all algae together at least. We haven't even seen a picture of this "green algae". Hair algae can be bad if left uncontrolled. Regular green algae is normal. There's also green coraline. We literally don't know what this algae even is.

2) A new tank should never need GFO. Artificially driving phosphates down will lead to major trouble later as you've never allowed the good guys to get a strong hold in the tank. Good algae, good bacteria and even corals rely on phosphates. If you artificially drive N and P down, the bad guys will take over since they will out compete the good guys in a nutrient starved environment.

Sit back, relax and leave the tank alone. It needs 9-12 months to mature.