Algae control and water changes

chubby190 · 01/09/2010, 07:13 PM

I recently had one hell of an algae outbreak. I spent a Friday afternoon scrubbing and manually removing all the algae I could from my tank. Some members recommended that I get an RO/DI unit, to which I complied.

My question is whether or not someone can do water changes too much? I am concerned that if I change out too much water I will lose a lot of that beneficial bacteria, et cetera, that I've spent months growing and cycling.

Any input is appreciated!

odiest · 01/09/2010, 08:11 PM

If its not an emergency, I wouldn't change more than 50% every couple of days. Also make sure that the new waters ph, temp, etc. match your tank water. That should keep your new water from shocking the inhabitants of your tank too much. It will not affect the bacteria, but there are many other organisms and chemicals in the water.

David

210reefer · 01/09/2010, 08:34 PM

You might want to run some phosphate remover for a while, algae thrives on phosphates so gettin those levels down will help with the battle while you get things under control through water changes.

bertoni · 01/09/2010, 08:47 PM

There aren't many beneficial bacteria in the water column, but I wouldn't do large changes except in emergency situations. Maybe 10-20% at a time would be a decent upper limit. I think it's difficult to do enough water changes to control algae over the long haul. If you're just trying to remove debris from the cleanup, I would suggest a few 20% changes, one per day, at most. No need to work yourself to death.

KingwoodMarcia · 01/09/2010, 11:58 PM

Do smaller water changes and keep the lights off for a couple of days. I kept the lights of for 5 days and it really helped. Also, are you running a UV light?

01/09/2010, 07:13 PM	#1
chubby190 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Posts: 60	Algae control and water changes I recently had one hell of an algae outbreak. I spent a Friday afternoon scrubbing and manually removing all the algae I could from my tank. Some members recommended that I get an RO/DI unit, to which I complied. My question is whether or not someone can do water changes too much? I am concerned that if I change out too much water I will lose a lot of that beneficial bacteria, et cetera, that I've spent months growing and cycling. Any input is appreciated!

01/09/2010, 08:34 PM	#3
210reefer Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 75	You might want to run some phosphate remover for a while, algae thrives on phosphates so gettin those levels down will help with the battle while you get things under control through water changes. __________________ 210 RR, 30 gal sump, Aqua Euro 250 skimmer, 2 x K4's, 2xK3's, turbo twist UV, 2 x 300 watt heaters, shop light w/6500k bulb for fuge, 300 lbs LR, 300 lb LS, powder blue tag, kole tang, regal tang, humu humu trigger, coral beauty angel, 2 x perc. clowns. ITS NOT THE DAYS IN OUR LIFE BUT, THE LIFE IN OUR DAYS THAT MATTER.

01/09/2010, 08:47 PM	#4
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	There aren't many beneficial bacteria in the water column, but I wouldn't do large changes except in emergency situations. Maybe 10-20% at a time would be a decent upper limit. I think it's difficult to do enough water changes to control algae over the long haul. If you're just trying to remove debris from the cleanup, I would suggest a few 20% changes, one per day, at most. No need to work yourself to death. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

01/09/2010, 08:11 PM	#2
odiest Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Greensboro, NC Posts: 72	If its not an emergency, I wouldn't change more than 50% every couple of days. Also make sure that the new waters ph, temp, etc. match your tank water. That should keep your new water from shocking the inhabitants of your tank too much. It will not affect the bacteria, but there are many other organisms and chemicals in the water. David

01/09/2010, 11:58 PM	#5
KingwoodMarcia Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Tampa, FL Posts: 214	Do smaller water changes and keep the lights off for a couple of days. I kept the lights of for 5 days and it really helped. Also, are you running a UV light?