HELP! Algae Problem 35G cube

Intothereef · 01/18/2016, 01:04 PM

Hello Everyone!
I am new to RC and have been having an algae problem with my 35G rimless cube so I am asking for your help for any solutions!

A little background,
About a year ago my tank crashed due to neglect, there was no flow, completely algae (Bubble, Hair) ridden.
I moved into a new apartment last may and decided to get the tank up and running again.

This is a sequence of my tank from the beginning in may, to 3 months, 6 months, and to what it looks like now.
IMG_1306.jpg

Tank: Deep Blue 35G Rimless
Sump: eshopps 20G Sump
Skimmer: CADlights
Light: Ecotech Marine Radion XR15w pro
Powerhead: Ecotech Marine MP10
ATO: Smart ATO
Reactor: Phosban 150

I am currently having a major issue with hair algae.
5-7 gallon water changes are done once a week,
I recently put in a phosban 150 reactor running GFO thinking that phosphates are feeding the algae.

This is my tank after a water change
IMG_1638.jpg

This is my tank about 2 or 3 days later
IMG_1676.jpg

This is my tank today with the reactor running (about a week?)
IMG_1716.jpg

Is there anything else I can do to reduce the aglae?
I have been keeping up with my weekly water changes, blowing detritus off the rocks (few times a week), siphoning detritus from the sump.
I even changed the direction of the return & powerhead to the overflow to increase the filtration.

Nitrates are zero, Amonia is 0, PH is 8.0, salinity is 1.025, keep the tank at 78.5 deg.
I recently started dosing with redsea foundation abc+ for my SPS

Any and all information would be very helpful,

Thank you!

fishstick3 · 01/18/2016, 06:32 PM

Are your lights on a timer? If so how long are you running them? Also how often are you feeding? I'm struggling with cyano right now and these are all things recommended to try.

Intothereef · 01/18/2016, 06:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fishstick3

Are your lights on a timer? If so how long are you running them? Also how often are you feeding? I'm struggling with cyano right now and these are all things recommended to try.

Yea they are programmed on "colors"' mode (not full growth mode) from 7am to 7pm
I feed 2 times a day, once in the morning once at night

bmrigs · 01/18/2016, 07:08 PM

Cut down on lighting. Feed less each of those 2 times a day. Do 25% water changes per week. Make sure your Ca, Alk, and Mag are in the preferable levels. Make sure no natural light is hitting the tank during the day. Make sure your RO/DI is good. Manually remove any H.A. that you can when doing water changes.

Intothereef · 01/18/2016, 07:10 PM

Will do, thank you for the advice bmrigs

JJ650 · 01/19/2016, 08:16 AM

People neglect pH as well. I was having wild swings a few months ago with my pH, finally got it stabilized (better husbandry) and the cyano started to drop off. Doing what others have noted here will definitely help keep it in check.

ReefWreak · 01/19/2016, 09:00 AM

All these people with the too much lighting theories... I don't believe it. I don't believe the natural light theories either.

Too many nutrients. Cut back your feeding. Make sure you are feeding your fishes or corals directly, and not just letting food blow around. I know the big SPS guys with stunning tanks all take fistfulls of flake food and toss it into their tanks for their 20 fishes to eat, but they've honed their craft for decades before being able to do that. It was funny watching American Reef and the part 3 of Mike Paletta's solar tank, because he does that, and his tank looks like crap, and he largely blamed it on his own lack of restraint in feeding fishes, because he's always fed his tanks tons of food, but on that new setup that wasn't mature and he hadn't had time to learn the ins and outs, it's been a major problem how much detritus and algae it has created, even while running moderate flow and a skimmer. And his decades of experience at the pinnacle of the hobby.

Everything else mentioned is important, but they're not driving algae growth. The algae is from excess nutrients, usually from over feeding or indirect feeding.

I like running algae in the display to take up any excess nutrients, and manual removal of algae whenever possible.

If it is hair algae, it's worth looking in Soulpatch's build thread, as he's become a master of dosing peroxide to kill off hair algae, and he goes into detail in his nano build thread on how he did it successfully.

Greybeard · 01/19/2016, 09:03 AM

Anybody else looking at those pictures and thinking... 'what's the problem'?

Really, it's not so bad. Lower lighting levels a bit, reduce feeding... water changes, all these things may help, but honestly, it doesn't look that bad to me.

You put a GFO reactor in about a week ago... apparently without testing for phosphates. I'd recommend a PO4 test kit, to see if this is actually the problem. If it is, and it very well could be... give the reactor some time to work. Nothing good happens fast in this hobby.

ReefWreak · 01/19/2016, 09:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Greybeard

Anybody else looking at those pictures and thinking... 'what's the problem'?

Really, it's not so bad. Lower lighting levels a bit, reduce feeding... water changes, all these things may help, but honestly, it doesn't look that bad to me.

You put a GFO reactor in about a week ago... apparently without testing for phosphates. I'd recommend a PO4 test kit, to see if this is actually the problem. If it is, and it very well could be... give the reactor some time to work. Nothing good happens fast in this hobby.

That's true, it's not that bad. I think it's hard to see in the pics, but there may be some GHA on the rocks, particularly on the front left rock?

But yeah, it's not like its taken over. But that's good, because you want to take care of it before its taken over! And yes, the GFO won't fix an algae problem immediately. It'll be a month or two. But between reduced feedings (or more direct feedings) and GFO, you should be better.

Intothereef · 01/19/2016, 01:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Greybeard

Anybody else looking at those pictures and thinking... 'what's the problem'?

Really, it's not so bad. Lower lighting levels a bit, reduce feeding... water changes, all these things may help, but honestly, it doesn't look that bad to me.

You put a GFO reactor in about a week ago... apparently without testing for phosphates. I'd recommend a PO4 test kit, to see if this is actually the problem. If it is, and it very well could be... give the reactor some time to work. Nothing good happens fast in this hobby.

I agree with you that is not completely overrun, but what worries me is how fast the algae (hair and brown) comes back after a water change. It most likely is the result of over feeding as I tend to let the food blow around the tank instead of target feeding. I will certainly give the GFO reactor more time, I do have a phosphate test kit, but it is only a API test kit that I don't believe is accurate. I am getting a reading of .03 - .05, I think? the color chart has 3 shades of green that are very similar. Have any of you had any luck with the Hanna PO4 checker?

Here are some more photos of the algae,

IMG_1725.jpg

IMG_1726.jpg

IMG_1728.jpg

Tom39 · 01/19/2016, 02:16 PM

Have you considered an algae turf scrubber (ats). Initial cost is about the same as a decent skimmer but the results are worth 10x that. They take a few weeks to get ramped up but once they do your level of feeding would never be an issue. And you can say goodbye to HA forever.
Have a look at this site. https://www.algaescrubbing.com

ReefWreak · 01/19/2016, 02:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tom39

Have you considered an algae turf scrubber (ats). Initial cost is about the same as a decent skimmer but the results are worth 10x that. They take a few weeks to get ramped up but once they do your level of feeding would never be an issue. And you can say goodbye to HA forever.
Have a look at this site. https://www.algaescrubbing.com

If interested in algal turf scrubbers, there is a lot of info right here on ReefCentral, from the same people as on that site, but with many years of more historical posts and experiences. Check it out here.

I'm a big fan, and algae filtration seems to be making a comeback (it's one of the hobby fads that have been coming and going for probably 40 years now?). There are nicer setups with more posted results, but they're all the same thing for 40 years, and it's pretty successful.

The API kit is probably as accurate as any test kit you will get. The Hanna colorimeters are more accurate but you MUST buy the low-range phosphorous kit (736), not the phosphate kit. The phosphate kit stops at about 0.03ppm, which is still considered a lot of phosphate. The low range one tops out at 0.6 but has much more accuracy and depth in the lower rage. Check this thread out for info

Also, as useful as the checkers are, they are a PAIN to use, and DEMAND that you are careful with fingerprints, water samples, excellent rinsing, and most likely 3 tests to confirm results. I have one and almost never use it, but if you're fighting algae, it's a useful purchase.

01/18/2016, 01:04 PM	#1
Intothereef Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2015 Location: Long Island, NY Posts: 4	HELP! Algae Problem 35G cube Hello Everyone! I am new to RC and have been having an algae problem with my 35G rimless cube so I am asking for your help for any solutions! A little background, About a year ago my tank crashed due to neglect, there was no flow, completely algae (Bubble, Hair) ridden. I moved into a new apartment last may and decided to get the tank up and running again. This is a sequence of my tank from the beginning in may, to 3 months, 6 months, and to what it looks like now. IMG_1306.jpg Tank: Deep Blue 35G Rimless Sump: eshopps 20G Sump Skimmer: CADlights Light: Ecotech Marine Radion XR15w pro Powerhead: Ecotech Marine MP10 ATO: Smart ATO Reactor: Phosban 150 I am currently having a major issue with hair algae. 5-7 gallon water changes are done once a week, I recently put in a phosban 150 reactor running GFO thinking that phosphates are feeding the algae. This is my tank after a water change IMG_1638.jpg This is my tank about 2 or 3 days later IMG_1676.jpg This is my tank today with the reactor running (about a week?) IMG_1716.jpg Is there anything else I can do to reduce the aglae? I have been keeping up with my weekly water changes, blowing detritus off the rocks (few times a week), siphoning detritus from the sump. I even changed the direction of the return & powerhead to the overflow to increase the filtration. Nitrates are zero, Amonia is 0, PH is 8.0, salinity is 1.025, keep the tank at 78.5 deg. I recently started dosing with redsea foundation abc+ for my SPS Any and all information would be very helpful, Thank you! Last edited by Intothereef; 01/18/2016 at 01:31 PM.

01/19/2016, 08:16 AM	#6
JJ650 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Fort Mill, SC Posts: 242	People neglect pH as well. I was having wild swings a few months ago with my pH, finally got it stabilized (better husbandry) and the cyano started to drop off. Doing what others have noted here will definitely help keep it in check. __________________ 1)Solana 34g: Tunze 9002, InTank basket, ReefKeeper, Gyre XF130, Radion G3Pro, Cobalt heater

01/19/2016, 02:16 PM	#11
Tom39 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Spotsylvania, Virginia Posts: 435	Have you considered an algae turf scrubber (ats). Initial cost is about the same as a decent skimmer but the results are worth 10x that. They take a few weeks to get ramped up but once they do your level of feeding would never be an issue. And you can say goodbye to HA forever. Have a look at this site. https://www.algaescrubbing.com __________________ 150g cube, 40g sump, Rapid led, Neptune controller, LR, sandbed, ATS, PS Current Tank Info: 150g Marineland Cube

01/18/2016, 06:32 PM	#2
fishstick3 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: South FL Posts: 244	Are your lights on a timer? If so how long are you running them? Also how often are you feeding? I'm struggling with cyano right now and these are all things recommended to try.

01/18/2016, 07:08 PM	#4
bmrigs Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Fort Lauderdale, FL Posts: 198	Cut down on lighting. Feed less each of those 2 times a day. Do 25% water changes per week. Make sure your Ca, Alk, and Mag are in the preferable levels. Make sure no natural light is hitting the tank during the day. Make sure your RO/DI is good. Manually remove any H.A. that you can when doing water changes.

01/18/2016, 07:10 PM	#5
Intothereef Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2015 Location: Long Island, NY Posts: 4	Will do, thank you for the advice bmrigs

01/19/2016, 09:00 AM	#7
ReefWreak Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Astoria, NYC Posts: 10,159	All these people with the too much lighting theories... I don't believe it. I don't believe the natural light theories either. Too many nutrients. Cut back your feeding. Make sure you are feeding your fishes or corals directly, and not just letting food blow around. I know the big SPS guys with stunning tanks all take fistfulls of flake food and toss it into their tanks for their 20 fishes to eat, but they've honed their craft for decades before being able to do that. It was funny watching American Reef and the part 3 of Mike Paletta's solar tank, because he does that, and his tank looks like crap, and he largely blamed it on his own lack of restraint in feeding fishes, because he's always fed his tanks tons of food, but on that new setup that wasn't mature and he hadn't had time to learn the ins and outs, it's been a major problem how much detritus and algae it has created, even while running moderate flow and a skimmer. And his decades of experience at the pinnacle of the hobby. Everything else mentioned is important, but they're not driving algae growth. The algae is from excess nutrients, usually from over feeding or indirect feeding. I like running algae in the display to take up any excess nutrients, and manual removal of algae whenever possible. If it is hair algae, it's worth looking in Soulpatch's build thread, as he's become a master of dosing peroxide to kill off hair algae, and he goes into detail in his nano build thread on how he did it successfully.

01/19/2016, 09:03 AM	#8
Greybeard Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: Buffalo, MO Posts: 651	Anybody else looking at those pictures and thinking... 'what's the problem'? Really, it's not so bad. Lower lighting levels a bit, reduce feeding... water changes, all these things may help, but honestly, it doesn't look that bad to me. You put a GFO reactor in about a week ago... apparently without testing for phosphates. I'd recommend a PO4 test kit, to see if this is actually the problem. If it is, and it very well could be... give the reactor some time to work. Nothing good happens fast in this hobby.