Algae Problem in new tank

JJCriss · 05/14/2016, 08:25 PM

Im having an algae issue in my new 65 gallon tank and I am using a UV. It helped get rid of the thin layer of red/brown algae. But now I'm getting a slimy, deep purple colored algae throughout my sand bedding. Any suggestions to what might help get rid of that dark purple colored algae? I have tried to suck and scoop it out and break it up. Which doesn't seem to help. It literally comes back over night every time. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

65 Gallon, Reef Octo. BH50, SunSun JUP-23, Tunze 6025,

JJCriss · 05/14/2016, 08:35 PM

Not using any GFO or Carbon right now. Would that help with the algae I am getting? Sand bed is not very deep. Only about 1" in deepest places. I have been meaning to get another bag of live sand but have just not gotten around to it.

vikinglord13 · 05/14/2016, 08:39 PM

How long has your tank been up and running? Is it still cycling?

New tanks generally have algae issues for the first few months.

What you're describing sounds like cyanobacteria, any pictures?
Also, what are your parameters?

JJCriss · 05/14/2016, 08:47 PM

I've had it up and running for a solid month. I say that meaning its been running for a month with good levels. Had it up for about a month before that with only live rock while the tank was cycling.

I just have a basic test kit for PH, Ammonia, No2, No3

All of my levels look good and have looked good since I started putting fish and corals in it a month ago. It has been just these last couple of weeks that I have started to see this algae problem.

JJCriss · 05/14/2016, 08:51 PM

One of the guys at a local saltwater store told me that it is possible that my No3 may be high. I told him that they tested close to zero. He said that the algae I have may be growing because of the No3 and that I could be getting a false reading on it because the algae is feeding off it.

is this possible?

JJCriss · 05/14/2016, 08:56 PM

JJCriss · 05/14/2016, 08:56 PM

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/al...ictureid=75122

Tisbe · 05/14/2016, 09:03 PM

Good news is you do not need to buy more live sand. If you do get more get dry sand a save some money. You already added the beneficial bacteria to the tank when you added the live rock as long as it was not dry(dead) rock when you put it in. Your tank is new and will go through a lot of changes in the first 6 months.

How many fish do you have now? Go slow with adding critters and let you tank have time to balance things out while you are getting your husbandry skills honed. I would not run GFO until later. My guess is that you just have some nutrients from the live sand that need to cycle out not to mention the tank is really new. Syphon the bed when you do regular water changes. Give it more time.

jeff240gallon · 05/14/2016, 09:07 PM

It's rare a new tank doesn't experience an algae bloom (usually diatoms for me) after setting it up. You may be putting in way more effort to fix it when you could probably wait a few weeks and it'll take care of itself.

Shortening light time per day and increasing water flow should help... Cuc and water changes as well

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

vikinglord13 · 05/14/2016, 09:07 PM

Oh yah that looks like cyanobacteria to me.

It's possible it's consuming any excess NO3 and making your count go to 0... usually it doesn't consume all of it though.

Check out written by Sk8r, one of the RC mods. She knows her stuff and will probably explain how to combat cyano better than I.

Basically the way I have combatted it is to use a lights off period (which she explains in the post) and to lower how much a feed during that period. Also, I blast it like crazy before I begin the period.

I hope this helps!

reef4life07 · 05/14/2016, 09:17 PM

Stay on top of water changes, add gfo replace every 2 weeks, also add cheato if possible, and keep cleaning your sandbed. Don't forget to replace bulbs, and ro filters.

JJCriss · 05/14/2016, 09:19 PM

I have a blue streak, six line, firefish, and just added a brackish puffer today. All of the fish are fairly small. Nothing big. Also have a very small baby snowflake. Im hoping to upgrade to a larger tank in the future for my reef tank and use my 65 as a small preditor tank when I set up the new one. There are also about 5 small hermits running around in there as well.

Ill give it some time and wait. And when I do my next water change i will try to syphon as much of it up as i can.

Like i said my levels look GREAT. I double checked with my gf about the levels from our last test (because she usually does it because she loves the tank more than me surprisingly) and she said the PH was about 8 and the ammonia, n02, and n03 were almost zero. No recognizable color change in the test tubes at all for those 3. Which I am surprised to see.

Our levels have been very good since a month ago when we started adding fish and corals. Once they got down they have not come back up since. I have not done a real water change yet. I have only been adding RO water into the sump occasionally when I see the water level getting lower in the sump. Or a couple times when it has gotten low when i have acclimated fish and my pump started to blow some air bubbles.

kgeig001 · 05/14/2016, 09:59 PM

Slow down with adding more live stock to a new tank or this battle never ends. Once the tank cycles then you have to let the good bacteria grow grow grow so it can break down all that fish poop and uneaten foods. A reef tank can take 6 months to a year to fully stabilize as long as you take things slow and steady. Good luck

vikinglord13 · 05/14/2016, 10:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kgeig001

Slow down with adding more live stock to a new tank or this battle never ends. Once the tank cycles then you have to let the good bacteria grow grow grow so it can break down all that fish poop and uneaten foods. A reef tank can take 6 months to a year to fully stabilize as long as you take things slow and steady. Good luck

+1 I don't like adding more than a fish every few weeks.

Tisbe · 05/14/2016, 10:42 PM

The picture looks like cyno to me. I agree with kgeig. With each fish you add you have to give the tank time to beef up the bacterial population to handle the new waste that that fish produces. Tests only tell you what is in the water column. Problem algae in your tank tells you have excess nutrients regardless what the test say.

At this point. Start doing your regular water changes, 20% of the tank volume each month. 20% all at once or 10% twice a month. Vacuum the sand when you do. I would not add anything else until you get ahead of the algae problem you have now. Best of luck.

Tautoga · 05/14/2016, 11:58 PM

I agree with the 3 posters above this one.

One month is not long at all for a fish tank.
I have a 75 gallon that has been up for 8 months.

I had the diatom bloom, the cyano bloom then the hair algae bloom before things started to settle down.

If you dont have any powerheads in the tank to move water around, I would suggest gettng a couple. That can help with the cyano a bit but really you just have to wait it out and wait for the tank to settle in. It is still getting its equilibrium and every time you add a new fish or w/e it upsets that process again.

As the posters above me said. Slow down and take your time. Keep doing those water changes and regular maintenance. You will have a better chance at avoiding problems later and you'll be happy you did when you have a nice healthy, happy tank.

PatW · 05/15/2016, 09:16 AM

After cycling a tank, most systems have high nitrates. Nitrates are pretty easy to measure. Your LFS can do it for you for a nominal fee.

Another issue with new tanks is the level of phosphates. Dry rock often leaches out phosphates for awhile producing algae blooms. Phosphate is tricky to measure. I think Hanna makes the only testers that can reliably detect low levels of phosphates. Even that does not help because of the phosphates are locked up in a algal biomass and not in the water.

You can lower nitrates by carbon dosing and if you have a powerful skimmer, carbon dosing is effective. Phosphates can be lowered by running GFO in a reactor.

I did both in my tank. But what really seemed to work the best was doing a series of water changes and vigorously scrubbing the rock and then cleaning the filter socks. It is a brute force method but it really does work.

leviburns89 · 05/15/2016, 12:38 PM

I agree with your phosphate levels needing to be dealt with.

Running carbon will help with most chemical imbalances, and I wouldn't think of running a system without it.

Running GFO will target phosphates, and after experiencing algae blooms, it's another thing I wouldn't run without.

If you handle you phosphates, and ammonia and nitrates, the rest can be easily handled by water changes.

Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk

05/14/2016, 08:25 PM	#1
JJCriss Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2015 Location: Belleville, IL Posts: 17	Algae Problem in new tank Im having an algae issue in my new 65 gallon tank and I am using a UV. It helped get rid of the thin layer of red/brown algae. But now I'm getting a slimy, deep purple colored algae throughout my sand bedding. Any suggestions to what might help get rid of that dark purple colored algae? I have tried to suck and scoop it out and break it up. Which doesn't seem to help. It literally comes back over night every time. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. 65 Gallon, Reef Octo. BH50, SunSun JUP-23, Tunze 6025, Last edited by JJCriss; 05/14/2016 at 08:35 PM.

05/14/2016, 09:07 PM	#9
jeff240gallon Registered Member Join Date: May 2016 Posts: 181	Algae Problem in new tank It's rare a new tank doesn't experience an algae bloom (usually diatoms for me) after setting it up. You may be putting in way more effort to fix it when you could probably wait a few weeks and it'll take care of itself. Shortening light time per day and increasing water flow should help... Cuc and water changes as well Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

05/14/2016, 09:59 PM	#13
kgeig001 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: Tampa Fl Posts: 171	Slow down with adding more live stock to a new tank or this battle never ends. Once the tank cycles then you have to let the good bacteria grow grow grow so it can break down all that fish poop and uneaten foods. A reef tank can take 6 months to a year to fully stabilize as long as you take things slow and steady. Good luck __________________ Kirk Current Tank Info: 220 gallon mixed reef, 37 gallon anemone tank

05/14/2016, 08:35 PM	#2
JJCriss Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2015 Location: Belleville, IL Posts: 17	Not using any GFO or Carbon right now. Would that help with the algae I am getting? Sand bed is not very deep. Only about 1" in deepest places. I have been meaning to get another bag of live sand but have just not gotten around to it.

05/14/2016, 08:39 PM	#3
vikinglord13 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: Naperville, IL Posts: 484	How long has your tank been up and running? Is it still cycling? New tanks generally have algae issues for the first few months. What you're describing sounds like cyanobacteria, any pictures? Also, what are your parameters?

05/14/2016, 08:47 PM	#4
JJCriss Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2015 Location: Belleville, IL Posts: 17	I've had it up and running for a solid month. I say that meaning its been running for a month with good levels. Had it up for about a month before that with only live rock while the tank was cycling. I just have a basic test kit for PH, Ammonia, No2, No3 All of my levels look good and have looked good since I started putting fish and corals in it a month ago. It has been just these last couple of weeks that I have started to see this algae problem.

05/14/2016, 08:51 PM	#5
JJCriss Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2015 Location: Belleville, IL Posts: 17	One of the guys at a local saltwater store told me that it is possible that my No3 may be high. I told him that they tested close to zero. He said that the algae I have may be growing because of the No3 and that I could be getting a false reading on it because the algae is feeding off it. is this possible?

05/14/2016, 08:56 PM	#6
JJCriss Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2015 Location: Belleville, IL Posts: 17

05/14/2016, 09:03 PM	#8
Tisbe Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2016 Location: Coeur D Alene, Idaho Posts: 170	Good news is you do not need to buy more live sand. If you do get more get dry sand a save some money. You already added the beneficial bacteria to the tank when you added the live rock as long as it was not dry(dead) rock when you put it in. Your tank is new and will go through a lot of changes in the first 6 months. How many fish do you have now? Go slow with adding critters and let you tank have time to balance things out while you are getting your husbandry skills honed. I would not run GFO until later. My guess is that you just have some nutrients from the live sand that need to cycle out not to mention the tank is really new. Syphon the bed when you do regular water changes. Give it more time.

05/14/2016, 09:17 PM	#11
reef4life07 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: New Jersey Posts: 480	Stay on top of water changes, add gfo replace every 2 weeks, also add cheato if possible, and keep cleaning your sandbed. Don't forget to replace bulbs, and ro filters.

05/14/2016, 09:19 PM	#12
JJCriss Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2015 Location: Belleville, IL Posts: 17	I have a blue streak, six line, firefish, and just added a brackish puffer today. All of the fish are fairly small. Nothing big. Also have a very small baby snowflake. Im hoping to upgrade to a larger tank in the future for my reef tank and use my 65 as a small preditor tank when I set up the new one. There are also about 5 small hermits running around in there as well. Ill give it some time and wait. And when I do my next water change i will try to syphon as much of it up as i can. Like i said my levels look GREAT. I double checked with my gf about the levels from our last test (because she usually does it because she loves the tank more than me surprisingly) and she said the PH was about 8 and the ammonia, n02, and n03 were almost zero. No recognizable color change in the test tubes at all for those 3. Which I am surprised to see. Our levels have been very good since a month ago when we started adding fish and corals. Once they got down they have not come back up since. I have not done a real water change yet. I have only been adding RO water into the sump occasionally when I see the water level getting lower in the sump. Or a couple times when it has gotten low when i have acclimated fish and my pump started to blow some air bubbles.

05/14/2016, 10:42 PM	#15
Tisbe Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2016 Location: Coeur D Alene, Idaho Posts: 170	The picture looks like cyno to me. I agree with kgeig. With each fish you add you have to give the tank time to beef up the bacterial population to handle the new waste that that fish produces. Tests only tell you what is in the water column. Problem algae in your tank tells you have excess nutrients regardless what the test say. At this point. Start doing your regular water changes, 20% of the tank volume each month. 20% all at once or 10% twice a month. Vacuum the sand when you do. I would not add anything else until you get ahead of the algae problem you have now. Best of luck.

05/14/2016, 11:58 PM	#16
Tautoga Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2015 Location: Long Island, NY Posts: 113	I agree with the 3 posters above this one. One month is not long at all for a fish tank. I have a 75 gallon that has been up for 8 months. I had the diatom bloom, the cyano bloom then the hair algae bloom before things started to settle down. If you dont have any powerheads in the tank to move water around, I would suggest gettng a couple. That can help with the cyano a bit but really you just have to wait it out and wait for the tank to settle in. It is still getting its equilibrium and every time you add a new fish or w/e it upsets that process again. As the posters above me said. Slow down and take your time. Keep doing those water changes and regular maintenance. You will have a better chance at avoiding problems later and you'll be happy you did when you have a nice healthy, happy tank.

05/15/2016, 09:16 AM	#17
PatW Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2013 Posts: 275	After cycling a tank, most systems have high nitrates. Nitrates are pretty easy to measure. Your LFS can do it for you for a nominal fee. Another issue with new tanks is the level of phosphates. Dry rock often leaches out phosphates for awhile producing algae blooms. Phosphate is tricky to measure. I think Hanna makes the only testers that can reliably detect low levels of phosphates. Even that does not help because of the phosphates are locked up in a algal biomass and not in the water. You can lower nitrates by carbon dosing and if you have a powerful skimmer, carbon dosing is effective. Phosphates can be lowered by running GFO in a reactor. I did both in my tank. But what really seemed to work the best was doing a series of water changes and vigorously scrubbing the rock and then cleaning the filter socks. It is a brute force method but it really does work.

05/15/2016, 12:38 PM	#18
leviburns89 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2015 Posts: 652	I agree with your phosphate levels needing to be dealt with. Running carbon will help with most chemical imbalances, and I wouldn't think of running a system without it. Running GFO will target phosphates, and after experiencing algae blooms, it's another thing I wouldn't run without. If you handle you phosphates, and ammonia and nitrates, the rest can be easily handled by water changes. Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk