Green Algae

jcuervo96 · 12/13/2013, 02:47 PM

I am about a year into this tank.

So I have been struggling with green hair algae for a while.

Here are my readings:
50 gallon w/18 gallon sump, T4 lighting 2 blue/2 white
SG 1.23-24
Temp:79-80
Nitrates, Nitrite, Ammonia and Phosphate = 0
PH 8.3
Calcium appx 400

I have had the water tested at 2 different LFS and nothing significant noted.
10 gallon water R/O changes roughly every 2 weeks.

I used to keep the lights on for about 9 hrs, but have dialed that back to 5.5 hrs.

I have had some corals die off coinciding with the algae bloom. And when i try to add any snails or a sea hare to eat the algae, they die within a day or two. I acclimate them for about an hr, dripping water into the bag every few minutes. So I cant get rid of the green algae and am trying to avoid a chemical solution to the problem.

I was thinking its a copper thing but wont be able to pick up a copper test kit until tomorrow. My shrimps and blue legged hermit crabs seem to be OK, and couple of small frags that survived seem ok as well.

For fish-I have 2 damsels and a goby.

To further compound the issue, the reason i have so few fish right now- I lost a bunch last week (2 clowns + rose bubble, a striped blenny, mandarin, 2 chromis, a basslet)- but they were lost because my heater broke while I was out of town and we had a cold snap here in FL, causing a significant drop into the 50's for 48+ hrs... I dont think this is related to the issue, as this was ongoing well before that happened.

Any ideas as to further stop the algae mess. And then any ideas why new snails and se hares would continue to die off?

thegrun · 12/13/2013, 03:02 PM

Two things come to mind. First, when did you last change out your light bulbs? Bulbs shift towards the yellow spectrum over time which promotes algae growth. If you haven't replaced the bulbs in the last 10 months it is time to do so. Secondly you can be sure you have phosphate issues if you have alage issues, but the growth of the algae masks the presence of phosphate. Think about using a phosphate removing resin or GFO.

jcuervo96 · 12/14/2013, 02:40 PM

Thanks for the info- I have changed out the blue's because one stopped working. I have not changed the whites, so maybe this is part of the the issue - I will take care of that tomorrow- its almost exactly 10 months. Do you have any recommendations for a GFO that works well and wont break the bank?

tthnow · 12/14/2013, 02:58 PM

BRS have good prices on GFO/Carbon combos. The reviews are really good too!

jcuervo96 · 12/15/2013, 04:38 PM

Thanks for the info+ suggestions- I could not take it anymore, I ended us getting a Phosban GFO reactor and pump at the LFS and changed out the white bulbs. Additionally, since I had no corals left, I was reading up on Hydrogen peroxide as a method of killing off the algae. After discussing with the guy at the LFS i ended up pulling the live rock and spraying with hydrogen peroxide, then rinsing thoroughly in in bucket of R/O before putting back. And now I am going to turn off the lights for a couple of days and hope that this solves the problem.

12/13/2013, 02:47 PM	#1
jcuervo96 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Posts: 8	Green Algae I am about a year into this tank. So I have been struggling with green hair algae for a while. Here are my readings: 50 gallon w/18 gallon sump, T4 lighting 2 blue/2 white SG 1.23-24 Temp:79-80 Nitrates, Nitrite, Ammonia and Phosphate = 0 PH 8.3 Calcium appx 400 I have had the water tested at 2 different LFS and nothing significant noted. 10 gallon water R/O changes roughly every 2 weeks. I used to keep the lights on for about 9 hrs, but have dialed that back to 5.5 hrs. I have had some corals die off coinciding with the algae bloom. And when i try to add any snails or a sea hare to eat the algae, they die within a day or two. I acclimate them for about an hr, dripping water into the bag every few minutes. So I cant get rid of the green algae and am trying to avoid a chemical solution to the problem. I was thinking its a copper thing but wont be able to pick up a copper test kit until tomorrow. My shrimps and blue legged hermit crabs seem to be OK, and couple of small frags that survived seem ok as well. For fish-I have 2 damsels and a goby. To further compound the issue, the reason i have so few fish right now- I lost a bunch last week (2 clowns + rose bubble, a striped blenny, mandarin, 2 chromis, a basslet)- but they were lost because my heater broke while I was out of town and we had a cold snap here in FL, causing a significant drop into the 50's for 48+ hrs... I dont think this is related to the issue, as this was ongoing well before that happened. Any ideas as to further stop the algae mess. And then any ideas why new snails and se hares would continue to die off?

12/13/2013, 03:02 PM	#2
thegrun Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Garden Grove, Ca Posts: 17,023	Two things come to mind. First, when did you last change out your light bulbs? Bulbs shift towards the yellow spectrum over time which promotes algae growth. If you haven't replaced the bulbs in the last 10 months it is time to do so. Secondly you can be sure you have phosphate issues if you have alage issues, but the growth of the algae masks the presence of phosphate. Think about using a phosphate removing resin or GFO.

12/14/2013, 02:40 PM	#3
jcuervo96 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Posts: 8	Thanks for the info- I have changed out the blue's because one stopped working. I have not changed the whites, so maybe this is part of the the issue - I will take care of that tomorrow- its almost exactly 10 months. Do you have any recommendations for a GFO that works well and wont break the bank?

12/14/2013, 02:58 PM	#4
tthnow Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Hughson Posts: 513	BRS have good prices on GFO/Carbon combos. The reviews are really good too!

12/15/2013, 04:38 PM	#5
jcuervo96 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Posts: 8	Thanks for the info+ suggestions- I could not take it anymore, I ended us getting a Phosban GFO reactor and pump at the LFS and changed out the white bulbs. Additionally, since I had no corals left, I was reading up on Hydrogen peroxide as a method of killing off the algae. After discussing with the guy at the LFS i ended up pulling the live rock and spraying with hydrogen peroxide, then rinsing thoroughly in in bucket of R/O before putting back. And now I am going to turn off the lights for a couple of days and hope that this solves the problem.