New Equipment - New Algae Bloom?

PaulieReef · 02/22/2014, 09:55 AM

So for Christmas and my Birthday (Jan 18th) I got new equipment, on Christmas I got 2 new radions gen2 for my 75g tank, I start running them at I believe 60% and slowly acclimated them to 100% over the past 6 weeks. Additionally on my birthday I got another mp40.

My question is, about 2-3 weeks ago algae started to grow, and is growing more and more as the weeks progress. I am basically in a full algae cycle at this point with hair algae just now starting to take over the tank.

I do 20g water chances each week and the corals look amazing.

Is this possibly due to the new equipment or another underlining problem I do not know about? I feed once a day and I do not believe I overfeed. The tanks been setup for close to 2 years now.

Thanks, happy weekend all

Shallow Reef · 02/22/2014, 01:17 PM

Do you have any pictures of the tank before this occurred with the new equipment and pictures of it now? What sort of powerheads/wavemaker were you running before changing to the mp40 and have you added any new livestock or extra rock since?

PaulieReef · 02/22/2014, 02:03 PM

Previously to the additional powerhead I had a koralia, i replaced that with another MP40. This was the tank before the algae outbreak.

As far as new live stock the only thing I added was a wrasse.

PaulieReef · 02/22/2014, 02:06 PM

And now..

Shallow Reef · 02/22/2014, 03:08 PM

Check your tds level make sure none of the filters need replacing. How long do you run your lights on for?

madadi · 02/22/2014, 04:00 PM

i agree, check the filter in your RO first. second i would dim down or turn off completaly the red leds in the radions. red light has no place in reef tank in my opinion. third i would think the increased flow moved your sand bed around enough and might have released some nutrients into your tank that were trapped there a long time. just my opinion

PaulieReef · 02/22/2014, 05:27 PM

TDS was the first thing I checked, is 0. Additionally I did notice some of the sand moving which was my initial thought as well. Finally I was curious, can I run the radions at 100% or should I lower it? And could the red LEDs alone cause algae growth?

_DZ_reef · 02/22/2014, 05:38 PM

I run my radions on 45 brightness and thay hang 10 inch above water I think 100 is lot to much. I know few more ppl with radions and no one runs it that high. I have spike in settings for 2h to go to 55% and then rump down beck to 45 I don't think u should turn off red spectrum just turn down intensity of it.

PaulieReef · 02/22/2014, 06:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by _DZ_reef

I run my radions on 45 brightness and thay hang 10 inch above water I think 100 is lot to much. I know few more ppl with radions and no one runs it that high. I have spike in settings for 2h to go to 55% and then rump down beck to 45 I don't think u should turn off red spectrum just turn down intensity of it.

Do you have a picture of your tank? And how does that inhibit growth?

PaulieReef · 02/22/2014, 07:20 PM

One other variant, for the first two-three weeks I kept it on the "color" mode which showed the color, after that i changed it to the high growth mode.

MARINECRITTERS · 02/22/2014, 09:58 PM

The pumps could of released inorganic phosphates and nitrates from the live rock, the algae and bacteria would be a result of this.
This may just be a cycle, time will tell if it passes or not.

Shallow Reef · 02/22/2014, 10:48 PM

I think it is a cycle and you will have to give it time for the algae to die out. Right now I think you should lower the intensity of your lights and I think completely turning off the red leds just to stop any further growth by them lights, will help. Stock up on some true mexican turbo snail as they are very good algae eaters or a sea hare, and some Nassarius snail which will help turn over the sand. Maybe look into a sand sifting goby if you don't have one already.

d2mini · 02/22/2014, 11:13 PM

100%???
OMG, you must be cooking your tank.
60% should have been plenty of light. You should have started at 40 and moved up to 60-65.

PaulieReef · 02/23/2014, 05:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by d2mini

100%???
OMG, you must be cooking your tank.
60% should have been plenty of light. You should have started at 40 and moved up to 60-65.

The lights have been running 100% for almost two weeks the corals are loving it, the growth is insane. I can however lower it, but everything besides the algae is doing wonderful.

Additionally I guess I will turn off the red LEDs and lower the intensity to about 70%.

02/22/2014, 09:55 AM	#1
PaulieReef Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Lafayette, LA Posts: 291	New Equipment - New Algae Bloom? So for Christmas and my Birthday (Jan 18th) I got new equipment, on Christmas I got 2 new radions gen2 for my 75g tank, I start running them at I believe 60% and slowly acclimated them to 100% over the past 6 weeks. Additionally on my birthday I got another mp40. My question is, about 2-3 weeks ago algae started to grow, and is growing more and more as the weeks progress. I am basically in a full algae cycle at this point with hair algae just now starting to take over the tank. I do 20g water chances each week and the corals look amazing. Is this possibly due to the new equipment or another underlining problem I do not know about? I feed once a day and I do not believe I overfeed. The tanks been setup for close to 2 years now. Thanks, happy weekend all

02/22/2014, 04:00 PM	#6
madadi ReefOG Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Morton grove, IL Posts: 3,976	i agree, check the filter in your RO first. second i would dim down or turn off completaly the red leds in the radions. red light has no place in reef tank in my opinion. third i would think the increased flow moved your sand bed around enough and might have released some nutrients into your tank that were trapped there a long time. just my opinion __________________ -~adrian~- LETS TRADE YUMAS Current Tank Info: Glass box.

02/22/2014, 09:58 PM	#11
MARINECRITTERS Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Posts: 1,525	The pumps could of released inorganic phosphates and nitrates from the live rock, the algae and bacteria would be a result of this. This may just be a cycle, time will tell if it passes or not. __________________ MarineCritters, life in the sea is superb Current Tank Info: 91 Gallon Reef

02/22/2014, 11:13 PM	#13
d2mini Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 10,344	100%??? OMG, you must be cooking your tank. 60% should have been plenty of light. You should have started at 40 and moved up to 60-65. __________________ -dennis Elos Diamond 120xl \| Elos Stand \| Radion G4 Pros \| GHL Profilux Controller \| LifeReef Skimmer \| LifeReef Sump Photos taken with a Nikon D750 or Leica M.

02/22/2014, 01:17 PM	#2
Shallow Reef Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Posts: 202	Do you have any pictures of the tank before this occurred with the new equipment and pictures of it now? What sort of powerheads/wavemaker were you running before changing to the mp40 and have you added any new livestock or extra rock since?

02/22/2014, 02:03 PM	#3
PaulieReef Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Lafayette, LA Posts: 291	Previously to the additional powerhead I had a koralia, i replaced that with another MP40. This was the tank before the algae outbreak. As far as new live stock the only thing I added was a wrasse.

02/22/2014, 02:06 PM	#4
PaulieReef Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Lafayette, LA Posts: 291	And now..

02/22/2014, 03:08 PM	#5
Shallow Reef Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Posts: 202	Check your tds level make sure none of the filters need replacing. How long do you run your lights on for?

02/22/2014, 05:27 PM	#7
PaulieReef Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Lafayette, LA Posts: 291	TDS was the first thing I checked, is 0. Additionally I did notice some of the sand moving which was my initial thought as well. Finally I was curious, can I run the radions at 100% or should I lower it? And could the red LEDs alone cause algae growth?

02/22/2014, 05:38 PM	#8
_DZ_reef Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2013 Posts: 31	I run my radions on 45 brightness and thay hang 10 inch above water I think 100 is lot to much. I know few more ppl with radions and no one runs it that high. I have spike in settings for 2h to go to 55% and then rump down beck to 45 I don't think u should turn off red spectrum just turn down intensity of it.

02/22/2014, 07:20 PM	#10
PaulieReef Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Lafayette, LA Posts: 291	One other variant, for the first two-three weeks I kept it on the "color" mode which showed the color, after that i changed it to the high growth mode.

02/22/2014, 10:48 PM	#12
Shallow Reef Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Posts: 202	I think it is a cycle and you will have to give it time for the algae to die out. Right now I think you should lower the intensity of your lights and I think completely turning off the red leds just to stop any further growth by them lights, will help. Stock up on some true mexican turbo snail as they are very good algae eaters or a sea hare, and some Nassarius snail which will help turn over the sand. Maybe look into a sand sifting goby if you don't have one already.