Question about algae & water change

[NewFish3]

I have a BioCube #14, it holds about 7-8 gallons of water with all the rock & everything. Iam 3 days past due on my water change. I see some algae on the glass. There is a small film of algae floating at the top of the water. I plan on doing a water change tomorrow afternoon, I have to mix the salt & warm the water.

I think the fish will be ok but Iam worried about my Bubble Tip anemone and my mushroom corals. I have a green stripe mushroom thet detached from the rock & is sitting down on the live sand. Also my brown mushrooms are not all spreading out like they usually are. They are all small like they were when I first brought them home. Am I freaking out for nothing.

Everything looked great last night.............. Help

[Aquarist007]

algae is a sign of a phosphate problem--which you have probably kept to a minimum with your water changes

not to worry you but corals and anenomes are affected by high levels of phosphates

the good news--the algae is consuming the phosphates as we speak

the bottom line---stop procrastinating and do your water change tomorrow

[demonsp]

STOP. Whats used for warm water? A few days late should be a problem and if so then your lacking elsewhere.
Im afraid if your mixing with warm water your useing tap and useing warm water only adds to the problem.

[NewFish3]

My LFS only has me checking the Ph, ammonia & nitrite. What do I nee to check the phosphates.

There are 2 other bottles in the kit. One bottle says Nitrate NO 3 bottle 1 and the other one says Nitrate NO3 bottle 2
They dont have me using them

[Aquarist007]

good point but I believe he said he has to mix the salt and then warm the water

I side with Lance--hope you are using ro or ro/di water

[Aquarist007]

Originally posted by NewFish3
My LFS only has me checking the Ph, ammonia & nitrite. What do I nee to check the phosphates.

There are 2 other bottles in the kit. One bottle says Nitrate NO 3 bottle 1 and the other one says Nitrate NO3 bottle 2
They dont have me using them

at this point you do not need to check for phosphates. Alot of the times you can use a Salifert Kit or something similar and you get an undetectable reading because the algae is consuming the phosphates as fast as they are produced

use r/o water
when you start to feed feed very little at a time and wash off frozen food with ro water before using
do your weekly water changes

and you shouldn't have an algae problem or need for an expensive phosphate kit

[demonsp]

Good catch.

[NewFish3]

Iam using distilled water. Iam only warming the water because I am in Chicago and the water temp is only 67-68 deg. I am warming it to about 78 deg.....is this ok to do.

[Aquarist007]

Originally posted by NewFish3
Iam using distilled water. Iam only warming the water because I am in Chicago and the water temp is only 67-68 deg. I am warming it to about 78 deg.....is this ok to do.

the distilled water is ok to use

it goes like this
distilled tap water--90 per cent of minerals taken out of the water
ro water--95 percent of minerals taken out
ro/di water--100 per cent of minerals taken out

yes, you warm the water to the same temp as your tank before you do the water change

if it is simply a top up just use distilled water--no salt

[NewFish3]

I use a syphon tube to cleal the sand but how do I get the algae film off the top of the water. Also when I change the water I do a 2 gallon change, is this ok

[jonbry123]

NewFish I agree with the capt about using distilled water;however some makers of distilled water here in the states store the water in copper urns, sooo this could harm your inverts if you don't know for sure how this water is stored prior to being placed in jugs, etc when sold. In total understanding of what you have said in your posts if you have an adequate filtration system on this tank you shouldn't have a film on the top of the water. It sounds like the metabolites are not being removed from the tank. Not sure what type of filter your using but would consider something that will pull the top water out of the tank into the filter your using. There are a number of inexpensive add ons you can purchase to pull the top level of the water into your filter but I need to know what type of filter you are using to make a recommendation. Is it a canister type that pulls water from the middle to bottom of the tank, is it a filter that was part of the tank when you purchased it????


Scott

[dileggi]

Originally posted by NewFish3
I use a syphon tube to cleal the sand but how do I get the algae film off the top of the water. Also when I change the water I do a 2 gallon change, is this ok

How deep is your sandbed? Ideally, you'll want to disturb this as little as possible. I'm assuming that you're only cleaning the top layer? Going deeper, especially in a deep sand bed could release that stuff back into your water column.

For the algae film on top of the water, this could be a flow problem. You can use paper towels to "sopp" up the film but it's liable to come back. I believe the film on top means that part of the water isn't being "skimmed" or "re-cycled" and staying fairly motionless.

You should probably direct your power head from your return sump up a little higher to move that water around. Or, possibly add another power head.

[dileggi]

As for the water change, a 10% change weekly is ideal. If your water volume is only about 14g, then 2-3g should be sufficient, if being done weekly.

[Aquarist007]

Keep a power head directed at the surface so the water is churning---you can't afford a stagnant area on the surface as it is a spot where organic laden water rises to before it is filtered off and this in your case is where the major gas exchange occurs