Algae Problem!

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wattsd

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Mar 22, 2005
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Got an algae problem developing...

Its green and is spreading rather quickly across tank glass, the crushed coral, and also on some LR. It wouldn't worry me too much but I am leaving for a 9 day vacatioin in a week. I don't want to come back and find just algae.
Here is where I think the problem(s) exist:

I just bought new lights (pc) 2 weeks ago,
I bought a leather coral which my lfs told me to feed nutrients (2 weeks ago)

I think the brighter lights and the nutrients are bringing on growth. I have stopped the nutrients but the growth continues. I can scrape the front of the tank and have a algae film on it 8 hours later!! I am only worried about when i leave for 9 days.

What am I going to do??? I don't want to leave and come back to find my tank is full of algae growth and the leather has died and poluted the rest.

Someone please tell me there is a supersnail that eats like a horse and will take care of this while i'm gone.

I have a 30 gallon with 2 perculas, 1 gramma, 4 snails, 4 hermits, and 1 emerald crab. About 40lbs LR.

The only person I know who can watch the tank is not aware of potential problems because they don't own a tank. They would basically come and feed the fish what I had already set aside for them.

any suggestions????? Something to help with algae?? :help:

thanks

~d
 

wastememphis

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Sep 6, 2003
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check for phosphates. you could run carbon now through when your gone, that might help? soft corals produce nutrients i'm pretty sure... and nutrients are what algae loves. for ex, if your setting up an sps tank (high flow, low nutrients... like barebottom tank) you can't really have a refugium becuause the marco algae simply wont grow, die off. The lights probably started the algae. You need more snails and that anyway. Hermits will eat it off the coral and rocks, certh and astrea snails will get it off the glass... but hermits like to eat the snails too.. but i'd get more snails if I were you. at one point i had 40+ snails in my 29gallon tank, within a week i had 28 or so beuacse my crabs just ate them if they fell off the glass.... long story short i have around 12snails now and i have sold all my crabs. (i had about 15crabs)....

back to your algae, run carbon while your gone... it'll remove some stuff out of the water, get a bigger clean up crew so you dont have to worry as much while your gone. When you cleaned the algae off did you do a water change? becuase if you clean it off and it comes back in 8hrs and you keep doing that... and the algae isn't leaving the tank... its not going to help at all... try doing a few water changes before you leave. cleaning the glass and doing a water change now and before you leave wouldn't hurt. JMO
 

brovo2zero

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Jan 14, 2005
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nitrate phosphate and light seem to spawn a large algae bloom you could run some nitrate sponge and some phospate sponge to drop the levels quickly if you remove the food for the algae it shuld disapere quickly..
 

mogurnda

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First, stop feeding the leather. It doesn't need the supplements, and the added nutrients are undoubtedly helping to feed your algae bloom. Your LFS is probably well intentioned, but I would suggest buying a copy of Borneman's "Aquarium Corals" to get a better idea of their needs. It's a perfect time to do a little research, before you have added the majority of your corals.

I agree wih WM that a bigger collection of snails, and maybe a few hermits wouldn't hurt. Turbos and astreas have been the hungriest and most dependable for me.

I haven't heard many success stories with nitrate sponges in reef tanks, but iron-based phosphate removers (Phosban, rowaphos) have helped me a lot. Do not use alumina based PO4 removers when you have softies, it will irritate them.

You might also drop the photoperiod for a while. It will slow the algae growth and help the snails catch up.
 

wattsd

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Mar 22, 2005
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Thanks a lot for all the new info!! I have not been adding the nutrients like before. Maybe I will add them once a week or something like that. I am running some charcoal too. I plan on picking up some more snails tomorrow sometime too.

I was talking to my lfs today and they had concerns about my pc lights. I have been running my actinics as well as my white for about 10 hours a day. (6,700K/10,000K, 420nm/460nm) I usually start with the blue in the morning and then have the white switch on in a half hour. (sunrise) I have been keeping the blue on all day as well as the white. Is this something that I should not be doing???? I was told by ANOTHER lfs to keep it this way. Its quite tiring to enter one store only to learn that the last store allegedly told you wrong.
OK so heres what I'm going to do:
Get more snails
cut back on some lights(?)
cut back on the supplements
and get phosban if necessary

ALSO. I just learned from one LFS that Instant Ocean salt claims to be phophate free but is in fact NOT!? The owner said she mixes the salt with fresh/no phosphate water, and then checks the phosphate afterward AND FINDS IT IN THE WATER? Anyone else done this?? I am switching to the pharm grade anyway but how is it legal to claim purity and not provide it??

I really appreciate all the time you guys take to help me with my newbie problems. It helps out a lot. I actually graduated college today but the whole while I couldn't stop thinking about my algae problem!! (shows you my priorities)

So thanks again.

~d
 

mogurnda

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Depends on what you mean by "has phosphates." The PO4 in IO is lower than most salt mixes, and I would be surprised if her test kit picked it up: salt mix analysis

Contratulations on graduating! Forget the algae and hoop it up!
 

wattsd

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Mar 22, 2005
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interesting stuff there. From what I got out of it, IO isn't really that bad. From what some people were saying, it sounded like I should have my aquarium taken away for using less-than par salt. I was surprised to see how much copper is in the salt mixes. Well it was a minute quantity something like 1 micromol, but seawater has a thousand times less than that! I'm not sure when the concentration becomes toxic to inverts.

Thanks
btw, what type of salt do you use?
 

mogurnda

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I use IO. I have read endless threads slamming the stuff, but every analysis Ihave found done by a real chemist makes it look good. The major disadvantage is that it was formulated for FO tanks, so the Ca starts low, but I have to use a Ca reactor to keep up with demand anyway.

Although I respect Ron Shimek a lot, I harbor some resentment about his "experiments" a few years ago that "proved" IO was toxic to invertebrate larvae. The experiments were poorly done, and the results could not be repeated by others who used better methodology, but the legacy lives on.

Not the only good brand out there, maybe not even the best, but it has been very reliable for me.
 

wattsd

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Mar 22, 2005
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I think reliability speaks for itself. If a brand doesn't give you any problems then don't switch over.

I went out today and bought some Phosban. How much circulation is needed for it to work best? It is in the filter well but I followed the directions and made the bag "tight" so the particles don't tumble and break up. I'm not sure how much water is going to pass through it. There is plenty of circulation AROUND it though.

thanks
 

cthopper

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Sep 30, 2004
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I am having the same problem with algea myself, also due to new pc lights.
I was wondering if a Lawnmower blenny would help. Would it be harmful or helpful to a 29 gallon with two clowns?
 
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