Algae attacks!

[eddthompson]

My tank has been up and running with live rock for about a week and a half now.

Ammonia is now at 0, nitrite 0.25, and nitrate is still 0

Just this morning i have algae growing on the back and front glass, my nice white ocean rock is turning brownie green on the top, and the coral sand is turning the same colour.

Its even growing in the canister filters intake pipes, and the maine reaction chamber of the protein skimmer!

The hair algea that was on one of the live rocks is starting to spead as well, even though i took a large amount off before i put it in the tank.

Should i just leave it and hope it goes away? i cant add the clean up crew untill the nitites goes to 0, what about a water change (not done one of these yet)

Thanks alot,

edd

 

[mogurnda]

HOw intense is the light, and how long are you leaving it on? Reducing light can help in the short term, until the chemistry is normal and the cleaning crew goes in.

 

[eddthompson]

I have a marine-glow and a power-glow, unfortunatly ive lost the boxes, so i dont know the specs, all part of the package with the tank.

Ive been running the lights for 10 hours a day, 10am till 8pm

edd

 

[mogurnda]

Maybe cut the photoperiod by 1/3 to 1/2. The stuff on the live rock will not die with reduced light, but may get suffocated by hair algae.

 

[eddthompson]

After the initial bloom, the algea hasnt realy increased.

Today the nitrites went to zero so i added 6 snails and 4 red legged hermits, and a strombus.

Added a bit more live rock as well

Time for fish soon (that will keep the wife happy, doesnt like crabs)

edd

 

[mogurnda]

Great to hear it!

If the algae problem is more than the cleaners can handle, a toothbrush does a decent job on some kinds of hair algae.

 

[wayne]

Ignore the brown algae - it's likely diatoms, and will appear and then disappear as it exhausts available silicon in a week or two.
You seem to be doing sensible things for your hair algae, and it's not increasing so that's good. I would advise you to wait, and thne wait some more before adding fish if you can, especially if you don't have your algae under control. Putting fish into a tank too soon really cause you to enter algaeland. I went 6 weeks plus beofer my first fish, and thought that was a bit quick, but I have been very 'lucky' with algae so far.

 

[eddthompson]

The only problem i realy noticed with the hair algea was some small growth on the front glass, maybe 1/4" in length, but they arnt growing any longer, or populating any more, i think they may have been small spores?

Over night the brown algea has gone off the front glass, those snails move dont they! small patches of the live rock look lovely, where the snails and hermit crabs have been munching.

I did buy a front glass magnetic cleaner, but ive had an explosion of small white things (copods?) there must be 5 per square inch, all over the glass, gravel floor, and all the rocks. So i didnt realy want to kill the ones on the front glass by wiping them.

Sorry for the long post, all of this rather exciting

edd