New To Reefing

[sirdanhvt]

Hi Everyone,

I have a big problem with algae that started three weeks ago.

I'm confused whether it is dino or other types of algae. It's been growing like crazy, covering up my rock, substrate, but not glass and back of the tank.

All my livestocks, blue tang and two clownfish, and corals seem fine so far.

Here are my water parameters:

Anomonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 5
Phosphate: 0.25

I've started activated carbon today (Aquaforest), and have been dosing Red Sea Nopox for more than a week.

I have a fitersock and a protein skimmer in my sum.

Please refer to the photos and PLEASE PLEASE advise.

Thanks and really apreaciate all your advices.

P/S: My tank is 3 and half months old, and is fully cycled.

 

[sirdanhvt]

 

[Chris Robertson]

Start by trying Hydrogen Peroxide 3% -- supermarket, $3.50 for 200ml -- dosage rate 35ml/60l. Won't hurt your fish or anything else you want. Do it once a day for 3-4 days and see how things are going. You can keep it up more or less forever, but you shouldn't need to. You'll want to up your filtration to get rid of the dead stuff, and use something to knock it off the rock and stir up the sand. Good luck.

 

[sirdanhvt]

Thanks Chris. But I pprefer to minimize chemical use, as it has always side effects. BTW, do you know what kind of algae is it ? Is it harmful to livestocks ?

 

[macca_75]

Hi @sirdanhvt and welcome.

Firstly, at 3 1/2 months your tank isn't "fully cycled" but has moved on from the first stage.

What brand of test kits are you using? Some are known to be more accurate than others.

Also I suspect you have green hair algae. I supect you are eithe rputting to many nutrients into your system or not pulling enough out.

Do you have a photo of your skimmate (how dark is it) and what volume approx do you out a day/week? What brand of skimmer do you have? What food do you feed, how much and how often? When you started NoPox did you notice a difference to your skimmate?

How are the photo's from you other post in May going? Are they all still alive?

Maybe a clean up crew would help with the algae a little.

Whatever you do, do it slowly. Only bad things happen fast. Good things take time.....

 

[sirdanhvt]

Hi @sirdanhvt and welcome.

Firstly, at 3 1/2 months your tank isn't "fully cycled" but has moved on from the first stage.

What brand of test kits are you using? Some are known to be more accurate than others.

Also I suspect you have green hair algae. I supect you are eithe rputting to many nutrients into your system or not pulling enough out.

Do you have a photo of your skimmate (how dark is it) and what volume approx do you out a day/week? What brand of skimmer do you have? What food do you feed, how much and how often? When you started NoPox did you notice a difference to your skimmate?

How are the photo's from you other post in May going? Are they all still alive?

Maybe a clean up crew would help with the algae a little.

Whatever you do, do it slowly. Only bad things happen fast. Good things take time.....

Thank so much for your advice macca_75. I really apreaciate.

You are right, with that period, my tank is still quite young.

I used both Red Sea and API test kits to check Nitrate, and only API for Phospate. Therefore, I think these numbers should be accurate.

Let say given that nutrient level in my tank is too high and the green hair aglae feed on it, why Chaeto has my chaeto not grown ? (chaeto has been added in my sump for around 2 months)

I have Bubble Magus skimmer and it has been working pretty well. I would say it pull out approx 15-20ml a day, and waste looks pretty dark as below photos. But I also think it is partly because of chaeto.

More information that I noticed the aglae started to grow fast after I added a Dori, I feed him twice a day and abit much more than I did with my two clownfish.

For the food, I used Thera+A and nori that I bought at supermaket ( not fish product though), but it has no oil or other stuff. All is written in the packaging.

I have been doing NoPox for 1,5 weeks now. I did notice my nitrate dropped from 20 to 5 and my skimmer pulled out more since then.

3 out of 7 corals I added on May were dead. They were Xenia, hammer and Green Capnella.

I also thought about cleaup crews but wanna wait a bit more to see if it gets better.

BTW, I did a clean algae the other day, and now the tank looks more abit better. But algae seems comming back....hix hix

 

[jart]

Hi @sirdanhvt,

Couple of things from a non-expert:

* sounds like your new fish (tang) has caused a large increase in nutrients (food) going into the tank > more poop/waste in the water column and uneaten in the sand bed > tank is trying to rebalance itself (by increasing the population of nitrifying bacteria in your rocks and sand) but this takes time > while this is happening excess nitrate/phos is being eaten by the hair algae (and the chaeto too, but hair algae is just out competing the chaeto in the growth stakes)

* blue tangs are gorgeous, but often greedy, fish. They pursue food vigorously and never seem to get full. As a result you often have to feed heaps to make sure your other fish get enough, but this leads to lots of excess nutrients

* are you using RODI water for top ups and the base of your salt water, if mixing your own?

* my recommendation would be to manually export as much of that nuisance algae as possible from the tank as often as possible. Get a turkey blaster and blow the algae off your rocks and sand into the water column > use a net to scoop up as much as possible > wait until the water clears (some will settle back onto rocks/sand, but a significant ouny should end up going into your sump) > change/clear your filter sock(s) > repeat as often as you can stand it and be patient

 

[Chris Robertson]

Thanks Chris. But I pprefer to minimize chemical use, as it has always side effects. BTW, do you know what kind of algae is it ? Is it harmful to livestocks ?

The good thing about hydrogen peroxide is that it doesn't have side effects. Its end-products are oxygen and water -- it basically oxidises the algae to death while at too low a level to affect the fish.

I don't know exactly what your alge is, but brown algae is not really something you want, as it will grow over your corals eventually.

 

[sirdanhvt]

Hi @sirdanhvt,

Couple of things from a non-expert:

* sounds like your new fish (tang) has caused a large increase in nutrients (food) going into the tank > more poop/waste in the water column and uneaten in the sand bed > tank is trying to rebalance itself (by increasing the population of nitrifying bacteria in your rocks and sand) but this takes time > while this is happening excess nitrate/phos is being eaten by the hair algae (and the chaeto too, but hair algae is just out competing the chaeto in the growth stakes)

* blue tangs are gorgeous, but often greedy, fish. They pursue food vigorously and never seem to get full. As a result you often have to feed heaps to make sure your other fish get enough, but this leads to lots of excess nutrients

* are you using RODI water for top ups and the base of your salt water, if mixing your own?

* my recommendation would be to manually export as much of that nuisance algae as possible from the tank as often as possible. Get a turkey blaster and blow the algae off your rocks and sand into the water column > use a net to scoop up as much as possible > wait until the water clears (some will settle back onto rocks/sand, but a significant ouny should end up going into your sump) > change/clear your filter sock(s) > repeat as often as you can stand it and be patient

Thank you so much Jart. I really apreacite that.

Yes, that's right. I will try to blow them up and do substrate vaccum weekly. I tested again today, Nitrate 3 and phosphate 0.2.

Hopfully everything will get better next couple weeks.

I do have RODI and used Quantum Reef Essential LPS Macro Probiotic Salt. I'm going to change to Aquaforest salt to reduce cost. Do you know about that brand ?

 

[sirdanhvt]

The good thing about hydrogen peroxide is that it doesn't have side effects. Its end-products are oxygen and water -- it basically oxidises the algae to death while at too low a level to affect the fish.

I don't know exactly what your alge is, but brown algae is not really something you want, as it will grow over your corals eventually.

Yeb I will try when it goes crazy and can't clean up anymore.

It grew over my Green Star Polyp and I had to use turkey blaster to blow it off every day...hix

Thanks.

 

[thepubenator]

diatoms - typically happens after a tank has completed its cycle