Jump to content

Controlling algae


jasonv6974

Recommended Posts

Hey everyone I hate to say this but I am having difficulty controlling this red slime / cyano algae, and also some green "turf" algae as well.

 

Ammonia 0

Nitrite 0

Nitrate 0

PH 8.2

Phosphate 0-.5

Calcium 400ppm

Alc 8-9 dkh

 

I have begun skimming wetter, changed carbon and phosphate media, have pretty decent water flow ~ 3000 gph (2) 1500 SEIO with wave controller and return line roughly 500 GPH on a 75gallon ~ cut back on lighting but this stuff spreads like a weed! Any help would be awsome.

 

Jason

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Water changes, get out as much as you can by hand. can you get hold of ozone gen? The levels will show low because the nitrate and phos is being used by the algae and bact.I presume your using RO/DI with clean cartridges. Also get a cleanup crew. We really like to see pictures.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Cyano is almost always due to a lack of flow. You may have plenty of total flow, but have some dead spots. Try changing your water flow a bit and see if it helps the cyano.

 

I can't help with the hair/turf algae - if you can get rid of it, you're a better man than I. I have a big problem with it, but only on my egg crate that serves as a frag shelf. I'm beginning to suspect that is somehow a factor. You may want to pick up some red legged dwarf hermits. They are supposed to munch on hair algae - mine don't seem to(laugh), but in theory. Some people like/suggest lettuce nudie's and sea hares - i think they are just power head fodder (sad). Personally, I like emerald crabs - they seem to do the most work for their weight, but won't be much help with hair algae.

 

Kris' suggestion to turn off the lights for 3 days is a good one, I think. I've heard several accounts of this working very well, with little to no negative effects on coral. However, I believe it is a stop-gap measure. Without fixing the underlying cause (phosphates/nutrients) then the algae will just return.

 

Lastly - do you have a sump growing macro? That can help as it will compete for nutrients. That's all I got. Good luck.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have changed my RO/DI filters about a month ago, cleaner crew is mainly turbo snails astrea snails, red leg hermits, blue leg hermits, and a couple scarlets, also have a purple tang, tomini tang, blue hippo tang, and a gold ring tang, sand bed consists of just 15-20 lbs of carib sea just to fill the bare bottom areas, i currently dont have any macro growing in the sump but have had no problems with nitrates, I also switched out my big filter bag that the overflow runs into, i try to change these out biweekly to avoid any waste buildup. things have slowed down some after replacing my carbon and phosphate media but still present. I am trying the product algae fix and i can notice some of the hair / turf algae starting to melt so i hope this works. I will keep you posted

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Cyano is almost always due to a lack of flow. You may have plenty of total flow, but have some dead spots. Try changing your water flow a bit and see if it helps the cyano.

 

 

Cyano has nothing to do with flow. Redirecting flow may make it harder for the bacteria to adhear, but it absolutely will not help with the cause. On top of that, when i had bad cyano it grew on the outlet of my Seio 820. Thats 820gph 1" away with direct flow and it grew like mad.

 

 

I have been through this and i feel your pain. All of the suggestions above are good, but you must take a look at EVERYTHING to figure this out. I battled for almost a year. It covered everything, i really mean everything.

 

My suggestion is to start with your water and salt. Change all the filters in your RO/DI unit. I even changed salts. Next you need aggressive skimming. If you have a needlewheel skimmer, add mesh. If you don't, get a better skimmer. Syphon it out DAILY. Do weekly WCs of at least 25%. Add carbon and phosban. Up your flow to keep it from attaching. Vacuum your sump weekly when you do your WC, there is a lot of buildup there. Clean your pumps regularly. Change your bulbs if they are old. Test test test test, i tested every other day for over 8 months. Keep things balanced, keep up your husbandry and you will reap the rewards in the end....NO MORE CYANO!!! (rock2)

 

All of this will also help with your turf algae.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

first of all, the tangs i introduced were after the cyano had started, so i know they arent contributors, second i have zero nitrates to feed the algae, as for water flow i have a lot and this is growing not only directly in front of my seio 1500's but is in other high flow areas as well... From what i have read you want to cycle out this algae and not replenish it with water changes, does this sound correct? this all started when i was doing weekly 10% water changes as an experiment for rapid coral growth, i have now stopped doing changes for about 2 weeks now. My skimmer is way over rated for my system, Aqua Euro 135, i have uped my calcium reactor to boost alkalinity as i have read this helps as well. The egg crate rack i am using to hold new coral seems to get it the most with this algae, i am wondering if this is a contributor to this bloom. I am stuck on this one......................................................

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, I certainly don't hold myself up to be an expert - so I could easily be wrong. Everything I've read on Cyano indicates that it thrives in low flow areas - and to increase or redirect flow to help. If you feel like you've got plenty of flow, than feel free to disregard. Otherwise, it seems the same contributing factors as algaes - excess nutrients, over feeding, too long of a light cycle...

 

Impur had a good point on the lights. I've read that MH lights in particular will increase the (I think) red light spectrum as they age, which feeds the aglae growth.

 

I've also read that even though your testing zero nitrates, that you're algae could just be consuming it as fast as it's produced - meaning you have plenty but are still testing zero. I don't know how likely that is, but thought I'd toss it out as well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've also read that even though your testing zero nitrates' date=' that you're algae could just be consuming it as fast as it's produced - meaning you have plenty but are still testing zero. I don't know how likely that is, but thought I'd toss it out as well.[/quote']

 

Spot on. You can test test test and still get a 0 reading. Its just being used up before it spreads out into the water column.

 

 

If you are seeing it more with more frequent water changes, perhaps your RO filters need replacing and/or you should change salts.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...