Algae problem, what to try next

[thatlouguy]

Hi,

I have a 50 gal SW tank with 1 Pelewensis Butterfly, 1 chocolate chip star fish, 1 Maroon Clown Fish, and 1 Tiger-striped Fancy Serpent Sea Star. I also had 1 yellowheaded jawfish who just died, but will be replaced ASAP.

Here's my problem. I have bought over 3 dozen turbo snails over the past four months.

My water parameters are acceptable with ammonia at 0, nitrites at 0, nitrates at about 40, pH at about 8.0-8.2 and salinity at about 1.025.

Within days of adding the turbo snails, they are either eaten by my chocolate chip star fish, picked at by my Pelewensis Butterfly, or just die on their own.

I also have a few Scarlet Hermit Crabs and Dwarf Red Tip Hermit Crabs.

The algae buildup is incredible and the tank looks terrible. All my coral (not live) and rock (rainbow and zebra) are covered in brown-green algae. Is there anything I can do to control the algae growth without hurting my fish or invertebrates?

I received a suggestion of keeping the lights off most of the time, but then my yellowheaded jawfish died and I was advised that the lack of light might have attributed to her demise.

Is there anything (baking soda or some other non-toxic substance) that I can soak my decorations in that will remove the algae buildup?

Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[scuba_steve]

what type of water are you using ? ro?? what are your po4 reading ? with two fish in the tank the waste would be low ! unless your overfeeding !
better water, more water flow, mabe less feeding and reduced lighting should help the prob ! what kind of skimmer are ya using ?

 

[4enzix]

u dont have the tank in direct sunlight for part of the day do u you? that somtimes really has an affect thats not fun. steve there mentioned the rest pretty much ... but as per another animal that might help would be a seahare mine does a wonderful job on my glass but they are not for all ppl

 

[scuba_steve]

one more thing to add ! i stopped buying turbos and go with astreas from reeftopia have had at least 2 for sure going on about a year now ! i know this cause they were in my fuge and have a bit of hair algae on them ( we named them the afro men hehehhe) was gonna pull it off but its kinda funny have a friend that wanted one just cause ya cant see the snail just the afro's !! and its easy to tell them from the new ones i bought

 

[thatlouguy]

Thanks for all your responses. Yes, we do use RO water, but have never heard of or seen a kit to test for po4. If the po4 is high, could that have had any effect on the yellowheaded jawfish we lost? I'll check that out and see what I can find. We've been constantly adjusting our feeding to try to arrive at a good balance within the parameters that are always suggested. Our tank is not in direct sunlight at any time during the day. Our filtration is rated for a 60 gal tank and between the duel filter setup and UGF with duel powerheads, water flow and circulation are very good. We'll look into the astreas, but had a very bad experience buying online from LiveAquaria. We received an invertebra that carried in a parasite that infected our entire tank. It took us close to a month to treat and fully resolve that problem (and LiveAquaria refused to take any responsibility). Any suggestions on cleaning the algae buildup? Thanks again for all your advice.

 

[scuba_steve]

ouccccchhhh ugf huh :-( not the right way to go for long term success ! no4 would not kill the jawfish ! ime with jawfish the biggest issues with them is turning all the lights off at one time !! they get freaked and jump ! other than that if ya they are great fish one of my favorites fosters will have a po4 test kit !! ive bought many snails from reeftopia with no issues at all great people great prices

ya didnt answer the skimmer question ?
ya can pull out the rock (its not live rock right ?) and use a toothbrush and take off as much as ya can !! what kind of lighting are you using ?

 

[Sparky]

nitrates at about 40

That seems to be a bit on the high side. Wouldn't hurt to try and bring that down some.......thus the skimmer.