I got some algae

[SaltwaterTeen]

I got some algae growing all over the walls of my tank, my tank is 1 month old, I checked nitraates yesturday and they were at 40ppm and I did a wc of 5 gallons I would have done a 15 but I ran out of salt mix so tomorrow I am going to get some salt mix and do a 15 tomorrow, But I was wondering if the algae was from my hight nitrates?? There is a brown, and green algae, and there is also a white stringy algae? Thanks For the Help

 

[scuba_steve]

are ya using ro water?? even so ya tank imo is way to new to have that many fish in it already !! also what kind of skimmer are you using ??

 

[SoylentGrundy]

If you're using tap water, its probly high in phosphates and silicates and that could be causing it. Suggest using ro water and adding back whatever minerals/chemicals you want. And I agree heartily with Scuba_Steve on too much too fast.

 

[lando]

RO/DI water will help. Do 10% water changes about everyother day using RO/DI water until your Nitrates are at 10. That is acceptable. From previous posts, you already know my feeling on your stocking level. Get rid of some stuff and you should see your nitrates decrease. Also, you may want to tweak your lighting schedule. How long are you lighting a day? Honestly teen, not being judgemental here, but you may want to stop spending money on livestock and invest in a RO/DI unit. It is not nearly as fun as spending $200 on fish but it will make your nitrates drop, your tank crystal clear, and it is a must for anyone wanting to venture into reef tanks. Good luck on getting those nitrates in check, I know what a pain it is to clean the glass everyday...Lando

 

[SaltwaterTeen]

Yea, I dont have a ro/di unit, just tap. I have my lights on at 6am-9pm, I can get rid of damsels, and my 2 camel shrimp

 

[Sparky]

I found out from experience (and I am new at this too), that is way too long to have the lights on. I now run mine about 6 hours a day, sometimes less but never more than that. I had real bad brown algea. I cut back on the lights and bought 5 real big snails (about the size of a silver dollar) and about a dozen smaller ones. That combination of lighting and snails seemed to cut it down pretty fast.

This is what I have in my tank right now. No plans to add anything in the near future. My tank is 125 Gallons:

2- Clown fish
1- Bubble Tip anemone
2- Long Tenticle anemone
1- Scooter Blenny
1- Yellow Tailed Damsel ( I gave the others back to the pet store)
18- Various sized snails

 

[lando]

Cutting back on your lighting by 3 or 4 hours a day may also help. My actinics come on at noon and shut off at 10pm. My 10,000 K come on at 1pm and shut off at 9pm. I am runnign just over 5 watts/gal. and my corals are doing great with that amount and duration of lighting.

 

[dralarms]

I run my lights from about 7am to 10 pm daily. I was having an algae problem but I bought a cleaner kit from http://www.wctropicalmarine.com . I was well pleased I even have seen the snails, or at least one of them in my penguin330 I use for circulation, He went in there and cleaned all the growth out of it.

 

[SaltwaterTeen]

Im thinking about a penguin 330, But I dont really need it, I have about 70lbs of lr and a canister

 

[dralarms]

I use mine strickly for flow.