Algae Break out in 10g

[Tommy Gun]

What can i use for nitrates i was under the impression that it "detoxifies nitrite and nitrates" but i probably have a misunderstanding of what this means...

Perhaps the only 100% fool proof way to reduce nitrAtes is doing water changes. I'm not exactly sure what they mean by 'detoxify' as it relates to nitrIte and nitrAte, but it does not mean that they are completely harmless, nor does it mean that they have magically left your tank. While I like Prime and have used it, IMO it is going to be much easier to address the problem directly rather than search store shelves for some product...pretty much because you stand a good chance at finding one, but they are only band-aids which, in many cases, only mask problems. Or in other words, your goal is to maintain a high standard of water quality, not just get your test kits to tell you what you want to hear (or see).

I'm not familiar with your whole situation so pardon me if these are repeat questions that you have answered elsewhere...

How long has your tank been up and running?
~ Above and beyond the type of 'cycling' we speak about most of the time on forums like this one, SW tanks also experience other types of 'cycles' that are very hard to avoid and/or control completely (this is usually why there is a distinction made between a cycled SW tank and an established SW tank). One of these other cycles is the highly annoying algaes that can pop up from seemingly no where so if your tank is new or even new-ish, this may be somewhat normal.

Do you have a phosphate test kit?
~ While nitrates certainly contribute to algae problems, phosphate is also a key factor and it is also pretty hard to avoid since even the food you feed your fish will contain at least some. Like nitrates though, you can control phosphate via water changes.

Are you using Prime because you use tap water?
~ If so, I highly suggest looking into using a much more pure source of water such as RO water, or even distilled since the salt mix you are using already contains the appropriate levels of most major and minor trace elements. Additionally, it is very possible that you are adding nitrate and phosphates during water changes because it could be in your tap water. IMHO, even if a series of test performed on your tap water shows nothing, using RO, or another type of nearly pure water is the only way we can be certain that we are starting off with the best foot forward and from someone who has tried to go otherwise, there is a very noticeable difference.

 

[Alexrd09]

Thank you for helping out the info is good to know and answers alot of my questions. although i am not new to the hobby i am not at all well educated about it and just recently have decided to broaden my knowledge. The tank is about 2 months old so yea it is relatinely new. I have been trying to reduce feeding to see if that helps my nitrates but i will most certainly do a water change as soon as i get my test kit in...

 

[Alexrd09]

Also i have a 1x96w 50/50 compact florescent on a 10g. Is there such thing as TOO much light?

 

[Tommy Gun]

IMO, yes, there is such a thing as too much light but that applies in quite a few different ways. For example, having too much sunlight is a bad thing...keeping your lights on for too long is a bad thing...using the wrong spectrum of light and/or using old bulbs is a bad thing. On the other hand, a lot of light is good in many ways as well and I still think you can curb the algae growth in ways that are totally separate from light.

Somebody can correct me if I am wrong but I believe that many of the more common forms of algae can gain little or nothing from actinic lighting so if you want to observe your tank for longer periods of time, perhaps you can move toward a system which has at least two bulbs that you can control independently (which is what I do, for the most part).

Out of curiousity...

Do you have any sort of clean-up crew in this tank?

If you look very closely at the green, hair-like algae, does it seem to be sort of fuzzy or look similar to a feather?

 

[Alexrd09]

I have to filters a aqua clear30 whuch does have a sponge the other one which is a tropfin 20 does not have a sponge but it has about 2/3 pound of ruble LR

 

[Alexrd09]

it seems i have both and about the same amount of each. The only cleaning crew i currently have is an emerald crab but he seems to like the red algae better then the green. I was thinking about ordering a cleaner crew online but have never ordered online so I don't know how that works or even if they guarantee that i will receive them alive... any recommendations?

 

[melosu58]

Perhaps the only 100% fool proof way to reduce nitrAtes is doing water changes.

I totally agree. Read this for an excellent battle plan.

FantasyReef Databases-Viewing item "10 Step Plan for Nuisance Algae Control"

 

[melosu58]

Both threads merged together.

 

[Alexrd09]

I did a 20% water change (about 2.5g) and used reverse osmosis water bought from a Glaceau machine at publix. I also replace one filter media with LR... Am i supposed to see an immediate results in the nitrate lvl because i am still getting a reading of 20?

 

[Tommy Gun]

Am i supposed to see an immediate results in the nitrate lvl because i am still getting a reading of 20?

Most definitely. Perhaps your test results are not accurate for some reason. Think of it this way...if you mix a pitcher of Kool-aid and poured a glass from the origonal container, you would never wind up with a glass of plain water, right? Nitrate and other chemicals are the same; they are equally distributed throughout the water so removing some water means you are removing some nitrate.

My suggestion would be to gain a second opinion from a completely different test kit and/or make sure that both the RO water and the RO water after it is mixed with salt does not contain nitrate.

Forgive me if I missed where you said which test you use but if you are using the 'test strips', if they are not stored properly 100% of the time, they can give false readings.

 

[Alexrd09]

That is probably my problem i have a complete test kit but unfortunately its 350 Miles away.

 

[Tommy Gun]

Yea, I'd say that is a problem. I'm sure there may be some differences but in my area, I can pick up a basic SW test kit for less than 20 bucks that comes with ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH. Over all, I think the liquid test kits are actually more economical than the strips because they can be used so many times.

Anyways, I realize that the nitrate reading probably makes a lot of sense to you because of the algae problem you are faced with but keep in mind that nitrate is not the only factor here...so, in reality, the main problem is that you can't yet rule out nitrates until you can be reasonably sure your test results are somewhat accurate. I'm still thinking that this might be connected to your tank being newer and/or your use of tap water. In any case though, this isn't really anything that I would panic about and I think you are doing the right thing by addressing as many different possibilities as you can.

 

[Alexrd09]

I am just worried it will suffocate my corals Ive had to remove it from the Zoa's multiple times and it is overgrowing some of my other corals (which seemed to be stressed lately). I don't plan on dismissing nirtate or phosphate till i am able to conduct and accurate test with the liquid test kit.

 

[Tommy Gun]

I am just worried it will suffocate my corals

I don't mean to insult your intelligence or anything but you could just pull it off the rock and throw it away. In fact, most clean up crew members that will help with hair algae will do a better job with eating it as it begins to grow and may simply ignore it when it is longer.

 

[Alexrd09]

None taken. The problem is its growing between the zoas and ox the xenia and i pull off what i can but it returns by every couple of days

 

[Tommy Gun]

Just for the record, I didn't mean to imply that your pulling it off the rock will result in the algae never coming back but instead, I'm only saying that you can remove it when/if it begins causing problems such as enveloping a coral.

I apologize if I missed it but the reason I asked if this algae looks somewhat like a feather or not is because the 'feather' version is probably Bryopsis. This is important because, as far as I know, there are very few inverts or fish which will eat it. Otherwise, perhaps adding to and/or changing your clean up crew members can help you control the algae growth. That is, in conjunction with other tactics as well (i.e. clean up crew members rarely solve the problem entirely without additional help).

 

[Alexrd09]

I recently ordered a cleaner crew but have noticed that my emerald crab will not touch the green algae. I have been pulling off what i can for but am trying to touch the corals as little as possible because i just super clued the frags to pieces of live rock yesterday evening. I hope that physically removing the algae along with weekly water changes will help stop the algae from continuing to spread. I am new to the hobby so any insight i receive will and has been usefull. Forgive me if I do not understand somethings i am slowly gathering knowledge.

 

[Justin_Toronto]

IMO, yes, there is such a thing as too much light but that applies in quite a few different ways. For example, having too much sunlight is a bad thing...keeping your lights on for too long is a bad thing...using the wrong spectrum of light and/or using old bulbs is a bad thing. On the other hand, a lot of light is good in many ways as well and I still think you can curb the algae growth in ways that are totally separate from light.

Somebody can correct me if I am wrong but I believe that many of the more common forms of algae can gain little or nothing from actinic lighting so if you want to observe your tank for longer periods of time, perhaps you can move toward a system which has at least two bulbs that you can control independently (which is what I do, for the most part).

Sorry to hijack the thread, but do you happen to know the recommended spectrum of lighting for controlling algae growth? I know for FW it's best to stick to the red/yellow bulbs for plant growth, but blue/purple lighting will cause an algae bloom mighty quick.

I'm curious since I just bought my lighting, and I noticed for SW everyone seems to go with the blue/purple lighting. I currently use one deep blue bulb (for corals) mixed with my flora-glo (yellow/sunlight) bulb from my FW planted setup.

 

[Alexrd09]

Ok so it has been a week and a half now and the algae seems to be relentless. My levels are
Nitrate: 0-5
Phosphate: somewhere between 0-0.25
Ammonia: 0
PH: 8.1
Calcium:400
ALKA: 120
Salinity: 1.023
temp: 76-80
Lights go on for 6 hours a day

Is there anything else i can do? its making my tank look horrible and i have to stick my hand in there easily once every 2 days to clean algae off of Zoas and other corals. I have also done two water changes 3 days apart i am planin on another one tommorow. I have also switched to DI/RO water

 

[Alexrd09]

Could this be because i have a 96w 50/50 on a 10gallon?