How is it possible?

[Frogspawn]

how is it possible for my hair algae problem to be getting worst?

like suggested ,i have done weekly water changes of 5g on a 30g tank thats 16%. leave my lights off or cut them back to only when i feed and i have added a cup of carbon to the filter.
since i have started to rescue this tank i have encountered one problem after another, a very thick protine film that has went away slighty but is still visable, and my green hair alage went from green to dark dark green and has spread all over the live rock and now working on the sand floor bottom.

what could be doing this? and why? no light, i feed every 3 days, and i have a protine skimmer running non stop.

any help would be great.
thanks
michael

 

[melosu58]

Ok Michael let`s take it one step at a time. Get a batch of SW made up and do a water test on it to make sure that you are not adding nitrates and phosphates and ammonia or nitrites to the tank. Post the results so we can see.

 

[Frogspawn]

PH-8.1
Ammo- 0ppm
Nitrite- 0ppm
Nitrate- looks a little darker then 0ppm but i think its the lighting.
phos- 0 i just got a new RODI seem to work well
I dont have a calcium test kit

i can say my Sg in my tank it a little hight like 1.035 i know thats a little high. been working on that slowly. temp stays about 73-75-degrees.

 

[Frogspawn]

by the way that came from my pre mixed SW i keep ready for when i need it. forgot to mention that in above post. i keep my Sw in a 55 gallon Rubbermaid trash-can with lid with maxi jet 1200 to keep it moving.

 

[roka64]

Wow, that salinity is very high and the temp is pretty low.
What are you tank's water parameters?

 

[melosu58]

Also what kind of lighting and how old are the bulbs?

 

[Frogspawn]

ph is 7.9ish
ammo 0ppm
natrite 0ppm
natrate <10ppm
my current lighting is the sunpac 150HQI lighting system with the 12 led lighting,
my bulb is about 4months old, i purchased some where around sept-or Oct. i will take a few gallons of my RO water and get that SG down tomorrow. i ididnt want to do it fast but if you think its high i will.

 

[Frogspawn]

is it possible for a candle i have burning in the room to be doing this?

 

[melosu58]

Salty Zoo -Hair Algae FAQ

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

Here is two good links on hair algea.

 

[Frogspawn]

great sites melosu,
i think i found out what is causing the dark green color all over my tank. i decided to take a turkey baster and see if i could blow it off, and to my surprise it blew right off the green hair algae with no difficulty at all. some stayed but i dont think i am dealing with alage at all. after confirming its not alage i started lookin for a source. i started looking around my tank and asked my room mate what else he did while i was gone. he said he put some carbon in my tank to help out..i was flabbergasted and knew right away what this stuff was. i rushed over to the house and started looking around and i found a pouch of carbon IN my tank stuck between the rocks buried in the center. this pouch leaching out this black soot as i touched it. i went to take it out and it looked like a mushroom cloud of coal dust exploding in my tank. it was not even tied up, this i found out as little pieces fell to the bottom of my aquarium.
i tried to gather most of the carbon up but cant get all of it due to the size and difficulty to grasp it between all my LR.

Will this carbon hurt my tank and how do i remove all this stuff?

will this soot be removed with my protein skimmer or should i get a small HOB to place in there for a little while?

and what happens to Carbon if left in Aquarium to long? i know its used to suck up but will it expel after awhile?

 

[melosu58]

When you do PWC`s try to take alot of it up then. That way alot of the dust will go up the siphon hose also.

 

[q3ick]

Sounds like you have way to much nitrogen

 

[Frogspawn]

where would the nitrogen be coming from? i dont have a vacuum tube i just use a hose and suck out the water, i can look at my LFS when i go there. I will try to buy one this weekend