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matty

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Jan 10, 2004
Messages
36
Location
BC
I know this has been brought up many times before however I'd like everyones opinion.

First off I filled my tank with about 250lb of PLAY SAND (silica base was all I had available I also have a 20 gallon refuge that I put 20lb of KENT BIO-SAND and a 175 MH 6500k with 1 24" actinic NO, Now the problem is I have a really bad algae problem It's completly covered the refuge so much that I can't see the back glass through the brown hairs coming off the rocks and it looks like it's suffocating my LR, However the algae is not growing on the sand only the rock, My phosphates are really high at 5.0 the tank has been up for about 4 weeks (Approx.) Nirite=0, ammonia=0, nitrate=20. Is the algae caused by the sand? or by the excess phosphates? I only have 4 NO bulbs on the main tank and there is very little algae, however I'm afraid If I turn on the 3 400watt MH the whole tank will look like the refuge and I'll have a heck of A mess if the algae doesn't go away

If you think the sand is whats doing it then I'll have to bite the bullet and pay $3 a pound for argonite sand and redo the tank However if there is someone who has used SILICA SAND before and the algae went away let me know.

Everyone opinion is very much appreciated and sorry if I've repeated other posts.

Thanks.
 
I used silica sand on my tank. I was full of diatoms for about 1.5 months and then went away and i havn't had any trouble with algae since. I think it just takes a while for the silica that is going to leech out to be used up.


HTH

rosstifer
 
Your hair algae is stemmed from your PO4 and your nitrates. I would turn the MH off and start water changes with RO/DI water. Manually remove as much of the algae as possible during each change. I personally don't think you need that much light on a fuge, unless your trying to keep SPS is your fuge, I wonder if the nature of the fuge might also contribute to an algae problem with that much light.
 
Well I turned out my lights and I've got about a 25% water change mixing overnight, I'll try doing water changes all week and try my readings next week again.
 
Well a couple of water changes later and my levels are WACKED
amonia 0
trite .2
trate .2
phos .4

And to top it all of my water is very clowdy?????

What next?
 
my levels are WACKED

Your levels appear to be better save for the nitrite. Test again tomorrow and if it is still high...verify the test by taking a sample to the LFS. I would look to a couple of things, first the algae is dying off and that is elevating the nitrites or there are nitrites in your source water.
 
I'm using RO water for my changes and just to make sure I tested it for trites + phosphate and turned up 0 on both so I'll test tommorow and take some water in and reply with the results

Oh about the clowdyness, is that normal?

Thanks again for your help!!!

:D
 
Hmmmm, Interesting post. Thought I'd give you some of my thoughts, of course, please only take these as 'thinking out loud.'

It seems (as mentioned by RR) that the peak in Nitrites is likely due to the algae dying off (or perhaps worse off, something else dying off as a result of being crowded out by the algae). None the less, it may also be related to your biological filteration not being able to adjust quickly enough to this new bio-load. This would then be directly related to the available surface area in the bio-filter. Clear that much of your LR helps with this but in spikes due to small-scale catastrophes you need something that can step in and adjust to handle the new load. My preference for this is an inexpensive Fluidized Bed filter. They are known throughout the aquaculture industry as being the quickest bio-filters to adjust to spikes and troughs in bio-loads.

The cloudy water (assuming it's not green cloudy) is a good indicator of this type of problem as it is likely due to a bacterial bloom. Not sure on this, just a thought.

Also - yep, water changes, water changes, water changes, RO water, RO water, RO water :) Simple, time-consuming, effective.

Tom
 
Well My levels are now as follows

Amonia=0
Nitrite=0.1
Nitrate=20
Phos=1
Alk=300
:D

I just added another 50lb of LR and tested

Amonia=0
Nitrite=.8
Nitrate=30
Phos=1
Alk=300
:|

Isn't the amonia supposed to go up as well?

Anyway just thought I'd keep you posted Thanks again for all the help.

This is by far the most helpfull forum out there. :D
 
I have a thought or two. If your live animals are OK, why don't you ease up for a week or so.
That is, from the 21st to the 27th, you have been changing the conditions of your system what seems like several times a day and looking for results w/in 24 hours.
I don't know how accurate that observation is, but it that is what it looks like.
You will not see overnight results, so just relax and fix one problem at a time. Chances are, you will fix many problems if you target your energy on the most likely.
So, think, what could be causing an increase in algae? Not silica (sand), but phosphates and nitrogen-containing compounds...Nitrates, nitrites and ammonia. These chemicals promote algae and plant growth. How to get rid of them...water changes with SW made with Distilled (or RO) water, addition of live rock and/or a good filter/skimmer. But every time you make huge changes to your system, your system needs time to adjust. Pull out all of the "algae food" and the algae will die, rot, and pollute your system to some extent. Your luck is that ammonia has stayed low up to now. Have a sensitive nose? Keep sniffing! You may be able to smell it.
The main message...I believe all of these guys are on target. But you need to be a little more patient, the bacteria you need tons of don't grow overnight.
But, come to think of it, I did see some bacterial additive of some sort at my LFS. That may help to speed up the process.
I hope this helps. :D
 
I am not sure, but would turning on all the lights help? Seems to me that would increase the whole bloom on both ends- algae and bacteria, that would accelerate the process as well as keep the LR from too much die off..
 
Your beneficial bacteria are really inside the LR, in your substrate, and in your biofilter (if you have one). I would not worry about the light for them.
The algae is good to remove those things bad for the fish, but can be detrimental as well. I would do 4 to 6 hours max of light daily. Additionally, you really need to get some sort of filter going. Are you running under gravel right now? How about a skimmer? Biofilter?

Again, do only one thing at a time, give it a few days to have a result, then move on if the result is not what you desire.
I have not had problems with extremes in my tank, so I am lucky. But I live in MI, our water (well water) has high iron, calcium, and I think phosphate. But man, do things grow!
When I went to RO water, a lot of my animals were unhappy.
So I am of the opinion that if you have algae growing in a controlled manner, your tank should be pretty healthy!
I have a book you should look in to. It describes a normal reef ecosystem. It may help.
If you get this, reply to me and I will get you the name!
Sorry it took so long to get back to you, I was not paying attention and didn't know you replied until today!
 
There must be some mistake here. I just looked at your photos and they do not look like what was described to me.
I wonder if I am mistaking you for someone else?
 
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