Algae Overload

[eugeneevans]

So my tank now has a rampant growth of brown algae. My anenomes are doing great, corals great, emerald crabs are feasting. But the tank is puke brown and getting worse daily. Tomorrow I will be taking back the PoS skimmer I have and hopefully finding a good one. Ammonia and nitrates all showing zero to 0.25 and ph levels are good. WHAT DO I DO?!?!?!?!?

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[mr_X]

I would do water changes and cut back on feeding to about 2 times a week until the excess nutrients are under control. Any detectable ammonia is toxic to livestock.

 

[eugeneevans]

Ammonia's still reading at 0, what is the cause of this outbreak? Should I be setting up a diff tank for the livestock until my tank gets under control? Will the water changes help with the algae in the aspect of getting rid of it all or mostly??

 

[mr_X]

Algae is a sign of excessive nutrients. Water changes will reduce the nutrients which in turn will starve the algae. It's not a fast process, but it's what needs to happen. You are probably overfeeding. Remember, everything that goes in the tank must be removed by you, no matter if it's seems to have disappeared or not.

 

[eugeneevans]

Alright so I've removed a little less then half the water, and vacumed out alot of the algae at the top of the sand, scraped almost all the algae off the glass. . Now I have the water in buckets waiting to add. Once I get water back up I will test nitrates ammonia etc. and post.

As for over feeding I am giving 1 cube of food 2 times a day, I cut back to 1 cube 1 time a day and then to half a cube 2 times a day. What I am curious about is you say a overage of nutrients, I did notice all my fish seem to stay away from Mysis Shrimp for the most part and it seemed to settle at the bottom of the tank, is this what could of caused the algae to start? Now on the other hand Brine shrimp seem to be completly consumed at the smaller amounts of food, by all the inhabitants. Does this mean Ive got picky fish that will only eat certain foods? I ask because if this is the case I will keep in mind to vaccum out any excess foods in the future and stick to a stricter diet.

 

[mr_X]

How about cut back to 1 rinsed cube every other day for a while? And yes, that uneaten food is partially to blame, but ALL the food is responsible. Again, just because the fish eat it, doesn't mean it can't foul the water....it's still in the tank!

 

[eugeneevans]