Algae problem.....

[Bully82]

Help...
I'm having a constant battle with algae on my rock & sand. The sand gets covered in brown/green algae & the rocks are covered in red & brown algae, which traps the bubbles released from my skimmer! Is this normal? Would a more efficient CUC help? Only got 4 snails & 1 crab at the moment.
My tank has been running since the end of last year. It's a 55 gallon tank with approx 40Lb of live rock & approx 50lb of live sand. I run the lights from 10am to 6pm & only feed every 2-3 days.
Any help would be much appreciated.

 

[redsea]

Have you tested your water parameters lately? Sometimes high parameters can create a lot of algae.

 

[Bully82]

Parameters are all good. Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0 & nitrate 0. Using API test kit

 

[redsea]

Hmmm.

You could try some Mexican Turbo Snails, I have a few and I really like them. They completely plow through some kinds of algae. Not sure exactly what types they eat though.

If you do get some be warned that they can and will knock of coral/ small pieces of rock.

 

[Bully82]

Ok. Think I will get a few & see if they help. Thanks for your help

 

[Sergie]

The first pic looks like Cyanobacteria. It's not trapping bubbles from your skimmer, those are bubbles from the gas it produces. You're not going to find anything that eats it either. Best bet would be a PWC and vacuum up what you can. Keep your parameters stable and make sure you have adequate water movement over that area. Most algae do not need much in terms of nutrients to survive and thrive. This is especially true with Cyano. It's very opportunistic and spreads quickly with little nutrients.
Also your algae is eating the nutrients which is why your tests read the way they do. I find it hard to believe that a tank with algae would truly have 0 nitrates. Check for phosphates also. If you're not using water filtered through Reverse Osmosis then you should probably make the switch.

 

[Sergie]

Also, depending on your livestock, I would add another 15-20 lbs of live rock. It would help with your filtration leading to more stable parameters and less nutrients.

 

[Bully82]

Hmm, that doesn't sound too good. Done a PWC today. I will try scraping some more of it off. I have a UV steriliser that I haven't installed. Do you think that would help? All my parameters seem stable. I do 15% PWC every other week & nitrate never gets past 0- 5ppm. I will get some more rock soon though.

 

[Bully82]

Forgot to say I've been using R/O water & have been putting Rowaphos in my canister filter to try & reduce phosphate. Not got a phosphate test kit as yet though. Makes sense that the algae feeding on the nitrate is giving a false reading

 

[Sergie]

I don't think the sterilizer will help much but I really don't know too much about them. What's the flow like in the tank?

 

[Bully82]

I have 2 power heads. 1 either side of the tank & the return from the filter. Here's a pic of the setup