just need confirmation.

[chizzle]

Alright...where to start...theres a couple of factors going on here so I'll try to make it as clear as possible. Oh, btw, my info isnt current, so I'll updated that as soon as I'm done with this. I just remembered The lights are new though - that is vital information. And we are running them for 10 hours total.

First, we've started buying RO/DI water from our LFS. I watched them test their levels & I double checked them when we got home, and there are no excess phosp. or anything unusual in the water. Just thought I'd throw that out there.

Yesterday I noticed there was a single spot of green hair algae on the glass next to the power head. I moved the power head out further from the glass and wrote it off as it wasn't getting enough circulation.

Today, I look at the tank & there is hair algae sprouting up all over the back glass, and there are bubbles everywhere. It's to the point of my sand is clumping up, and the rocks are completely covered. There is a single spot of cyno, and I turned one of the power heads to point directly at that. I immediately turned off the lights. But there bubbles are even in spots where power heads are pointed directly at them.

Tomorrow we are planning on doing a PWC, and I'll deep clean everything. All the water levels tested out at 0 (even nitrates) and we are only feeding every other day.

I'm assuming this is an algae bloom from the lights, so I will cut that back until this is under control. I just wanted to make sure that this is normal, and there could be no other possibilities.

Aside from cutting down the lights, siphoning, and PWCs, anything else that we can do? Any other causes anyone can think of? Thanks for all the help & sorry for the long post.

 

[melosu58]

Check out these few links to see if you are missing anything

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/article_view.php?faq=2&fldAuto=14

http://www.fantasyreef.com/showthread.php?t=478

I`m also going to move this to the proper forum. It seems you know what it is but want info on what to do. Moving to SW reef aquaria

 

[chizzle]

Thanks melosu, your links are always the best

Hopefully cutting down on the lights will take care of it. Maybe there is some other element in the RO/DI water from the LFS that is causing this?

Thank you!

Oh, and thanks for the move. I didn't realize I had posted in the inappropriate forum until after I hit submit.

 

[melosu58]

One thing about getting water from the LFS and dont get me wrong I got it from mine for 6 yrs but we dont know when they change their filters and membranes. That is why I finally got my own but I saw where you were checking it out with your water test. Hope all works out.

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

Have you recently started dosing with Ca, say with a 2-part additive? I noticed some changes with my "algae balance" shortly after I started dosing with a 2-part additive, and that was the only change made to my tank. It was nothing major like you're describing, but it's just a thought.

 

[chizzle]

No, I'm not dosing with anything - which is one of the reasons I'm so perplexed. Everything seems right but its not adding up. I'm hoping a third party will bring up something my boyfriend & I haven't thought of. Thanks for the suggestion though

 

[Ziggy953]

Have you checked your phosphate levels?

 

[melosu58]

First, we've started buying RO/DI water from our LFS. I watched them test their levels & I double checked them when we got home, and there are no excess phosp. or anything unusual in the water.

 

[tecwzrd]

Most algae needs nutrients/light to feed off of and even though your pwc water contains 0 po4 you still add a little po4 to your tank every time you feed. Reducing feedings help but doesn't eliminate po4.

Testing for po4 in the tank can be pointless as well since algae will consume most of it giving you a false reading. If you have any trace of po4 in the tank then more then likely it's higher then what the test actually shows.

New lighting can also be a contributing factor but usually not as extreme as you are talking about.

Do you still have the HOB filter? Do you clean it weekly? IME HOB filters really need to be cleaned weekly to maintain proper levels. I also highly recommend using Purigen & occasional use of PhosBan in the canister instead of GAC to keep the tank crystal clear and no3/po4/algae free.

 

[roka64]

I agree with the rest. Does the HOB have a biowheel?

 

[chizzle]

Okay, well today was a crazy day for me and my boyfriend so we didn't get a chance to do the PWC. He said he only turned the lights on for about 2 hours. I didn't even get a chance to see the tank today, but according to my boyfriend all the bubbles are gone, but he didn't comment on the hair algae or the spot of cyno. Like I said, it was a crazy day.

As for the HOB filter, we do clean it when we do partial water changes - but that's not every week. We'll work on that. I suppose we could just do without, but for some reason it comforts me It isn't a biowheel - it just has the filter media with the GAC inside of it. Well, only on one side now because we replaced the other side with rock rubble.

Thanks to everyone for all the help & suggestions - we'll do the PWC, siphon & I'll let you know how things go in the next day or two.

Kind of a side note and just out of curiosity - does pH have any effect on algae or vise versa?

 

[roka64]

It isn't a biowheel - it just has the filter media with the GAC inside of it.

Keep in mind, that GAC can possibly host nitrAtes. I haven't run it in my 55G in quite a few months.

Kind of a side note and just out of curiosity - does pH have any effect on algae or vise versa?

To answer simply, not really, unless the swing is very drastic, IMO. The higher the pH, the more movement you have, which should keep the area of dead spots down, not allowing it to take root and spread.

 

[loyalrogue]

One thing about getting water from the LFS and dont get me wrong I got it from mine for 6 yrs but we dont know when they change their filters and membranes.

How timely...
I just bought a TDS meter recently, and found out that the RO/DI water I'm getting from my LFS is reading about 130ppm, about the same as our tap water after being run thru my Brita water pitcher.
Our raw tap water is around 300ppm.