Algae Bloom

[gg99free]

I restarted my sons tank, 28g, UGF, Fluval 204 with Bio-ChemZorb and
Bio Media, about 3 months ago. I let it run for about 1 month and
then added 5 White Clouds. 1 Cloud dissapeared and 1 other died, was
found and has since been removed. I've so far done 2 water changes.
1st water change was 2 weeks after I added the White Clouds and was
an 8g (28%) water change with R/O. The 2nd water change was 2 weeks
ago and was a 7.5g (25%) water change with R/O. My question is, why
is algae growing so fast? Could it be my non-found white cloud that
dissapeared? I now only have 3 white clouds and they seems to be
doing fine. The algae that's growing seems to be of the wavy, long,
thin, light green type. Does anyone know where I can look up what
type it is and how to combat it? I don't beleive in chemecals, since
it only masks the problem and doesn't really fix it. Should I change
out the Carbon/Bio-ChemZorb at this point? It still pretty unused,
especially at this low of a bio-load.

Sorry this post is so long.

Thanks for any help in advance. :?

P.S. - I'm new to fresh. Thanks.

 

[reefrunner69]

First let me say....

Now onto the question....
1) Do not use RO water in a F/W tank, unless you remineralize the water.
2) How long do you leave your light on? (if it is for your son, I assume it is also used as a night light)
3) Add some algae eating fish, I like otocinclus cats, or chinese algae eaters.
4) Even though you ran the tank for a month, it is still cycling and it is nutrient rich. The water changes are slowing the process.

 

[gg99free]

Light is on from 7am to 8:30pm or a total of 13.5hrs. The tank is a 28g Hex and the light is a 14w 15" SuperDaylight lamp. Would adding plants help any? What would be good to add for starters and this low light?

Will Chinese algae eaters eat the stringy stuff? I heard that they normally don't.

Should I not do water changes until the cycle is over? If I don't use R/O water, how do I avoid the abundance of phosphates and stuff?

Thanks for your help. As you probably already know, I do salt but have never done a fresh tank so this is all new to me.

Hope I don't come off kinda ignorant or pushy on the salt side of things(Reef Aquarium.info). I kinda feel like I want to share my knowledge but am afraid of making mistakes or not really knowing what I think I know. Thanks for all your help over there! You've corrected me a few times, Thankfully!

 

[fishfreek]

Well I dont know how constructive my input is going to be but I will just give you some advice based upon my 4 year experence with freshwater.

I used regular old tap water with a declorinator additive for water changes (when I did them) and top off.

I had a standard 1 strip NO florecent bulb over my 20H tank and I had no problem growing some plants. I cant tell you the names now cause I dont thinK I ever knew the plant names. Anyway I attribute the plant growth due to teh fact that I did not do water changes.

Most freshwater fish are tolerent of un pure water as in the natural enviorment they are always getting run off from the surrounding areas.

If you know anyone who has a freshwater tank and can talk them into giving you 1 cup of their substrate to borrow I can tell you how to end your cycle fast.

Get 1 cup of substrate from an established tank. Put it in a bowl and put the bowl in your tank. The bowl will be full of bactera and with the abundance of ammonia the bactera will reproduce quickly. After a very short time period your substrate will be loaded with bactera and you can return the substrate to the orgional tank if they want it back.

Just like adding LR or LS to a salt tank.

 

[reefrunner69]

Light is on from 7am to 8:30pm or a total of 13.5hrs. The tank is a 28g Hex and the light is a 14w 15" SuperDaylight lamp. Would adding plants help any? What would be good to add for starters and this low light?

Reduce to 10-12 hrs per day, unless you want a planted aquarium, that is plenty.

Will Chinese algae eaters eat the stringy stuff? I heard that they normally don't.

Not sure, about the chinese algae eaters, but the otos will, I had a hair algae problem in a cichlid (dwarfs) tank one time, and the otos cleaned it up pretty quick, they will also do better with tetras than they did with my cichlids. Munch.....

Should I not do water changes until the cycle is over? If I don't use R/O water, how do I avoid the abundance of phosphates and stuff?

RO water is fairly pure, water is also like a sponge. So....the water is going to get it's minerals somewhere, even if it pulls it right out of the fishes tissues 8O

These are only problems in Reef tanks because of the lighting and because high phosphates can prevent corals from depositing CA. In a S/W FO or a F/W FO this is not a problem because we ain't using high intensity light.

Thanks for your help. As you probably already know, I do salt but have never done a fresh tank so this is all new to me.

Still think F/W is easier? LOL :?

Hope I don't come off kinda ignorant or pushy on the salt side of things(Reef Aquarium.info). I kinda feel like I want to share my knowledge but am afraid of making mistakes or not really knowing what I think I know. Thanks for all your help over there! You've corrected me a few times, Thankfully!

Your doing fine George, we need all the help we can get......

 

[Hara]

I had the same problem. Some things that really helped was keeping the lights off for a couple of days, then for two hours, then 3 etc, gradually building back up to 10 hours a day.

If you are feeding twice a day, cut back to once a day for a few days.

Get a few fast growing live plants to compete for the food source.

I am a firm believer in the power of the Oto cat. The CAE tend to get way too mean as they get older.

Hope some of this is helpful

 

[CatfishFanatic]

The main reasons for algae problems are high concentrations of nitrates and phosphates. A test kit for each is a necessity as well as a good journal of what the levels are over time and what you have done that works and does not. If you can eliminate either nitrates or phosphates algae cannot grow (but then neither can live plants)...

The best thing for algae I have used has been rechargeable Nitra-Zorb from Aquarium Pharmaceuticals. It contains a bag of some solid chemical that absorbs nitrates from the tank over time. You are able to "recharge" and eliminate the nitrates from the product outside the tank and use it over and over. I was able to bring the nitrates concentration of my tank from 100 ppm to 20 ppm in less than 3 weeks (with at least 7 recharges). The pea-soup coloured water disappeared as the nitrates got lower.

I have not had much success with algae eating critters. I first tried the algae shrimp just to find out they need a brackish environment and do not last long in an all-fresh tank. I also have 2 flying fox. They are interesting fish but don't seem to eat much algae. I have a mystery snail that takes care of the algae on the sides of the aquarium but that seems to be all he eats. I have not been able to find the fabled oto to give that one a try.

Another good thing to do for a fresh-water tank is live plants. They will compete for the nutrients the algae need and always have the advantage. You do need to fertilize them though. I always use aquarium fertilizers that do not contain phosphates or nitrates (since the fish food contains enough to go around). Good plants to start with are java fern and spiral val. Both grow fast and are quite tolerant of varying water conditions (as well as available in most aquarium shops).

Good luck with the tank and welcome to fresh-water fun...