Algae Question

[rdnelson99]

I am at the end of my fishless cycle and just about to start adding livestock. I have a 45 gal tank with 40 lbs of live sand, 20 lbs of live rock, 10 lbs of base rock and a canister filter. A little while ago I notice the beginnings of an algae outbreak on my LR. It wasn’t bad and for a while it started to go away. It now seems to be maintaining at a consistent level and not really going crazy. I first thought it was Hair Algae and figured I would have to address it as soon as my cycle completed. Today, I did some research and I don’t know that it is hair algae. It is an emerald green color and looks like someone’s hair would look when a crew cut is just starting to grow out. From what I have seen on-line hair algae grows to be quite long.

I know excess nutrients, lighting and phosphates will make algae growth a problem and no I am not using RO/DI water. I am currently just running tap water through a good filter but not an RO/DI filter. Before I bite the bullet and spend the money on a good RO/DI my thoughts were to get my CUC going and just keep an eye on it to see if it starts to come under control. Is this a bad idea?


Don't be afraid to be brutal. I can take it.

[carey]

LOL, no brutality from me! I would go with the ro/di, it's about $70 and if you were to get cleanup crew you would be spending about $30 or more, so the machine would be your best bet in my opinion.

I've been learning that buying livestock to fix a problem isnt always the best approach. The ro/di will pay for itself pretty quick too, and help you avoid further issues.

Another thought is your lighting schedule, how long are they on? That is probably also fueling the algae.

Here's the ro/di I use and several others as well. If you want to hardwire it into your plumbing they provide an adaptor for it, BUT they also will give you a garden hose or faucet adaptor if you ask. I use the gardenhose hookup for mine.

0PPM Portable 100GPD Reverse Osmosis DI Filter PO4B-100 - eBay (item 380331542539 end time Aug-08-11 15:01:18 PDT)

[rdnelson99]

I know my lighting should be cut back some but I am stubborn. LOL What good is having a gorgeous tank (well maybe someday) if you can't look at it. LOL Right now I have it running about 10 hours. Like I said, the algae doesn't seem to be getting any worse but I guess any visible algae is a bad thin huh?

[Grizz]

IMO A little algae is a good thing the fish will pick at thereby getting some of the bennifits of a garden salad it also acts as a buffer for NitrAtes yes it will release them back into tank IF it dies. All healthy tanks have some thats .02 It seems odd to me that we try so hard to be rid of it when most food has some in the mix.

[rdnelson99]

Originally Posted by Grizz

IMO A little algae is a good thing the fish will pick at thereby getting some of the bennifits of a garden salad it also acts as a buffer for NitrAtes yes it will release them back into tank IF it dies. All healthy tanks have some thats .02 It seems odd to me that we try so hard to be rid of it when most food has some in the mix.

The Nitrates that are released back into the water should be handled by PWC if you are judicial right? From my FW days way back when, I made it a habit to do it every Sat. or Sun. morning. My plan is to do the same here especially since I have a canister and not a sump.

[Grizz]

yes that's about the only way to remove them is with PWC's

[rdnelson99]

Originally Posted by carey

LOL, no brutality from me! I would go with the ro/di, it's about $70 and if you were to get cleanup crew you would be spending about $30 or more, so the machine would be your best bet in my opinion.

I've been learning that buying livestock to fix a problem isnt always the best approach. The ro/di will pay for itself pretty quick too, and help you avoid further issues.

Another thought is your lighting schedule, how long are they on? That is probably also fueling the algae.

Here's the ro/di I use and several others as well. If you want to hardwire it into your plumbing they provide an adaptor for it, BUT they also will give you a garden hose or faucet adaptor if you ask. I use the gardenhose hookup for mine.

0PPM Portable 100GPD Reverse Osmosis DI Filter PO4B-100 - eBay (item 380331542539 end time Aug-08-11 15:01:18 PDT)

Hey Carey, I purchased this unit but went for the 150 gallon per day option. I ran it about 18 hours to clear the silicates and then started collecting water. After about 13.5 hours I have about 1 gallon. Doesn't seem right to me. Can you shed any light on this?

[carey]

Hmm not sure....I get about 5 gallons an hour out of mine. I only ran it for about 10 gallons though to sclear it out when I first got it.

Hows your water pressure? I have mine hooked up to a garden hose and get pretty decent pressure.

[rdnelson99]

Originally Posted by carey

Hmm not sure....I get about 5 gallons an hour out of mine. I only ran it for about 10 gallons though to sclear it out when I first got it.

Hows your water pressure? I have mine hooked up to a garden hose and get pretty decent pressure.

I posted my question in the equipment section and someone asked if it has an adjustable flow control on the waste side. I believe it does but I didn't realize it was adjuastable. Going to check it out now. While I have not put a pressure guage on it it sure appears I have plenty of water pressure. I too have it attached to a hose bib.

[rdnelson99]

Originally Posted by carey

Hmm not sure....I get about 5 gallons an hour out of mine. I only ran it for about 10 gallons though to sclear it out when I first got it.

Hows your water pressure? I have mine hooked up to a garden hose and get pretty decent pressure.

Can anyone say Homer Simpson???? I thought you could. I checked a bit closer this morning and found that one of the lines was kinked. Fixed that and I am MAKING WATER!!!!