GreenAlgae Problem

[CluelessInNY]

I have my 20 gallon now for two months. I just returned my damselfish for store credit and bought some live rock. I know, I know...I did things backwards. Anyway, my problem is with algae. It's gowing profusely all over the live sand and the glass of the aquarium. It's dark green and grows in a matter of one day! I try stirring it and burying it, but it grows back fully in 24 hours. No idea if this is normal or if there is something wrong.
Also, I've added some ornaments (fake plants, a sculpture) to the tank. Do those have to be cleaned when I do water changes? How do I keep algae off the ornaments?

 

[roka64]

Clueless, I am going to split this into it's own thread, called Green Algae Problem

 

[roka64]

What are your water parameters?
How much/often/what are you feeding?
How long do you run your lights?
Do you have a filter with foam?
Yes, I would clean your ornaments.

 

[CluelessInNY]

I have a confession which will make everyone hate me. I haven't tested my water in two whole weeks because I went away on buisness and got lazy.....BUT....my last measures from 4/24 were
Ammonia .25
Alk - normal
NitrIte 10
NitrAte .2
pH 7.8
Spec Grav - fine
Temp 80 degrees
Single bulb / I leave the light on for 12 hours per day
20 gallon tank 60 days into cycle
I returned my damsel today and added 8 lbs of live rock after the pet store guy tested my sample and said it was okay to proceed. (Eeesh!)
Anyway, this sounds like I overfed my damsel and it ALSO sounds like I need to cycle all over again
How do I kill this algae which is carpeting my live sand?

 

[tamra&steven]

whats your phosphate at?
you should get your ph up higher is low and you should get your nirite and nitrate and ammonia done to 0 vac the sand dont just stir it up then whatch your parameters

 

[CluelessInNY]

This is what my tank looks like...see the algae? That's 3 hours after I cleared it out!!!!

 

[cmor1701d]

Was the LR fully cured? If not, or if it was out of water for any length of time it could have caused the start of a new mini-cycle. I would do a 20% PWC and vaccum the sand bed at that time. Please test your water parameters before the PWC and again the day after the PWC to see where things stand.

What is the SG reading and what are you using to get that reading?
Are you using RODI water, treated tap, or something else for both top off and PWCs?

That single bulb light is what kind of light? Normal output, PC, T5, MH?

Kill the light for now. There's nothing in the tank that requires light from what I can see.

 

[CluelessInNY]

I will do chemical tests tonight.
Killing the light sounds like good advice. I'll leave it off from now on. I thought the LR might need it.
The LR is cured, and there is no fish in there right now.

 

[melosu58]

FantasyReef Databases-Viewing item "10 Step Plan for Nuisance Algae Control"

Try this plan out

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

If it's reappearing that quick, I'm guessing its cyanobacteria. Excess nutrients (nitrates and phosphates) and excess lighting will just fuel it. Don't stir it or try to bury it - just siphon it out with some of the sand. It'll come back, but stirring it up just makes things worse. Work on the list that melosu58 linked to and you'll probably get over it.

Just another comment about the tank picture - you can take that air intake tube off your powerhead. All it's doing is creating a bunch of microbubbles in your tank which aren't really helping with aeration. In SW, most of the aeration occurs at the surface of the tank, and in a skimmer. That's why its important to have good surface "ripple."

Watch your ammonia and nitrite and don't add anything live until both those go back to zero. You might see a little mini cycle after adding the rock.

PS... Also looks like you're going to want some additional flow in there. Is it just that single powerhead right now, pointing up? You'll probably want a couple additional powerheads on each end, in the back corners, pointing diagonal across the tank making kind of an "x". The additional flow should help from getting dead spots in your tank where cyano likes to set up camp.

 

[CluelessInNY]

Thanks guys.

Kurt, is a submersible powerhead a good idea?
I'll turn off the bubbles....it seemed like my damselfish liked to play in them

I'll also try keeping the lights off. And I'll add some snails once my NitrItes and ammonia tail back down to zero.

I might also invest in some more rock. Looks kinda scant in there. Oh, also, I did a 25% water change yesterday.

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

Thanks guys.

Kurt, is a submersible powerhead a good idea?

Not sure what you mean... as I mentioned, you're most likely going to want more flow in there. Most folks shoot for between 10x and 20x their tank size in circulation turnover per hour. For example, if you have a 30 gallon tank, you should plan for a combined powerhead and filter pump capacity of 300 to 600 gallons/hour. You'll find the gallons/hour rating on either the powerhead itself, or somewhere in the literature that came with it.

 

[CluelessInNY]

I was looking at a "submersible" powerhead today. Apparently, you can stick it in the substrate and circulate the water entirely below the surface.
No idea what that means either, but apparently it exists.

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

All powerheads are submersible. You either suction cup them to your side glass, or use magnetic mounts. I highly recommend magnetic mounts.

 

[roka64]

That submersible may be part of an undergravel filter, which you don't want. Look at the Hydor Korelias, I love mine.

 

[CluelessInNY]

Update: killing the lights has helped! two days after blacking out the tank, I have much less algae!!!
My tanks is humming along at normal alk, nitrA 2.5, nitrI .05, pH 8.0, and ammonia .25
I can hear my clownfish calling in a couple of weeks

 

[Ziggy953]

I agree with Kurt. Also you will probably want to add much more LR to your tank. For good filtration you will want 1.5 to 2lbs per gallon. The top you have on your tank is going to give you issues with your PH down the road. Also the power head you have you can take the air inlet off you don't need it in a SW tank. It will turn your tank into a giant skimmer not to mention add to the salt creep on your hood.

From the numbers you posted it looks like your tank never fully cycled but you are on your way. Add some more LR and or base rock to your tank add more flow and siphon out the cyano.

 

[CluelessInNY]

The hood is a pH problem waiting to happen? How so? UGH!
I thought I recorded a nitrAte spike on 4/17 of 10. I've had the tank for almost two months and had a Damsel in there until this past weekend. The LFS guy said it's okay to take her out and add some rock if I wished. I'll defintiely add some more LR this weekend. sounds like I need 40 lbs of the stuff, but at $9/lbs., I will only add maybe 10 more lbs as budget allows.

 

[roka64]

The hood will reduce the O2 exchange, thus lowering your pH. I had a lid on and couldn't keep a higher pH and I got tired of using a pH buffer (I like to do things the natural way, as much as possible).
Check out dry base rock or lace rock, it's a lot more cheaper.

 

[CluelessInNY]

Alright, we are week into my tiny LR collection of 8 lbs. and I've heard the advice here about upping htat amount and maybe adding something called "base rock", which might run a bit cheaper. Sooooo, the questions at hand are...
1) what is base rock?
2) am I upsetting bioload with the added rock?
3) do accesories like plastic plants, plastic ornaments, etc add to the bioload or affect chemical balance?
4) is it okay to add a clean-up crew yet, or is that for after I add the clownfish?