Algae Phenomenon explosive problems HELP

[scoot15638]

Well, my little nanoreef has gone through basically hell, for the last 2 years with algae, from nice times, where my tank has been quiet, then explosive algae blooms have crapped up all my nice coral. Well, after losing the battle trying everything possible, i got new live rock for my tnak, and that seemed to work great for about 6 months, then my light blew up, and i got a new ballast, and a new light(same wattage) well brown algae has taken over once again, covering up everything, except for my flourescent leather, well, i think its dinoflagellates, its definitely not cyano, brown carpeting "crap" algae, i brush off with a toothbrush every day, and it grows back every day, ive gotten, chemipure, because the idiots at my lfs said it would work great. and he threw in a 10$ phosphate pad for free, which he said would work great, so i use both of those, and they havent done a damn thing, ive done everything, i think if my luck wasnt bad, i could probably write a book on how to get rid of algae, because my techniques work on everyone but me, ive lessened the light time, waited, to see if it would pass(yea i didnt have time for a while to scrub it off the rocks), what else, i only use RO/DI water that i get from my LFS, water changes, new lights, hell, on the 6 gallon, i have an aquaclear 30 running on it, (biggest size i can fit), what else..... ive added some of that beneficial algae to my tank like chaeto, macroalgae stuffs, and ive left the lights off for a weekend straight, ive done it all, i dont think the solution is buying new live rock every 6 months, but it probably has to do with the fact i have a bunch of coral and a fish, and shrimp in that 6 gallon, and the decaying material probably builds up and everything, but i thought putting a bad ass filter on it would do the trick, henceforth a filter made for a 30 gallon tank, but in the filter, anyone suggest anything better than the biological media, that they put in the packages? im thinking that might have something to do with it too, but i dunno see if you experts have any suggestions, because ive tried it all. Believe me, so anything, to this devil algae problem, and yea i ramble alot, but oh well, any help will do

 

[DragonForce]

Feed every 3 days, do 25% pwcs WEEKLY until algae is gone. You need to ditch those HOB filters unless you are running carbon.

-Also when you do all this scrubbing all you are doing is spreading it EVERYWHERE and since you have no fixed what causes the algae you just get a huge explosion of algae, get what I'm saying?

-We need you to tell us what kind of livestock you have, what size tank, powerheads? what type? what are your water params? nitrate? phosphate?

 

[scoot15638]

Ok dude, i feed my fish every 3 days ish, because yea i forget to feed every now and then, and no i dont overfeed, and i do a 1 gallon water change weekly, and my filter does have carbon, its an aquaclear 30, those are made for like 20 gallon tanks, and i have a powerhead on it, i dont know how much it circulates, but enough so the tank isnt a giant wirlpool, and the tank is 6 gallons, with like an inch and a half substrate, my nitrates arent too high, but im sure the phosphates are high, or something, i dunno, the livestock is, percula clown, clown goby, and a cleaner shrimp, coral, i have a rock with some GSP, 2 frags of flourescent leather, a nice rock with ric. mushrooms, and some zoos, and other various things mostly polyps and such, nothing over stocked, but it looks nice when there isnt algae.

 

[MarineFlake]

Ok dude, i feed my fish every 3 days ish, because yea i forget to feed every now and then, and no i dont overfeed,

Not the same. Your forgetting is just insight to your tank husbandry. As suggested cut your feeding even further. If its every three days now, move to either every 4 days or cut *way* back on what you are dumping in each feeding. Most algea issues are self induced...you guessed it, over-feeding. I feed a stocked 75G twice a week with flakes on wed and 3/4 cube of either form I or II on Sun., thats it. All fish are *very* colorful and healthy.

and i do a 1 gallon water change weekly

Ok technically *not* the 25% suggested. 1.5g would be 25%. I would move to 2 gallons min per wc. Check your source RO/DI water for po4 and nitrates. Some LFS are not quick to replace filters or membranes as they should. This is in turn means your starting out with less that pristine water and in a 6G nano thats bad bad bad. Also, are you topping off with the same RO/DI water or using some other water source for top off? Only ro/di for making fresh salt water and top off. One last thing..Switch salt brands lately?

and my filter does have carbon, its an aquaclear 30, those are made for like 20 gallon tanks, and i have a powerhead on it, i dont know how much it circulates, but enough so the tank isnt a giant wirlpool, and the tank is 6 gallons, with like an inch and a half substrate,

Do you have enough LR? If so I would dump the filter all together. Most folks tend to not keep up with replacing the filter every week which is crucial to the filter not becoming part of the problem. Dirty pads lead to nitrate factories. Let your LR do its job. Do you have a skimmer on it? Time for one if not. 1.5 in of substrate does nothing for the tank, just for looks. A DSB would be 3 or 4 inches min. You need plenty of LR to house plenty of the bacteria that help keep the 'cycle' going. Running carbon is great...if you need to run it.

my nitrates arent too high, but im sure the phosphates are high, or something, i dunno, the livestock is, percula clown, clown goby, and a cleaner shrimp, coral, i have a rock with some GSP, 2 frags of flourescent leather, a nice rock with ric. mushrooms, and some zoos, and other various things mostly polyps and such, nothing over stocked, but it looks nice when there isnt algae.

You know you have a nitrate problem and have no measure of po4, ammonia, etc? Back to the basics..You need to have your water tested. Anything in the way of po4 thats over .02 ppm can cause algea issues. Nitrates in that small of a tank will also be a problem. Not being too high is not a great indication. Lets say they need to be about 5ppm or less...Really more like 2ppm or 0 preferably. As for stock, I'd say a clown and goby are a bit much for a 6G tank. I would think a 10g would be the smallest tank to house a clown in. Ditto for the clown goby. I would pick one or the other to take back to the LFS. Lots of questions to ask to get a more accurate picture of how this has progressed but from what you have given here, this is my advice.

Peace.

 

[roka64]

I have another suggestion. Many people have experienced a diatom bloom when they replaced their lights.

 

[melosu58]

Two things I would consider is one doing more frequent PWC`s. I would do 2 or 3 a week. I know the norm is weekly but drastic measures call for drastic actions. I would do a 2 gallon PWC every time you do one till you have this under control. Also as mentioned earlier I would check out your source water. Preform water checks on it to make sure you are not adding to the problem. Here are some links to check out 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

http://www.fantasyreef.com/showthread.php?t=1843

 

[physicsdude]

see scoot- great place to get help!

 

[Ziggy953]

I agree with PC!! Great advice!

 

[lando]

This problem is a huge PITA, but it can be over-come. First things first...get a PO4 test kit and see what your levels are at. Test your tank water and your source water. Using RO/DI water does not guarantee it is free of PO4, especially if it comes from the LFS. Also, can you discribe the type of food you feed the tank and the technique used when feeding?

 

[scoot15638]

well, i feed my fish by taking a small pinch of food, putting it over the water, dropping the food, then observing as my fish eats it, i go from brine shrimp to flake food, but i use the drop the food in the water technique for both of em, its pretty complicated i guess, but i tested the PO4, its never usually high, i mean i tested and saw amounts, but nothing dangerous, the levels were all low, yea, i am a sarcastic person, but i got some help from someone in the PM box, im gonna try his advice

 

[StrongBad]

Sarcasm aside I'm sure Lando was curious about what and how you feed since it can impact how much extra junk you add to the tank. Flakes for instance are pinched and dropped over the side after which you observe the fish feeding, good call. But its recommended to remove the extra food the fish dont eat after giving them 5 minutes to eat as much as they can. If you feed frozen brine or mysis shrimp it can help lower nitrate introduction if you let the cube thaw and rinse it before introducing it into the tank. These methods helped me greatly reduce my nitrates.

 

[lando]

well, i feed my fish by taking a small pinch of food, putting it over the water, dropping the food, then observing as my fish eats it, i go from brine shrimp to flake food, but i use the drop the food in the water technique for both of em, its pretty complicated i guess,

It sounds like it...I am very surprised you managed to figure it out. I ask specific questions for specific reasons. However...I will now "bow out". It sounds like you have things well under control with your tank.

 

[physicsdude]

well, i guess the wording of the question triggered the sarcasm. i suppose the question that should have been asked instead of the feeding techniqueis what does scoot do with the leftover food? i personally try to feed to little than to much, but thats just me. i must admit the feeding technique thing was a little odd given the way most people treat feeding as routine. i think thats why it was given a sarcastic answer. im not try to offend anyone, just smooth over this issue to get back to the algae problems.

if scoot gets the seachem purigen and seagel, i think it will cure his alage problem. they look like they will do the trick.

 

[melosu58]

if scoot gets the seachem purigen and seagel, i think it will cure his alage problem. they look like they will do the trick.

These are band aid solutions. They only cover up the real problem. We need to find out what is fueling this algea and cut it out. Personally we dont need to know if you are a sarcastic person or not. We just need to know are you willing to help yourself and do you really want good advice. The advice given was pretty sound. I`ve seen it work time and time again. I would suggest also that you go to the nano forum as maybe the guys over there can help with their nano experience.

 

[Hara]

Bottom line is ANY nitrate and ANY phosphate will fuel the algae. Your water changes are not sufficiently adequate to help combat the problem. You mention the aquaclear filter. When is the last time the sponge was rinsed? Also, carbon will lose its efficiency within a week of being replaced.

You do not tell us if you are vacuming the substrate or anything else to get rid of detritus.

When you feed the brine, are you straining out the shrimp from the water it has thawed in?

All of these are things to consider.

Also, one other item..kill the sarcasm and more people will be willing to help you. We don't get paid to do this, so therefore, no one really has to put up with it. Play nice.

 

[scoot15638]

yea, im not too worried about the nitrates, ive been using the same techniques with feeding/amounts/whatever for the last four years, ive only come up to the problem like recently, and yea i do siphon out the crap in the sand with the smallest siphon hose i can find, but when i do a water change that doesnt help fuel the algae, ive noticed when i take alot of the detritus out of the sand, thats when the algae blooms start getting out of control, which is wierd, but i have noticed that
i wasnt being sarcastic, i was giving a detailed explanation on how i feed my fish, you all seemed interested WTF?!?

 

[Ziggy953]

Could it be that you are removing the bacteria with the detritus which leaves more detritus not being broken down causing the algae bloom?

 

[Hara]

yea, im not too worried about the nitrates, ive been using the same techniques with feeding/amounts/whatever for the last four years,

..and now you have a major algae issue. I think the mystery is solved. Nitrates cause algae.

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

yea, im not too worried about the nitrates, ive been using the same techniques with feeding/amounts/whatever for the last four years, ive only come up to the problem like recently, ...

Well... if you're not too worried about the nitrates, then I guess you'd better just get used to the algae. Folks here are trying to help. Shoot... the fish guy at the LFS is trying to help by throwing in a free phosphate sponge, but without knowing what the levels are except "not dangerous" that sponge doesn't do much good. You mentioned in your first post...

Well, my little nanoreef has gone through basically hell, for the last 2 years with algae...

... so it doesn't sound like all has been fine until just recently.

Cut your lighting cycle down for a while, more than just a weekend. Two days isn't going to do it. Do 25% water changes every 3 days or so - with water that you know the parameters of - until you get your nitrate levels down below 10ppm and your phosphate levels at 0. Keep the HOB filter pads spotless - shoot, rinse them out every time you do a water change. Put that phosphate sponge in one of those HOBs and replace it every couple weeks. I've used the ROWA sponges, and they really do work - but not if your levels are too high. There's only so much they can do. Maybe buy a hang on back skimmer, or borrow someones for a month or so.

Or... just keep doing what you've been doing, and get used to the algae. There's no cure in a bottle that's going to help.

 

[scoot15638]

im waiting for a little money on a job, but im gonna do some water changes, and buy some phosban, and purigen from dr fosters, i didnt expect that phosphate pad to work, he gave it to me for free, i just wanted to try it out,(10$ item for free who wouldnt take it honestly) but yea ill get back to you all in a week or so and tell ya how the algae is doing, thanks for your alls help, and the algae problem hasnt been for the last two years, i meant its the second time in the last 2 years, the problem will lasted less than a month before, but im gonna goo for less drastic measures this time, well ill post back soon on how its all doin