nuissance algae--very long post!

[Dr.Nate]

Well, I've read everything there is to read on various types of algae, and I just can't seem to get it under control 100%. My question is, is it always an issue, but just to what degree?

I have a great skimmer, sump with chaeto growing mad, freshly replaced bulbs in PC lighting, nitrates always test 0 and phosphates always test 0. I use RO/DI water only wich also tests 0 for the above.

I do 20% PWC every two weeks--not because my parameters are out of wack, but because I have to vaccuum the substate to remove the algae growing on it.....I can't stand the way it makes my tank look!

I use Kent Sea Salt.

I occasionally dose Kalk when needed, but even that is pretty rare because of my PWC's.

I only feed three times per week and very, very sparingly. I feed various frozen foods well rinsed in RO/DI water.

I have a "medium" bioload....only 3 fish!

I run GAC and change it out 2X per month. I have a good UV sterilizer.

I also have a very fine CC substrate, almost as fine as sand. I have to vaccuum it every week or two due to algae.

Yes, I have a bioball....but just one!

Oh, yeah, I almost forgot.....I have a 55 gal. main with 800 gph water movement in it.

I also have to clean the glass with a mag float every week to keep the glass looking clean. (I only have to scrape corralline every month or so)

All other tank parameters are perfect.

In desperation, I've used chemi-clean twice in the last month (killing a couple feather dusters the first time because I didn't aerate). I have also just started using a phosphate remover in a media bag.

So....is this just part of reef keeping? Should I just suck it up, or will my algae issues ever improve?

If it sounds like I'm whining, it's because I am! I've done everything except change out my CC for sand, but my CC is so fine it's almost the same stuff. I mean, I don't mind vaccuuming substrate, say, once per month or cleaning the glass once a month--but I'm having to do it weekly!

The only other thing I can think of is to remove my one bioball.

PLEASE HELP ME!

Any thoughts or comments would be appreciated......

 

[melosu58]

Long post are so discouraging. I`m just playing. I`ll tell you Dr nate. I dont know what you are doing wrong. As far as cleaning your glass every week ,I have to do the same thing and most advisors I see say the same thing. That is part of reef keeping. But the algea in the tank is not. I do everything that you have mentioned except I have sand. I have not had algea in years. The only things I wonder about is do you have sunlight shining in it and you did not mention your clean up crew.

 

[Dr.Nate]

Darn! I knew I forgot to mention something. The tank does not have direct sunlight on it, my temp stays constant at 79, and I have about 6 hermit crabs and about 6 turbo snails (used to have a lot more, but they have disappeared over the years)

 

[20 20]

OK, I've got to ask. 'One' bioball?

 

[Dr.Nate]

HAHAHA....that's hillarious! I was thinking bioball......of course, I meant BIO-WHEEL. I just got to typing and couldn't stop myself I guess.

 

[Hara]

What type of nuisance algae is it? Just curious..
I see a couple of things that I would change, first of all I would increase dramatically, the number of snails and crabs, they are not near enough to do the job in a tank that size. They have to be replaced periodically unfortunately.You might also increase the flow from the sump to the main, it is rather low. This helps to keep things from settling on the sand bed and will sometimes keep algaes from taking hold. I am also thinking that your cc substrate is still producing a large number of nitrates and that is feeding the algae. What about fish feeding habits? Could this be a contributing factor?

 

[Dr.Nate]

You know, what type of algae is a great question.....sometimes it appears as brown dust on the sand (cyano), but lately I started having green and brownish black hair algae on the LR too....this was very disturbing.

As for feeding schedule, I doubt it? See above.

And also, I was afraid you were gonna tell me it was the CC.....I dread changing it all over to sand.

Nitrates are 0!

On a brighter note, it's been 24 hours or so since I manually removed as much as I could, then finished the last treatment of chem-clean and I'm on my second media bag of P04 remover, and so far, the algae hasn't come back......(crossing fingers)

 

[seaham358]

cleaning glass once a week is great, Every 2-3 days for me its a green dust on the glass . This is Normal...
HA is not what we want to see. My friend is going through a HA issue now and he has never had it before. All water tests come back 0. These test kits leave a lot of room for error so if it reads 0 does it really mean 0, probably not.
You sound like you have all bases covered and are doing every thing you can. My friends love AZNO3 and I have seen it work on their tanks for HA removal. have you tested your ro/di top off water for PO4, nitrates?
I don't see flow being much of a issue here... Its feeding on something so you need to track down the source.
I have talked with several friends who have had HA and I have been thinking that it maybe the LR releasing some stored up nutrients causing the problem. Just a thought, no scientific proof just thinking out loud.
Good luck ...

 

[jabber]

Have you talked with local reefers or LFS it could just be your water. Are you on a well or municipality? My only other concern may be the carbon try taking it out for a few weeks. :?

 

[Dr.Nate]

I don't believe it's a water problem....LFS doesn't have these issues, pluse the RO/DI and all.....

haven't tried taking out the carbon, that's one I may try...

 

[tecwzrd]

Since you change out your GAC twice a month that shouldn’t have any affect on algae. Not changing it can lead to higher no3 levels which you don’t have so personally I wouldn’t take it out of the filter since carbon helps remove DOC which leads to algae in the first place.

I clean the glass weekly and since I upped my flow to 1200 gph in my 55 I’ve noticed less algae.

With 0 no3/po4 you shouldn’t need to change out your cc.

It could be cyano. Do you know what your dkh level is? Does the lawnmower blenny touch it at all?

The one bio-ball shouldn’t affect anything but why just the one?

Everything else is right on the money ie: uv filter, skimmer, & ro\di water. You didn’t mention your lighting schedule, exactly how many hermits/snails you have, or whether your tank is near a window though.

 

[Dr.Nate]

dkh was the only thing that I hadn't checked in awhile, and when I checked it about a week ago, it was like 3 or 4 (I flipped). So I've been slowly rasing it and now it's at 8. PH is 8.0 to 8.3

Bio-wheel, not bio ball! That one was my mistake. The reason for only one is that I have a hang on emperor filter on my sump and the 400 was too big to fit down there. (the 280 only has one biowheel)

I have cut my light schedule back to 5 or 6 hours this week....I used to run them 10-12 hours.

My tank is not near a window.

I would love to hear more people say my CC is okay.

 

[tecwzrd]

Very high levels of dkh can lead to algae issues which is why I asked. 8 is not “very high”. I’d hate to guess what your ca levels are with dkh that low. cc gets a bad rap because a lot of people let it go and don’t siphon it enough. I’m old school myself but still use sand mostly because I like the look better than cc.

Sorry, running out of ideas. You sir are just determined to get algae it looks like. Hopefully the lighting schedule will help.

 

[Brenden]

I had some algae show up last week on my sand. It was not nearly as visible just looking at the tank as it was with the camera. I did a 200gal WC Sunday and it is disappearing. I would suggest more frequent WC's to remove nutrients from the water. Just make sure your water source is clean.

 

[JPloman]

How old is your tank? It could just be going through a cycle.

Mine did about three cycles where I had major "bad" or "nuisance" algae growth. The sad part is that it did not stop happening until I stopped messing with the tank. I have not really messed with my tank is about six months. The only “nuisance” algae I have are green bubble algae, but I have an emerald crab that keeps it under some control.

On this website, I see people who have tanks that look really healthy and squared away. Mine looks like a forest! I have major amounts of macro algae and corals everywhere. I could always purchase a fish that would eat culurpa, I just never have. If you desire a tank that doesn’t have a lot of natural growth (like what I see when I go diving) than you are going to always be messing with your tank. But that is just my opinion… take it or leave it.

 

[jabber]

I know I've read in the past about certain GAC releasing phosphates into the water, don't remember the brands. Try this rinse the new GAC in a bucket before you put it in your tank, then test the water in the bucket for phosphates, It's worth a shot next time your do for a change.

 

[tecwzrd]

Typically it’s often the cheaper “off brands” that can leach excessive phosphate due to the poor quality of the GAC. All carbons contain small traces of phosphate but the higher quality brands have near undetectable levels. I use Seachem Matrix Carbon & PhosGuard and have never had a po4 problem or excessive algae problem.

It’s not to fair to test the dust water (which would increase the po4/ph level) since most experienced aquarist rinse the carbon before adding to their filtration system. That’s usually a mistake you only make once

po4 leaching often takes days/weeks and simply testing the water after rinsing should not show any po4 levels.

The brand you use could very well have small traces of po4 but since your tank is testing 0 for po4 it’s probably very limited.

Since DOC is a big contributing factor to algae and since you do change it out every two weeks I still wouldn’t remove one of the components of removing the DOC along with your skimmer. You may have to switch brands depending on your po4 reading but the added benefit of GAC outweighs any disadvantages IMO.

 

[Dr.Nate]

Thanks for all the advice everyone! Well, it's been two or three days, and the algae has not come back....yea! I know it's much better because usually after a day or two of siphoning it off the substrate and doing a PWC, I'd see it start coming back.

I believe ultimately it was phosphates. They always read zero, but the algae was absorbing it so it could not be tested. I believe a combo of chemi-clean (twice), many PWC's, and a phosphate sponge have done it.

Now hopefully it won't come back! Thanks all.....

 

[chineseknife]

I would definitely say increase the flow. What is your lighting schedule?
Some carbons have been known to leech trates and po4 back into the tank. Just because your test reads "0" does not mean that you have no trates or po4 because it is being used up so quickly to feed the algae. But if you have algae, it's there(since the tank isn't in direct sunlight).
DITCH THE BIO-WHEEL! That thing is a haven for nitrates. Test your water before mixing it and post the results.
Up the snails/crabs count. Turbos are great algae eaters, but they release a lot of "poop" back into the water column. Cerith snails will help keep the sand bed stirred up.
How often do you empty the skimmer's collection cup?
Also, check to see that the frozen foods you are feeding do not have gelbinder. If they do, then make sure you thaw them out on a piece of paper towel before feeding.
And yes, these battles will always be fought in this hobby...Until someone creates the algae cure-all!

 

[tecwzrd]

Glad you got it under control. Also I’ve been using the Bio-Wheel myself for over 8 years without any no3 problems. As long as you keep up on your maintenance it’s really not an issue. I use it to transfer to my qt tank for “instant” bio filtration.