Algae and dirt issues

ElitePirate · Oct 4, 2018

Hi friends,

I used to clean my tank every week, like clean the glasses with sponge etc. but within 4-5 days a lot of brown/green algae making my glass very ugly. See attached photos. I'm not feeding them a lot. I have a small cleaning crew but i dont think they ever clean / eat these algaes.

My water param all ok and im testing every week.

Any idea what else i can do to prevent this issue? Should i add some other cleaning crew member? can give few pointers #reefsquad ?

Thanks

saltyfilmfolks · Oct 4, 2018

How old is the tank ? I’d suspect your ugly phase has entered the next phase.

Have you added a new food?

I honestly wouldn’t worry

Crabs McJones · Oct 4, 2018

Agreed with salty, looks like new tank uglies. Happens to everybody

HotRocks · Oct 4, 2018

It's normal to have to clean the glass (I use a magnet scraper) a couple times a week.

One thing you can do that will reduce the algae on the glass significantly is dose vibrant on a weekly or bi-weekly basis.

ElitePirate · Oct 4, 2018

It's just 2 and a half month old. I never change any food.

How long do you think this phase will last? Or is it a normal thing?

I will try vibrant dose. Thanks guys

Lasse · Oct 4, 2018

Do not use any chemicals at all just because you have Algae on the window!! It's normal. Clean it with a proper magnetic cleaner when you need to.

If you want lesser Algae on the front window - try to arrange your fixtures in a way that limit the light on the front window.

Sincerely Lasse

ElitePirate · Oct 4, 2018

thank you all

HotRocks · Oct 4, 2018

Lasse said:
Do not use any chemicals at all just because you have Algae on the window!! It's normal. Clean it with a proper magnetic cleaner when you need to.

If you want lesser Algae on the front window - try to arrange your fixtures in a way that limit the light on the front window.

Sincerely Lasse

@Lasse, does vibrant contain a chemical or were you referring to something else?

I thought it was just H2o2 which I know you are a fan of with oxydators and such. It also contains some bacteria. I wasn't aware of a chemical compund involved.

Lasse · Oct 5, 2018

HotRocks said:
@Lasse, does vibrant contain a chemical or were you referring to something else?

I thought it was just H2o2 which I know you are a fan of with oxydators and such. It also contains some bacteria. I wasn't aware of a chemical compund involved.

I´m sorry if I was unclear - I have no single idea what´s in Vibrant. I meant chemicals in a broad meaning. I would not even recommend H2O2 just in order to keep my windows clean. I use it to get my water more crispy white instead of yellow during normal run.

If someone state that Vibrant contain H2O2 (which is a strong bactericidal compound) together with bacteria - I´m very interested to know how that works. IMO - if the H2O2 should work on algae when diluted with aquarium water it most be very concentrated in the bottle - together with bacteria that this concentration will kill. Interesting combination indeed.

Is Vibrant a chemical - IMO - yes in a broader meaning it must contain some chemicals (H2O2 is a chemical too if it contain that)

Sincerely Lasse

HotRocks · Oct 5, 2018

Lasse said:
I´m sorry if I was unclear - I have no single idea what´s in Vibrant. I meant chemicals in a broad meaning. I would not even recommend H2O2 just in order to keep my windows clean. I use it to get my water more crispy white instead of yellow during normal run.

If someone state that Vibrant contain H2O2 (which is a strong bactericidal compound) together with bacteria - I´m very interested to know how that works. IMO - if the H2O2 should work on algae when diluted with aquarium water it most be very concentrated in the bottle - together with bacteria that this concentration will kill. Interesting combination indeed.

Is Vibrant a chemical - IMO - yes in a broader meaning it must contain some chemicals (H2O2 is a chemical too if it contain that)

Sincerely Lasse

I'm sorry, it doesn't contain h2o2.

It's mostly bacteria and a bit of amino acid and vinegar. I don't know what I was thinking there.

Lasse · Oct 5, 2018

Is not Vibrant a liquid?

I took a look at their website - it is a liquid aquarium cleaner that contains what you state in your post. But my question is - how could it be a liquid if it only contain 3.5 % RO/DI water. Do they mean that 95% cultured bacteria blend is solid like steel - or? What is it in the blend?

Sincerely Lasse

HotRocks · Oct 5, 2018

Lasse said:
Is not Vibrant a liquid?

Sincerely Lasse

Yes it is a liquid.

Lasse · Oct 5, 2018

And 95% is not specified - what is the content of Culture Bacteria Blend? It can´t be 100 % bacteria - it will not be a liquid if only diluted with 3.5 % RO/DI.

But I´m not argue against Vibrant - I am only argue about the believe that there will always be a magical cure - just put in that - and your problems are gone. I am more for the idea that you should create an ecosystem that is stable. If you kill the algae with some cure - you take away the food for many organisms that you need in order to maintain a stable aquarium. It is good with well function cures if you need it - but to use them as general treating systems - that´s not my way of working. When I clean my aquarium windows - every third or forth day - some of my corals get happy because they feed on these algae I scrape away from the window.

Sincerely Lasse