Algae bloom need help.

chris124 · Sep 23, 2015

I have what looks like brown algae growing all over my live rock and glass. I tested the water and my ammonia is 0ppm nitrite 0ppm nitrates are 5ppm and ph is 8.0. So I have no idea what to do. Last week I lost a angel and a powder blue tang and was never able to find them because the snails got to them first. I just cant believe how fast its growing. Here are some pictures.

KJ · Sep 23, 2015

Here go and good luck

A Simple Guide To Common Problematic Algae And The Means To Control It..

chris124 · Sep 24, 2015

KJ said:
Here go and good luck
A Simple Guide To Common Problematic Algae And The Means To Control It..

Thanks. I think the problem was a dirty rodi filter.

brandon429 · Sep 24, 2015

i see this one differently. its the exact algae i have for a while after i do a thorough tank cleaning, simple focused removal over and over for a couple week is what makes it stay gone for me, and non removal would allow it to mass just like most algae associated with new tanks or newly rinsed and restarted old tanks. to me this indicates strictly a need for mangrazing and it will be gone in 1 hour of work and razor scraping off the back wall.

chris124 · Sep 25, 2015

brandon429 said:
i see this one differently. its the exact algae i have for a while after i do a thorough tank cleaning, simple focused removal over and over for a couple week is what makes it stay gone for me, and non removal would allow it to mass just like most algae associated with new tanks or newly rinsed and restarted old tanks. to me this indicates strictly a need for mangrazing and it will be gone in 1 hour of work and razor scraping off the back wall.

Do you know what causes this stuff? This stuff grows like wildfire.

brandon429 · Sep 25, 2015

in my opinion it's strictly a matter of them being typical live rock inclusions for tanks that are not mature. traded among tanks trading items

When your rock is matured they will be selected against both by you and grazers, so they'll not be present most likely.

Your real risk tank invasions don't include that genus you show, it's for easy removal in new tanks

we study wrecked algae tanks and see the brutes... not this genus.

if you get:

valonia
bryopsis
dinos
invasive brush algae
that's cause for instant action imo and on the list of invaders that have beaten many

but this light golden non holdfast type is the first yielding generation imo

you can be algae free from day one to day 3000 by mere exclusion never testing for any nutrient just as a final say should your excellent nutrient control not work out.

in my opinion that's a fair point to make, we prove it with long life span pico reefs.

You will work harder at various times compared to others when you upwell nutrients and minor changes etc but in the end, algae in the reef tank is merely knowing you can kill or export it immediately

the old jedi way of leaving it in the water to hopefully respond to water only treatments is one of a few options. I take the kill it immediately option and recommend it too.

brandon429 · Sep 25, 2015

This cleaning effectively reset my reef to new, the algae wouldn't have appeared had I not bought some fine hammers, and acans, from our lfs who does trade in substrates and sends invaders among tanks

http://reef2reef.com/threads/what-a...t-a-mini-cycle-in-a-nano.204187/#post-2334945

my tank gets this exact growth you show if I let it

but simply hand removed this genus exhausts in two mos

Reefing Madness · Sep 25, 2015

Get rid of the Phosphates in the tank, and you get rid of the algae problem.

Pete polyp · Sep 25, 2015

Reefing Madness said:
Get rid of the Phosphates in the tank, and you get rid of the algae problem.

People always want to blame all sorts of things when it comes to algae. It's all about the phosphate.

SantaMonicaHelp · Sep 26, 2015

Here's a link with lots of useful info and on how to DIY scrubber:

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/l...urf-and-slime-algae-from-your-aquarium.86207/

Hope this helps.

~SF

chris124 · Sep 26, 2015

SantaMonicaHelp said:
Here's a link with lots of useful info and on how to DIY scrubber:

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/l...urf-and-slime-algae-from-your-aquarium.86207/

Hope this helps.

~SF

sounds like a great idea. Do you have to make a box for the screen or dose it just go in the sump and are led lamp bulbs ok? Thanks.

chris124 · Sep 27, 2015

I did upgrade my lighting to leds and shortly after that the diatom bloom started. Could changing my lights be the cause?

pondman · Sep 28, 2015

I also just upgraded my lights to leds and my mature tank( its been running for five years) also had a diatom bloom. I wondered the same thing also and I'm thinking maybe the new lights are the cause. I just increased my water flow in the tank and it went away after a week or so also dimmed my LEDs down a bit.

chris124 · Sep 28, 2015

pondman said:
I also just upgraded my lights to leds and my mature tank( its been running for five years) also had a diatom bloom. I wondered the same thing also and I'm thinking maybe the new lights are the cause. I just increased my water flow in the tank and it went away after a week or so also dimmed my LEDs down a bit.

Yeah that's got to be it. Because there's no green algae just the diatoms and the nitrates are zero. I have increased the flow and cut back on lighting we will see what happens.

chris124 · Sep 28, 2015

If there's anything good about its that my snails love the stuff.

Oceansize · Sep 28, 2015

I have superb parameters and I still get this stuff from time to time, looks exactly like yours. Even with phosphates and nitrates below detectable levels while using a UV sterilizer and a goby, hermits, and snails as clean-up crew. There are two culprits in my opinion: one is because my parameters are TOO good for my frags, and therefore I overfeed on purpose. The other is that the tank gets a considerable amount of Indirect sunlight throughout the day (so yeah, I agree your lighting change could be a material contributor).

Also, that type of algae bloom is also associated with relatively new (<1 year) tanks. Hold off on feeding for two or three days and I bet you'll see a significant reduction.

I doubt the bloom has anything to do with your tang or angel deaths. Tangs are algae eaters, they love that stuff, but they are hard to keep alive in new tanks. Angels I'm not as familiar with, but generally they are not good for reef tanks because of their diet. Are you sure you were feeding the Angel food that is appropriate for them? (Yes I realize it looks like you're running more of a FOWLR tank than a reef tank, just curious if appropriate food was being given to the angel.)

chris124 · Sep 28, 2015

Oceansize said:
I have superb parameters and I still get this stuff from time to time, looks exactly like yours. Even with phosphates and nitrates below detectable levels while using a UV sterilizer and a goby, hermits, and snails as clean-up crew. There are two culprits in my opinion: one is because my parameters are TOO good for my frags, and therefore I overfeed on purpose. The other is that the tank gets a considerable amount of Indirect sunlight throughout the day (so yeah, I agree your lighting change could be a material contributor).

Also, that type of algae bloom is also associated with relatively new (<1 year) tanks. Hold off on feeding for two or three days and I bet you'll see a significant reduction.

I doubt the bloom has anything to do with your tang or angel deaths. Tangs are algae eaters, they love that stuff, but they are hard to keep alive in new tanks. Angels I'm not as familiar with, but generally they are not good for reef tanks because of their diet. Are you sure you were feeding the Angel food that is appropriate for them? (Yes I realize it looks like you're running more of a FOWLR tank than a reef tank, just curious if appropriate food was being given to the angel.)

The tank is 2 years old and yes it is a fowlr tank and I feed mysis shrimp, marine pellets and nori. My lfs thinks my temp may have been a little low at 74 so he had me set the temp at 76. But what doesn't make sense is they never stopped eating and never acted sick. Thanks.