Algae bloom problem

[Aquanic]

I have a 90 gallon aquarium with a 20 gallon sump and I have a 36 watt UV on it running at about 400-500gph. The UV cleared the tank up once before, so i know it works for my tank. I put in a bunch of coral and the tank started to get murky with what i think was a bacteria bloom. After a water change the tank cleared up for a day, but the tank soon started to turn green. I turned the white lights out and am just running blue (4 white, 4 blue T5). Do y'all have any clue how i can fix this?
My nitrates are 3ppm and i think lowering and my phosphate is undetectable using a salifert.
Any help would be appreciated

 

[Lavey29]

If you have fish add an airstone because that bloom could deplete 02 in the tank.

 

[Lavey29]

Corals need nitrates atv10ppm and phosphate. 05 to .1 in order to be healthy

 

[Aquanic]

Corals need nitrates atv10ppm and phosphate. 05 to .1 in order to be healthy

Ik... I've been generous with the food once I noticed they were that low. Before the bloom they nitrates were 5-10ppm and phosphate has been .1-.25. I have my skimmer running and there's only 4 fish.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Phosphorous is generally classified as the cause of algae blooms in reef tanks, which is why hobbyists are told to use such things as phosphate-free activated carbon. While this is good advice, it does not always solve the problem. Minimize inputs and maximize outputs. Outputs are protein skimmer waste (so use one and keep it clean), particulate material which can be removed with a good mechanical filter which should be cleaned often, and limiting the fish population to those that are algae grazers so that little fish feed have to be provided on a regular basis. Good maintenance is what is needed as there are many alternatives but no quick easy cures.
heavy feeding will fuel these blooms so cut back a little.
Are you using RODI water or tap water from faucet ?
What test kits are you using ?
Is this tank at or near a window?

 

[Aquanic]

Phosphorous is generally classified as the cause of algae blooms in reef tanks, which is why hobbyists are told to use such things as phosphate-free activated carbon. While this is good advice, it does not always solve the problem. Minimize inputs and maximize outputs. Outputs are protein skimmer waste (so use one and keep it clean), particulate material which can be removed with a good mechanical filter which should be cleaned often, and limiting the fish population to those that are algae grazers so that little fish feed have to be provided on a regular basis. Good maintenance is what is needed as there are many alternatives but no quick easy cures.
heavy feeding will fuel these blooms so cut back a little.
Are you using RODI water or tap water from faucet ?
What test kits are you using ?
Is this tank at or near a window?

Sounds good, thanks for the advice. I'll give my sump a clean down. I have a 4 stage RODI and the tank isn't near a window. For nitrates i am testing it with Nyos and Salifert for phosphate. Would you recommend running carbon or GFO?

 

[Aquanic]

Phosphorous is generally classified as the cause of algae blooms in reef tanks, which is why hobbyists are told to use such things as phosphate-free activated carbon. While this is good advice, it does not always solve the problem. Minimize inputs and maximize outputs. Outputs are protein skimmer waste (so use one and keep it clean), particulate material which can be removed with a good mechanical filter which should be cleaned often, and limiting the fish population to those that are algae grazers so that little fish feed have to be provided on a regular basis. Good maintenance is what is needed as there are many alternatives but no quick easy cures.
heavy feeding will fuel these blooms so cut back a little.
Are you using RODI water or tap water from faucet ?
What test kits are you using ?
Is this tank at or near a window?

Should I run carbon and GFO?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Should I run carbon and GFO?

Carbon yes and gfo UF phosphate is elevated

 

[Doctorgori]

good advise, only add in is the tank being whiter or not won’t really matter, that’s kinda a oft misunderstood thing…
I wouldn’t panic, odds are that bloom doesn’t last long, esp if you make adjustments as suggested

 

[Aquanic]

good advise, only add in is the tank being whiter or not won’t really matter, that’s kinda a oft misunderstood thing…
I wouldn’t panic, odds are that bloom doesn’t last long, esp if you make adjustments as suggested

Thanks. Ik that the blue and white lights are probably about the same par but atleast half the bulbs are off and i kinda prefer the blue lol. Ik it'll go away on its own, but idk what triggered it. I don't feed heavy and change my filter floss at a max of every 5 days, usually every 3 days. I also have been consistent with a 10% or more water change weekly. It bloomed like this when the tank started but after I got a UV it cleared up till now.

 

[Aquanic]

Carbon yes and gfo UF phosphate is elevated

Do you know what could have caused a bloom like this? I keep a fairly good maintenance routine and have a 36 watt UV light.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Do you know what could have caused a bloom like this? I keep a fairly good maintenance routine and have a 36 watt UV light.

Generally an algae bloom is usually caused by an overabundance of organic nutrients in the water column as well as food and light. Phosphates are also a cause.
Food can be from overfeeding or type which emits liquids. Light will be from tank light or a nearby window.

 

[Lavey29]

I don't recommend GFO it bottoms phosphate out very quickly. Check out phosguard it walks the phosphate down a little each day so no sudden changes to the tank. Check out PNS probio which is a natural bacteria supplement that reduces organic waste which feeds your algae.

 

[Aquanic]

I don't recommend GFO it bottoms phosphate out very quickly. Check out phosguard it walks the phosphate down a little each day so no sudden changes to the tank. Check out PNS probio which is a natural bacteria supplement that reduces organic waste which feeds your algae.

I took the GFO out of my carbon reactor and am now just running carbon. I also did a 10% water change and cleaned the UV bulb as well as got majority of detritus out of the sump. There has been no noticable change but hopefully it'll get better. I wish i could afford to get the PNS, cause it does look like it would help clear the tank, but i just bought a hydros controller so I'll have to wait to spend another like 50-100 on the tank.

 

[Lavey29]

I took the GFO out of my carbon reactor and am now just running carbon. I also did a 10% water change and cleaned the UV bulb as well as got majority of detritus out of the sump. There has been no noticable change but hopefully it'll get better. I wish i could afford to get the PNS, cause it does look like it would help clear the tank, but i just bought a hydros controller so I'll have to wait to spend another like 50-100 on the tank.

How old is your tank? Mine is just slightly smaller but I had a similar bloom around the 4 or 5 month mark when my nutrients bottomed out similar to yours now. You want your nitrates at 10 and phosphate at .05. You already cut back lights so that will help. Mine took about a week to dissipate.

 

[Aquanic]

How old is your tank? Mine is just slightly smaller but I had a similar bloom around the 4 or 5 month mark when my nutrients bottomed out similar to yours now. You want your nitrates at 10 and phosphate at .05. You already cut back lights so that will help. Mine took about a week to dissipate.

lol it's just hitting the 4 month mark. plus it's a bare bottom. i have some sand in a container and a bunch of biomedia in the sump to try and get decent surface area.

 

[Swbvegas]

Are you running a skimmer?

 

[Aquanic]

Are you running a skimmer?

Yes. I just adjusted it today to run a little more wet to hopefully pull out more stuff.

 

[Swbvegas]

Yes. I just adjusted it today to run a little more wet to hopefully pull out more stuff.

I would adjust your feeding to less food more often and also keep the UV going. Consider running more filtration including carbon

 

[Spare time]

Interesting that this is occuring with the UV. How new is the bulb in the UV? This is the second tank in recent memory where UV sterilizers appeared to not work for blooms, which is argued to be their greatest strength.