ALGAE BLOOM? Should I be concerned

[James Hammett]

Today is day one of Week 10 on our classroom tank Build. Came in this morning to another round of Algae worse one yet. Should we be concerned? is there something we should do other than wait it out? I have filter cloth/phosgaurd (4 weeks Old) / Bag of Carbon, in chamber 2 of Biocube 32 LED tank. There is a reticulated sponge between chamber 2 and the return pump chamber. The few coral we have all look great and healthy, two BTAs look happy, shrimp looks good. just algae everywhere and starting to appear on rocks as well.

 

[K. Steven]

10 weeks isn't that long. Did you start with dry or live rock? You may want to stir the sand before water changes to help remove any detritus settling there and get some nassarius snails to scavenge and aerate the sandbed.

 

[James Hammett]

10 weeks isn't that long. Did you start with dry or live rock? You may want to stir the sand before water changes to help remove any detritus settling there.

I started with essentially to y understanding dry rock. it is carbisea life rock painted but dry and porous? I have used a vacum on the substrate once but it really clouds the tank up badly and I don't want to harm the coral.

 

[James Hammett]

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/tank-arrived-today.357540/

Here is a link to our classroom build thread

 

[Leadfooted]

Any chance the tank's getting more ambient light than before? How much ambient light does the tank get anyways?

 

[James Hammett]

The tank is in a room with out any windows the lights in the room are off unless we are in there.

 

[K. Steven]

I started with essentially to y understanding dry rock. it is carbisea life rock painted but dry and porous? I have used a vacum on the substrate once but it really clouds the tank up badly and I don't want to harm the coral.

What sand did you use? It looks like diatoms on the sand, which is normal for a new tank as the silicates in the water are used up. Once the silicate is no longer available for diatoms, they will disappear. I wouldn't worry too much. Just stay on top of water changes and stirring/siphoning the sand before each change. You could also put some filter floss in the back chamber, stir the sand, and allow the floss to catch all the particulates, then throw out the floss.

 

[James Hammett]

so stiring up will make the tank very cloudy to where we wont-even be able to see inside. will this irritate the coral and "nems" is it safe for them?

 

[Leadfooted]

The tank is in a room with out any windows the lights in the room are off unless we are in there.

Of course it wouldn't be that simple. Certainly not going to resolve your situation but a sand sifting starfish is a great and usually inexpensive addition and the kids would get a kick out of it's movements. They do a great job keeping the sand clean.

 

[K. Steven]

so stiring up will make the tank very cloudy to where we wont-even be able to see inside. will this irritate the coral and "nems" is it safe for them?

No, it won't affect them. The sand was probably dirty when you got it. Is it aragonite sand? You can suck out the detritus before a water change by turning the pump off, stir the sand, allow the detritus to settle on top of the sand, then hover the siphon just above the sand to take out what has settled on top.

 

[K. Steven]

 

[freshy&salty]

Ive got the biocube 16 led and Ive had it up like 6 months now. I noticed as the tank cycles for the first time, which really takes about 3 - 4 months before it establishes. Throughout that time I noticed a few waves of different bacterias and algae blooms that came and went as it cycled. It looks like you have no powerhead in that tank which is probably part of this issue. Powerheads help to remove dead spots in the water by creating flow. Having flow makes it hard for the algae to "settle" and lay roots so to speak. The BC 32 LED running at my lfs has a 1450gph head running a constant flow at the bottom of the tank. I have two 660s in my 16gal BC set to surge/pulse upto 70%. Temp (not to high), flow (no dead spots/slack water), light (limit the hrs on), and nitrates are what i would suggest watching but I think IMHO your water is just going through a standard cycling stage. Clean as needed, keep params in check and I think itll go away on its own as it establishes.

 

[40B Knasty]

Fighting conch is good for diatoms. Like everyone said it is part of the cycling/establishing of a new tank. Everyone here has gone through it.

 

[Jeepguy242]

ugly stage is starting

 

[O'l Salty]

Algae is a natural part of the biodiversity of the ecosystem so it's always going to be present. For the first year the tank will be fluctuating and various forms of algae will appear and disappear. Eventually the tank will reach a happy balance and an effective CUC will prevent algae from taking over the tank. Unless some form of algae really takes over the tank and becomes a detriment to other life it's best just to put up with the ugliness until it goes away naturally. Stability is the key to a successful reef tank. Manual removal of algae is much better than dumping a bunch of chemicals in or playing with parameters to solve a problem. That will just create new ones.

 

[Zac K]

This is normal. It will take quite a while to go away.

Honestly, I'm 8 months or so in and my 15 gal tank is only just starting to "take care of itself", meaning that I don't have to keep cleaning the glass and the sand to make it look tidy.

It struck me as bizarre that this brown stuff just kept coming back despite best practices.

I was thinking "surely no one cleans their tank daily, why do they always look pristine online!?" -- I was getting fed up of my tank only looking good the day I did a water change!

Check out these pics. The first one is what my tank looked like when I returned from a seven day holiday to Fiji. Tank was about 4 months old. (And I follow very strict maintenance practices!!!)

The second one is what my tank looks like now, after leaving it alone for roughly the same time frame.

I had all sorts of concerns: diatoms, cyano, dinoflagelletes...

I tried all sorts of things to get rid of this gunk. In the end I think it had more to do with just waiting it out.

I will say though, that making a mini gfo reactor seems to have really helped with not having to clean the glass much.

 

[PhreeByrd]

It does look like diatoms to me as well, which are common and very much benign apart from the ugliness factor. There may also be some film (micro)algae on the side glass, which is also not at all unusual (or unhealthy).
Not to put a damper on things, but as others have hinted, the ugliness may only be beginning. It takes many months for most aquariums to begin to reach equilibrium, and in the interim there will be many stages of change, and many of them can be pretty unsightly. Good teaching moments, because they are all part of a natural process, but these changes can be very distressing for impatient humans.
Is there a protein skimmer in the system? Even with no fish or other larger animals, proteins and waste are being produced all the time, which if not removed will ultimately feed undesirable organisms or allow overgrowth.
I agree that you probably need to ensure some good/better water circulation. It's much more important than many people realize.
Vacuuming the sand is a waste of time, only treating a symptom while not addressing the real issue(s).

 

[James Hammett]

It does look like diatoms to me as well, which are common and very much benign apart from the ugliness factor. There may also be some film (micro)algae on the side glass, which is also not at all unusual (or unhealthy).
Not to put a damper on things, but as others have hinted, the ugliness may only be beginning. It takes many months for most aquariums to begin to reach equilibrium, and in the interim there will be many stages of change, and many of them can be pretty unsightly. Good teaching moments, because they are all part of a natural process, but these changes can be very distressing for impatient humans.
Is there a protein skimmer in the system? Even with no fish or other larger animals, proteins and waste are being produced all the time, which if not removed will ultimately feed undesirable organisms or allow overgrowth.
I agree that you probably need to ensure some good/better water circulation. It's much more important than many people realize.
Vacuuming the sand is a waste of time, only treating a symptom while not addressing the real issue(s).

There is a protein skimmer in chamber 1 it is the small coralife protien skimmer that came with the tank. There is also an EFlux 1050 gph power head in the tank running at 40% so it doesn't stir up the substrate ( if I go higher the sand blows all over) The GSP and Hammer Coral I Have in the tank seem to move with the flow pretty good they are int he front two corners. I have the flow set to stream (constant) I have a small 450 gph power head I could put for a cross flow and set the main on a pulse or surge setting if that would be better. I haven`t done that because the smaller is a different brand and wont connect to the controller the Eflux is on. I vacuumed the sand once and the tank turned white for three days until it settled again. Not doing that anymore.

 

[PhreeByrd]

Sounds to me like you're on track, James. You could play around with your flow and powerheads -- randomizing the flow and circulation is always worthwhile, but it might not make a huge, notable difference in what you're seeing in the tank. Also, making sure your water source is nutrient and silicate-free is very important. Beyond that, I think you've done what you can for now. I would definitely not be dumping any chemical remedies into the tank. Diatom outbreaks almost always die out on their own.