Algae Issues

[mrsaltwaterguy]

Hi all,

My 75 gallon tank has been established for about a year now and I'm running into some major algae issues. I have some brown stringy algae on my overflow, dark brown algae on the rocks / sand (I'm assuming diatoms) as well as Cyano. I use RO/DI and it comes out consistently at 0-1 tds. My readings are all 0 including phosphates. I'm using 2 XR-15 Pro's which run at 63% intensity (14k) for 8 hours a day. I perform weekly 10% water changes and I'm just about at wits end. Looking for any and all suggestions on what to do to combat the situation. I'm debating buying a phosphate reactor but don't want to throw money at a solution that may not address the issue.

 

[Fleetking1]

Hey,

Do you have a sump/refuge?
-Robb

 

[mrsaltwaterguy]

Yeah I have a 30 long sump, drains into 2 filter socks (cleaned every 3-4 days) to the skimmer / possible future reactor section and finally over to the return.

 

[Diesel]

Due to the fact you have all that algae your readings on nutrients are low to nothing but you still have Po4 and elevated No3's.
Do more water changes, reduce feedings of the fish or just skip a day or two, be selective on what to feed and how much, stop feeding your corals, reduce your photo period from your lights at least 3 hours or more.
How many fish and what kind you have.
Do you mix your own saltwater with homemade RODI?
In the mean time you can remove the HA manually and when doing a WC siphon out the cyano.
Can you post some pictures of your tank and the problem areas?

 

[FishOfHex]

Hi all,

My 75 gallon tank has been established for about a year now and I'm running into some major algae issues. I have some brown stringy algae on my overflow, dark brown algae on the rocks / sand (I'm assuming diatoms) as well as Cyano. I use RO/DI and it comes out consistently at 0-1 tds. My readings are all 0 including phosphates. I'm using 2 XR-15 Pro's which run at 63% intensity (14k) for 8 hours a day. I perform weekly 10% water changes and I'm just about at wits end. Looking for any and all suggestions on what to do to combat the situation. I'm debating buying a phosphate reactor but don't want to throw money at a solution that may not address the issue.

With all algae issues you need to find the root cause. If your water is not the source of nitrates then you need to look at your bio load and feeding habits. At the end of the day if your putting more in the tank then the current bacteria population can process you will get algae.