Algae on bottom

[kasik64]

Any tips for cleaning the algae out of my rocks? Seems like it just comes back right away.

 

[ReefJake123]

How long have u had this tank

 

[Lawlboom]

I've fought this battle twice now. If you could give us some information it would greatly help in identifying the issue. I've read your previous threads but didn't find to much in there.

What is your source water?

What is your water change schedule?

What is your light schedule?

What do you feed and how often?

What lightning do you have? LED/T5/Metal Halide?

 

[Heather w]

Any tips for cleaning the algae out of my rocks? Seems like it just comes back right away.

The algae needs to grow. It is vital. The "live rock" is the live filtration system, there are some algae that are not desirable but you treat those on a bloom by bloom basis. A lot of those can be treated by your fish. Scrubbing the rock means you have to start all over if you want to have a healthy sustained live filtration system. It creates a more familiar envirenvironment for your bio load. The type of algae depends where you are in cycling your tank. You WILL get a fuzzy brown diatoms You WILL get a slimy red cryo bloom. They green moss hair just needs a hungry Angel or a foxface butterfly. A lawnmower Blennie will keep the algae trimmed nice but make sure he will eat prepared foods or when he's munched the algae he will starve. While you want them to eat the algae do not put veggie sheets for your fish or they will take the easy way out and eat that rather than grazing. Fish really are lazy. Driven by food and sex. Mine play tag and host races around my rocks. My ruby headed wrasse always cheats and cuts through the rocks instead of going all way around. Once the others take off he sneaks back to the start line like he won so fast the others never saw him passing[emoji12]

If you have a refugium make sure your green algae is healthy and growing. Trim back as needed and it will "eat" the nitrogen and remove THAT food source keeping that controlled in your bio/live refugium and out of your display tank. Light is another way to control growth of random "undesirables" if you see something new or "odd", change your light setting so there is less light for it to feed on.

You probably know everything I'm sending, but I made so many mistakes if I can help anyone from reapeting one I'm gonna sent "too long" replies

DO NOT scrub the rock! In fact get an app that magnifies and lights. Watch the life forms that grow. I do it all the time. Drives the kids nuts. I hope there are still there[emoji16] sometimes you look close and it looks like someone threw a bag of gem stones across a field. And to think, you bought an ugly rock!

Happy Fishing

Any tips for cleaning the algae out of my rocks? Seems like it just comes back right away.

 

[Heather w]

The algae needs to grow. It is vital. The "live rock" is the live filtration system, there are some algae that are not desirable but you treat those on a bloom by bloom basis. A lot of those can be treated by your fish. Scrubbing the rock means you have to start all over if you want to have a healthy sustained live filtration system. It creates a more familiar envirenvironment for your bio load. The type of algae depends where you are in cycling your tank. You WILL get a fuzzy brown diatoms You WILL get a slimy red cryo bloom. They green moss hair just needs a hungry Angel or a foxface butterfly. A lawnmower Blennie will keep the algae trimmed nice but make sure he will eat prepared foods or when he's munched the algae he will starve. While you want them to eat the algae do not put veggie sheets for your fish or they will take the easy way out and eat that rather than grazing. Fish really are lazy. Driven by food and sex. Mine play tag and host races around my rocks. My ruby headed wrasse always cheats and cuts through the rocks instead of going all way around. Once the others take off he sneaks back to the start line like he won so fast the others never saw him passing[emoji12]

If you have a refugium make sure your green algae is healthy and growing. Trim back as needed and it will "eat" the nitrogen and remove THAT food source keeping that controlled in your bio/live refugium and out of your display tank. Light is another way to control growth of random "undesirables" if you see something new or "odd", change your light setting so there is less light for it to feed on.

You probably know everything I'm sending, but I made so many mistakes if I can help anyone from reapeting one I'm gonna sent "too long" replies

DO NOT scrub the rock! In fact get an app that magnifies and lights. Watch the life forms that grow. I do it all the time. Drives the kids nuts. I hope there are still there[emoji16] sometimes you look close and it looks like someone threw a bag of gem stones across a field. And to think, you bought an ugly rock!

Happy Fishing

Forgot. Keep your circular pumps moving in the right directions. You need 2. Get a good current going. Move those spores moving out and into your refugium and the skimmer will filter them out. Removing them out from the tank. You need lots and lots of water movement

 

[Lawlboom]

I agree with some of what you said hether, however this tank is very very small so adding more livestock is not really a solution.

 

[landlubber]

The algae needs to grow. It is vital. The "live rock" is the live filtration system, there are some algae that are not desirable but you treat those on a bloom by bloom basis. A lot of those can be treated by your fish. Scrubbing the rock means you have to start all over if you want to have a healthy sustained live filtration system. It creates a more familiar envirenvironment for your bio load. The type of algae depends where you are in cycling your tank. You WILL get a fuzzy brown diatoms You WILL get a slimy red cryo bloom. They green moss hair just needs a hungry Angel or a foxface butterfly. A lawnmower Blennie will keep the algae trimmed nice but make sure he will eat prepared foods or when he's munched the algae he will starve. While you want them to eat the algae do not put veggie sheets for your fish or they will take the easy way out and eat that rather than grazing. Fish really are lazy. Driven by food and sex. Mine play tag and host races around my rocks. My ruby headed wrasse always cheats and cuts through the rocks instead of going all way around. Once the others take off he sneaks back to the start line like he won so fast the others never saw him passing[emoji12]

If you have a refugium make sure your green algae is healthy and growing. Trim back as needed and it will "eat" the nitrogen and remove THAT food source keeping that controlled in your bio/live refugium and out of your display tank. Light is another way to control growth of random "undesirables" if you see something new or "odd", change your light setting so there is less light for it to feed on.

You probably know everything I'm sending, but I made so many mistakes if I can help anyone from reapeting one I'm gonna sent "too long" replies

DO NOT scrub the rock! In fact get an app that magnifies and lights. Watch the life forms that grow. I do it all the time. Drives the kids nuts. I hope there are still there[emoji16] sometimes you look close and it looks like someone threw a bag of gem stones across a field. And to think, you bought an ugly rock!

Happy Fishing

not bad tips here but i personally feel that unbalanced parameters (Ca, Alk, Mg, Nitrate and Phosphate) are the real concern here. sure adding fish and inverts help control problematic algae but none of those them will rid you of the issue that is fueling the algae and solve the problem. without testing water all we're doing is speculating that what has worked for us will work for them.
test your water and post the results if you want a solution.

 

[Heather w]

I test regularly. I'm doing a change today. I have designed a solution to the hauling of buckets but can't do it now. My daughter is moving back home. I hate doing water changes[emoji58]

 

[kasik64]

What is your source water? RODI with Red Sea salt

What is your water change schedule? I change weekly- usually every Sunday. I clean before I water change and then I change filters monthly. I am running biocube carbon filters with super fine sponge into purigen over marine pure balls into ref.

What is your light schedule? 11:00 am to 9:00 pm daylight and blue during the day, and led at night.

What do you feed and how often? I feed shrimp mysis 1/4 cube every other day with vitachem, and phytoplex and mircovert for my corals/nems.

What lightning do you have? LED/T5/Metal Halide? I have 24 watt actinic blue and 36w 10k daylight with 2 0.75 watt blue led (basic stock lights and I added the extra led)

I will check my parameters and let you guys know.

I have a current stock of:

1 Firefish
2 clownfish
1 tube anemone
1 star polyp
1 new coral (no idea on the ID)
3 turbos
1 Astrias
2 hermits
Hitchhiked brittle starfish

 

[kasik64]

How long have u had this tank

Since January

 

[Lawlboom]

What is your source water? RODI with Red Sea salt

What is your water change schedule? I change weekly- usually every Sunday. I clean before I water change and then I change filters monthly. I am running biocube carbon filters with super fine sponge into purigen over marine pure balls into ref.

What is your light schedule? 11:00 am to 9:00 pm daylight and blue during the day, and led at night.

What do you feed and how often? I feed shrimp mysis 1/4 cube every other day with vitachem, and phytoplex and mircovert for my corals/nems.

What lightning do you have? LED/T5/Metal Halide? I have 24 watt actinic blue and 36w 10k daylight with 2 0.75 watt blue led (basic stock lights and I added the extra led)

I will check my parameters and let you guys know.

I have a current stock of:

1 Firefish
2 clownfish
1 tube anemone
1 star polyp
1 new coral (no idea on the ID)
3 turbos
1 Astrias
2 hermits
Hitchhiked brittle starfish

Can you elaborate further on 'I clean before I water change' such as turkey baster off rocks and siphon the sand bed?

How much water do you change?

Have you tried a 3 day black out?

 

[ReefJake123]

Not 3 days I personally tried a 3 it didn't work but 5-7 days worked like a charm