algae suffocating my chaeto

petemichelle · Oct 4, 2016

i have a 150 gal display, with about a 30 gal sump, water volume is 135 gal. i have a 4 inch deep sand bed, I run 4 inches of miracle mud in the sump. I have a mixed reef with a hand full of SPS, mostly LPS and Zoanthids. i have about 15 clown size fish for a bio load. I use a Kassil purple light in the refugium, set on opposite lighting cycle as the display lights. (10pm to 2pm) 14 hours. the flow is around 1400 gal per hour through the sump. 9.5 and a 5 DANNER return pumps. I run a 40watt light Emperor Aquatic UV light, a BRS dual reactor with 1 1/2 cups of GFO mixed with 4 cups of high quality activated carbon. I have a CV 240 SKIMMER RUNNING 24/7, with a dinner 18 on it. I dose 190 ml of calcium and alkalinity per day on a doser releasing every 1/2 hour. i have 2 MP40 in the display and I run 3 Razor 120's for the display lighting, from 2pm to 10 pm. ramping up and down.

my water quality is:

mag: 360
alk" 9.8
calcium 470
salinity 1.025
nitrate: 6
phosphate .015
ph 8.2-8.3

I used to grow cheato like it was the thing to do. 1 big solid cake of it. I used to trim it every 2-3 weeks and bring it to the fish store. then one day, I started getting this green algae, looks like green long hair algae, in the display and on the Chaeto. it killed all of the Chaeto. I cleaned the sump area, took all the rock out and cleaned that, cleaned the plexiglass sides, and got new Chaeto. it stayed the same size for 2 weeks and then the algae came back and everything died again. I had my UV light off during this whole time because I was trying to grow my pod population and was only running carbon,(no GFO) because I was told to give the Chaeto more nutrients. any suggestions.

I turned the UV light back on and have 1 1/2 cups of GFO in it now, both running 24/7. a mag 2 running each. the GFO will suck out the phosphates, will that hurt the Chaeto? Does the Chaeto depend on phosphate? or only nitrate? if only nitrate, then can I run a **** load of GFO and feed alot to keep my nitrates up, will that feed the Chaeto at the same time kill the bad algae?

I was thinking of getting an ARID system by Pax Bellum. its a Chaeto reactor. My thought was to run the UV light right into the ARID reactor, hoping the UV light will kill any water bourn algae, heck, if the GFO will kill all the phosphates, and the Chaeteo doesn't need phosphates only nitrates, then maybe I should put that in the loop as well before the reactor.

please give me your suggestions.

Tom Davey · Oct 4, 2016

Do you dose Iodine ? If I do the hair algae goes crazy .

petemichelle · Oct 4, 2016

petemichelle · Oct 4, 2016

Tom Davey said:
Do you dose Iodine ? If I do the hair algae goes crazy .

no I do not dose iodine. by going crazy, you mean grows a lot more? I heard maybe iron would help the Chaeto, has anybody tried that in this situation, or will it also make the hair algae go crazy as well?

Tom Davey · Oct 4, 2016

I can have none but it will start to grow If I am not careful. I only add it if my tree coral looks bad.

Bunnee911 · Oct 4, 2016

I dose iron once a week just to keep my chaeto and caulerpa alive.

Check Randy Holmes Farleys articles.

petemichelle · Oct 4, 2016

how much do you dose, and how big is your system please. and which articles? can you give me a link please. thanks for your input. please anybody else???

Randy Holmes-Farley · Oct 5, 2016

Years ago, I experienced the same thing, and someone suggested dosing iron. Remarkably, it worked. The hair algae declined.

Here's an iron article:

Chemistry And The Aquarium: Iron In A Reef Tank ? Advanced Aquarist | Aquarist Magazine and Blog
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/aug2002/chem.htm

Chemistry And The Aquarium: Iron: A Look At Organisms Other Than Macroalgae ? Advanced Aquarist | Aquarist Magazine and Blog
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/oct2002/chem.htm

petemichelle · Oct 5, 2016

again, how much did you dose? how big is your system?

Randy Holmes-Farley · Oct 6, 2016

The article describes dosing and recipes. That's why I posted it.

But I also have a more recent recipe that is easier to find the ingredients:

Buy Fergon iron tablets from a drug store.
Put one pill in about 25 mL fresh water (volume is not that important since dose is not that important for iron). Let it soak for a while or overnight until the tablet breaks apart.

Swirl it to mix. Let is settle overnight. Then use the clear greenish liquid.

I dosed about 1 mL per 100 gallons once a week.

Bunnee911 · Oct 7, 2016

I use a whole eyedropper full. Lol. The dose is not critical.
I have a BC29. About 25 gallons.

petemichelle · Oct 9, 2016

thanks guys, anybody else. another suggestion besides iron? how about the answer to the question does chaeto need phosphates or grow or just nitrates?

petemichelle · Oct 9, 2016

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
The article describes dosing and recipes. That's why I posted it.

But I also have a more recent recipe that is easier to find the ingredients:

Buy Fergon iron tablets from a drug store.
Put one pill in about 25 mL fresh water (volume is not that important since dose is not that important for iron). Let it soak for a while or overnight until the tablet breaks apart.

Swirl it to mix. Let is settle overnight. Then use the clear greenish liquid.

I dosed about 1 mL per 100 gallons once a week.

do i need to refrigerate after making this or anything?

Randy Holmes-Farley · Oct 9, 2016

petemichelle said:
thanks guys, anybody else. another suggestion besides iron? how about the answer to the question does chaeto need phosphates or grow or just nitrates?

Every growing organism needs a source of N, P, iron, and many other nutrients.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Oct 9, 2016

petemichelle said:
do i need to refrigerate after making this or anything?

No, or I would have said so. lol

petemichelle · Apr 26, 2017

I have been using your formula of 1 table of Fergon per 25ml of ro water to make and dose into my system. thanks. I was already and am still using the red sea Colors program which has Red Sea colors C. in that bottle they list that it has iron, manganese, cobalt copper, aluminum, zinc, chrome and nickel. right now I am dosing 6 ml of each of the colors program , A, B, C, and D. plus I dose 30ml of the iron solution that I make from your formula. I ALSO, started dosing 8 drops of stuff that Pax Bellium sent me to go with their chaeto reactor per day. it says it has Iron and Maganese in it. My question is can I just stop dosing everything but your solution. will it give me the other listed elements? although I don't really see any negative effects, should I be dosing less.. remember my initial issue is with long hair algae growing on my chaeto in my sump, which it still does if I have any chaeto in it and not in the reactor. the long hair algae doesn't seem to be growing on the chaeto in the reactor... though I am not getting much growth of the chaeto in the sump or in the reactor. my nutrients are still high and not being reduced by either... around 25 nitrates and .15 phosphates really I want to stop dosing so much different iron but want to make sure I am getting all the other trace elements...