Best equipment to prevent algae?

[Aimulator64]

Hello everyone!

I am new to the forums and to marine fish/coral keeping. I have a decent amount of experience with freshwater planted tanks. I have been lurking the forums for a while now actually, and this is my first time posting!

About a month ago I purchased a Fluval Sea Evo 13.5 gallon all in one tank, ran it for a month, and got the most disgusting bloom of brown snot-like algae that I have ever seen. I had a bad start when it came to my first 2 skunk clowns and cleaner shrimp. I cycled the tank for 2 weeks, added the fish, and after a couple of weeks, the algae started to choke out the tank. I also have been religious with keeping an 8-hour light period during the day. I scrubbed the tank, did a water change, sifted the sand, and the next morning everyone was dead. I covered the tank for a week, eliminated the algae, and started over, just to end up with the same problem.

I have come to the relatively certain conclusion that I have been overfeeding, not changing enough water, and that has been causing my algae blooms. I decided as well that due to the limitations of the tank, I wanted to move to a more comfortable size for a nano system and have purchased a 30 gallon tank.

My new equipment includes an aquaclear 50, 2 circulation pumps ( a 245 gph and a 500 gph), a fluval sea 36-48 inch light fixture, and proper heater and therm. I want to install something that will help me combat the after-effects of overfeeding as well as other things that cause algae. This new tank has 35 pounds of live-rock, and once I move my little guys to this tank from the 13.5 gallon, there will be a cleaner shrimp and 2 ocellaris clowns.

What would be the best way to stabilize my water parameters to keep algae out despite the inevitable pieces of food that will go uneaten? I am hoping that a bigger volume of water will help a bit with this, but I don't have a sump for the 30, but am willing to buy an overflow box to hang on the back to be able to put a sump tank down below. Should I try to do some sort of refugium? or will I have better luck with a chemical reactor with a media that controls whatever the algae eats?

I guess I don't really know enough about the hobby yet to know what questions to really ask. I have read some of the stickies about cycling tanks and how to acclimate, but I don't know what causes the gross brown algae with bubbles that looks like slime.

Any help is appreciated. I want to be able to do this right, and I can only gather so much from the long stickies before my ADD goes crazy and makes me forget what I've already read. Thanks again!

P.S. When I get home I will gladly take a picture of the new/old setup if that helps.

 

[SPR1968]

Hi and firstly welcome to R2R it’s great to have you with us

Some pictures would be very helpful and also a full list of your water parameters, in particular phosphate and nitrate levels which can be a cause of algae issues.

A bloom of ‘brown snot like algae’ could be various things including dinoflagellates but we would need to see pictures

 

[Ruben's Reef]

!!! Welcome to R2R !!! Definitely pictures will help to see the stage of the brown algae. Like @SPR1968 said, water parameters etc. Also, do you use RODI water? You are using a AC50 filter and is nothing wrong with it but you will need to change the pads often cus will be a Nitrate factory if you are overfeeding. Don't hesitate to ask more questions, we are here to help you.

 

[Aimulator64]

As soon as I can get home and upload some pictures I will. I do not have phosphate test kits, just a staple API master test kit for ammonia, nitrites, nitrates and pH. I will see about getting a phosphate test kit. In the mean time, is there a good "kit" that you suggest I have to have the best luck with keeping softies and LPS and keeping a clean tank? I have no problem buying the stuff, I just want to avoid redundancy and overspending if stuff isnt necessary. For example, if a calcium doser and a simple 20g long refugium with macro algae was all I really needed for a beautiful algae free tank, I would jump on it in a heartbeat. If I do that, and it turns out I should have put a 1000 dollar RODI and sump system together and not bothered with the refugium, I wouldn't want to waste the money.

thanks a bunch for replying! I appreciate the friendliness.

 

[PatW]

Algae control is a dynamic process.

You want to keep nitrates and phosphates under control. I run an SPS system so I keep the nutrients low: about 1 ppm for nitrate and about .02 ppm phosphate.

I have vigorous nutrient export. I run chaeto in a refugium and an over sized skimmer. I need a really bright light on the chaeto a Kessel H380 because my display has bright light.

Even with a fair bit of feeding, I cannot keep up with export. So I dose nitrates and phosphates.

Even with low nutrients, I need grazers to eat the algae on the rocks. Trichus snails and turbo snails get that job. The trick is you need enough to eat the algae but not so many that they eat it and starve to death.

So it is a balance between import and export and grazers.

You almost certainly will not do what I do. You can achieve a fair amount of nutrient export with water changes and skimming rounded out with grazers.

 

[Aimulator64]

!!! Welcome to R2R !!! Definitely pictures will help to see the stage of the brown algae. Like @SPR1968 said, water parameters etc. Also, do you use RODI water? You are using a AC50 filter and is nothing wrong with it but you will need to change the pads often cus will be a Nitrate factory if you are overfeeding. Don't hesitate to ask more questions, we are here to help you.

I do not use RODI water. my LRS told me the RODI water really is for convenience and I can use prime

 

[SynGraves]

I do not use RODI water. my LRS told me the RODI water really is for convenience and I can use prime

You're gonna want to use RODI... For both mixing salt water and your top off water. In my experience water conditioners cause more problems then they solve. Investing in a good RODI filter system pays for itself after a few months.

The water condition wont remove anything from the water but instead will convert or break down things like chlorine into other chemicals. There are also lots of minerals and chemicals that will remain which algae can feed off of.

 

[Aimulator64]

Any suggestions for a good system? I’ll order one tonight

 

[Aimulator64]

Also does seachem’s phosguard work at all? Or is that just a temporary solution

 

[Aimulator64]

In addition to an RO/DI system can I also use something like this?

 

[Aimulator64]

Here are some pictures of the tank the girlfriend sent me.

 

[Ruben's Reef]

Nice setup. All new tanks will go thru this ugly stages until mature but the tap water will do a lot to sustain the algae. I remember when I was getting my water from my local LFS and start getting a lot of brown algae so I when and check the TDS on their water and was 38 when suppose to be 0. That day I ordered my small RODI system from Amazon and after that I had no problem at all.

 

[jeffchapok]

That looks like diatoms to me. They are inevitable in a new tank. The good news is that once they've used all the silicates out of the water, they'll stop growing.

Astrea snails do a pretty good job at clearing them away for me. Also, they come off pretty easily. You can use a powerhead to blow them off of the rocks and then let your filter sweep them up.

 

[Aimulator64]

So my plan so far is to get a small RODI system, and possibly a media reactor to hang on the back (if anything it should help for a variety of situations even if I stop using GFO and move to Purigen or something

 

[Ruben's Reef]

Quick question. Do you have a wave maker to move the surface for aeration? I can't see any on your picture.

 

[Aimulator64]

No, I actually moved it to the 30 gallon to aid in the cycling process. The fish will move this weekend as long as the parameters are okay

 

[Aimulator64]

Here is the new setup with brand new live rock. The rock on the right is from one store, the darker rocks are from another store. I’m hoping this setup is easier to manage. Can I benefit from a media reactor? With gfo running constantly?

 

[Ruben's Reef]

Oh ok, this one looks way better. On my 40g I put an small bag off carbon ROX 0.8 from BRS on my sump filter cup and keep my water clean.

 

[Aimulator64]

Oh ok, this one looks way better. On my 40g I put an small bag off carbon ROX 0.8 from BRS on my sump filter cup and keep my water clean.

That tank there is replacing the 13.5 which has all the algae. I was concerned that the algae I had was dinos and I wanted to prevent it in this new tank. But what I am reading is that brown algae is going to happen whether I like it or not and eventually dies off. So my goal is to NOT have that mess in this 30g. I’m going to take down the 13.5 and bleach it and use it as a sump at some point or a refugium. Would a media reactor be redundant or could I run one with gfo in it and have that actually be beneficial for the new tank?

 

[dansreef]

Welcome to R2R! There are a lot of guys and gals here who can help guide you! The key piece is to take some deep breaths... and dare I say relax...

New tanks go through all sorts of uglies.... I dont know what you have experienced in the last month.... but you WILL be experiencing more in the months to come. Let the cycle on your new tank run its course. A good cycle will take weeks not neccessarily hours or days. If yours is shorter...are you using some sort of fast cycle solution? ok... Are you watcing the amonia, nitrite and nitrate levels? Dont move your fish until the amonia and nitrate levels are zero! You may see your nitrate levels elevate. You may want to do some water changes to bring it down if it is way too high. Again, not sure how you started and are completing your cycle. Make sure you are tracking your temp, PH, Nitrate, Phosphates....and salinity at a bare minimum. Get the kits and get familiar with the process and the levels. Strive to find stability... Since your nutrient export is limited with a hang on back filter, you will want to make sure you are not feeding a lot...and not stocking you tank too fast. Strive to keep your phosphates < .05 and Nitrates not much higher than 20... lower in the 10-15 range is better.

Your new tank looks nice and will be a great improvement to the other one. Go slow... Nothing good happens in reef tanks going fast. There are all sorts of shortcuts... that manufacturers sell. None, IMHO, are as good as going slow and deliberate. Do your research on here (R2R) on proper cycling of tanks. Look for smaller tanks and how people are managing their filtration, how they are exporting nutrients....etc. Learn all you can here on R2R. IT is an awesome resource for new reefers. I can tell you I would have saved thousands of dollars if it were around when I first started many years ago.

Your LFS did you no favors by suggesting that RODI isn't essential. It is! It will cost you a few bucks more to buy from them or a bit more to get your own RODI system. Never put anything but RODI water in your tank as topoff or as water for mixing salt.

Good Luck! Take it slow. Welcome to R2R!