Green algae...what’s happening?

[Scrubber_steve]

I'm 31. I'm no old folgie. Lol.

 

[Scorpius]

ROFL. I've only been reefing since 2013.

 

[Mini Coop]

Hahaha. This is awesome!!!

 

[Mini Coop]

ROFL. I've only been reefing since 2013.

I started in 2016. I had a 120. Then when we moved I moved it to my in laws and built my new 180 from scratch! (Link to my build thread in my signature if you are interested).

 

[nhlives]

Normal as everyone is saying. It will be 12 months before you are through the "new tank" phase. You have diatoms yet to deal with. Your nitrates are high but also you need to monitor phosphates. Phosphates are the easiest way to control algae while allowing a healthy level of nitrates. Get a Hanna ULR phosphate checker and get under 1 ppm.

 

[Mini Coop]

Normal as everyone is saying. It will be 12 months before you are through the "new tank" phase. You have diatoms yet to deal with. Your nitrates are high but also you need to monitor phosphates. Phosphates are the easiest way to control algae while allowing a healthy level of nitrates. Get a Hanna ULR phosphate checker and get under 1 ppm.

Honestly, I kind of forgot about phosphates! I have a Hanna checker. I wondered what “Normal” range for phosphates is. I know that is subjective per tank.
I went through diatoms already. Once anyway. I had the brown diatom bloom...lasted about 4 days and went away on its own.
Here are Params as of today:
Salinity 1.027
Alkalinity 7.3
Calcium 440
Magnesium 1240
Phosphates: 0.4

Let me know your thoughts on how these are. I haven’t been checking phosphates. But this is pretty consistent as to what it’s been measuring for a month. Where do I go from here?

 

[Mini Coop]

Honestly, I kind of forgot about phosphates! I have a Hanna checker. I wondered what “Normal” range for phosphates is. I know that is subjective per tank.
I went through diatoms already. Once anyway. I had the brown diatom bloom...lasted about 4 days and went away on its own.
Here are Params as of today:
Salinity 1.027
Alkalinity 7.3
Calcium 440
Magnesium 1240
Phosphates: 0.4

Let me know your thoughts on how these are. I haven’t been checking phosphates. But this is pretty consistent as to what it’s been measuring for a month. Where do I go from here?

Forgot: PH is 8.02

 

[Fudsey]

Got any Chaeto in that sump yet Coop? That will help bring down your PO4

 

[Mini Coop]

Got any Chaeto in that sump yet Coop? That will help bring down your PO4

No not yet. Still trying to get the right adapter to put a strainer on the return!
The adapter fit in the store but not on my tub at home. I was going to put it in the trough. Just not sure how to keep it put. Also thought about mangroves.
Is .4 high?

 

[Fudsey]

I wouldn't say high but not ideal according to some. Could you use egg crate to separate it?

 

[Mini Coop]

I wouldn't say high but not ideal according to some. Could you use egg crate to separate it?

What is ideal?

Hmmm...that’s an idea. I could set up a little “container” in the trough. That would work. Opinions on mangroves?

 

[PhreeByrd]

I consider 0.4 Phosphate right around the ideal range. You cannot eliminate Phosphate and shouldn't want to even if it was possible. Your parameters look fine to me. What is your nitrate level now?

Algae growth is also normal. You cannot have a healthy tank without it. Consider yourself lucky that you have what appears to be a benign or even beneficial micro form.
Your tank is still very new, and will be going through many stages in the coming weeks and months. Don't freak out over them; they will pass. I would advise waiting to add any macroalgae to the sump. You don't need it, at least not now. Small grazer snails such as Trochus will love that microalgae and will help your tank mature.

I would definitely lengthen your light cycle. Do this gradually over the next 4-6 weeks. Wild reefs depend upon this cycle for many things, and I believe our glass boxes do as well. I find it best to try to replicate mother nature as much as possible, and unless your goal is something much different from a tropical tank, I would work towards a 50/50 day/night cycle. The more natural light cycle will also help your tank mature more quickly.

IMO, nothing in this hobby is more important or more essential than patience. It's also the most difficult thing to achieve.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I consider 0.4 Phosphate right around the ideal range. You cannot eliminate Phosphate and shouldn't want to even if it was possible. Your parameters look fine to me. What is your nitrate level now?

Algae growth is also normal. You cannot have a healthy tank without it. Consider yourself lucky that you have what appears to be a benign or even beneficial micro form.
Your tank is still very new, and will be going through many stages in the coming weeks and months. Don't freak out over them; they will pass. I would advise waiting to add any macroalgae to the sump. You don't need it, at least not now. Small grazer snails such as Trochus will love that microalgae and will help your tank mature.

I would definitely lengthen your light cycle. Do this gradually over the next 4-6 weeks. Wild reefs depend upon this cycle for many things, and I believe our glass boxes do as well. I find it best to try to replicate mother nature as much as possible, and unless your goal is something much different from a tropical tank, I would work towards a 50/50 day/night cycle. The more natural light cycle will also help your tank mature more quickly.

IMO, nothing in this hobby is more important or more essential than patience. It's also the most difficult thing to achieve.

FWIW, I don't consider 0.4 ppm phosphate ideal.

Why do you think that is better than 0.04 ppm?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

What is ideal?

Hmmm...that’s an idea. I could set up a little “container” in the trough. That would work. Opinions on mangroves?

Ideal depends on your goals (color, growth rate, algae inhibition, etc.), but IMO, 0.02-0.03 ppm is a fine target level for most reef tanks.

Higher is not necessarily a "problem", but it will let algae grow faster, and it may allow corals to brown up with extra zoox.

Undetectable is also undesirable, potentially starving corals and rising dinos.

I don't think mangroves are typically very effective at nutrient export. They grow too slowly in most cases.

This has more:

Phosphate In The Reef Aquarium
https://www.reef2reef.com/blog/?p=3184

 

[PhreeByrd]

FWIW, I don't consider 0.4 ppm phosphate ideal.

Why do you think that is better than 0.04 ppm?

Crap. I missed a decimal point.
Ignore me, I'm an idiot.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Crap. I missed a decimal point.
Ignore me, I'm an idiot.

No problem. I just wanted to understand.

 

[Mini Coop]

No problem. I just wanted to understand.

Haha. OK, so .4 seems really high then. How do I get it down?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

My article above details a bunch of ways. I’d use a binder.

 

[PhreeByrd]

When I tried phosphate binders (GFO, mostly) in a reactor for a couple of years, they did work, albeit rather poorly. It was also pretty expensive and required quite a bit of maintenance. For me, it worked well to lower phosphates for a very short time (a few days) after recharging the reactor, and then did very little after that. Unfortunately, I had neither the time nor the resources to change the media every 3 days. I had better luck growing chaetomorpha in the sump, and since maintenance only consisted of pruning and removing some of the chaeto once a week or so, I was much happier doing that. It was self-regulating and without any risk of overdoing things; it also just worked very steadily, at a very predictable rate, and removed nitrates at the same time. It even created an excellent refuge for amphipods and copepods, which to me was a huge benefit. The only added cost was running a light over the sump.

I used chaetomorpha because it was easy to work with, grows fast under favorable conditions, and posed little risk. I'm sure there are other macroalga that will consume phosphates even faster, but I wasn't crazy about the possibility of accidentally releasing a caulerpa species into my display tank.

If you go that route, you will want to make sure the macroalgae you get is clean, healthy, and without undesirable organisms. That, IME, is the only really dicey part of that option.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

When I tried phosphate binders (GFO, mostly) in a reactor for a couple of years, they did work, albeit rather poorly. It was also pretty expensive and required quite a bit of maintenance. For me, it worked well to lower phosphates for a very short time (a few days) after recharging the reactor, and then did very little after that. .

You probably depleted the media. It depletes very fast when phosphate is high, and much slower when it is lower.