Pulling My Hair Out

[JurisHP]

I have been battling brown algae for months now....NOTHING I do gets rid of it. I am wiping down my glass twice a day....I wake up and it needs cleaning and especially at the end of the day when the lights were running, MAJOR algae EVERYWHERE. And this is relatively recent. These are the details of my tank./

180g mixed reef that has been up and run-in g for ov er 10 years.
Ecotech Radion G5 Blues that run about 11 hours/day on the LPS/Soft Coral template.
Paramegters are:

Salinity: 1.026
Temp. 78
pH: 8.0
Ca: 422
P04: .69
dKh: 9.6
Nitrates: off the charts

I have been battling Nitrates and Phosphates for YEARS...I have tried everything, the latest of which is a refugium where my Chaeto is growing nicely.

I admittedly don't do water changes as often as I should.

But what explains all this algae which is choking out my VERY easy to keep softies and requiring me to clean the glass 2 x/day?

HELP!

Thanks!

 

[blaxsun]

Well, "nitrates off the charts" would be the first place to start. More regular water changes (10% every 2 weeks) and more frequent changing out any filter socks/floss.

 

[A_Blind_Reefer]

I’m not bashing but you pretty much answered your own question. High nitrates, phosphates and few water changes. Don’t fret it, I have the same problem with tacos and beer. I’m fat. I know I’m fat. I know if I lay off the tacos and beer I’ll be skinny. I love tacos

 

[vtecintegra]

Phosphate and nitrate are the two biggest resources for plants to grow. I shoot for .1 and 10. I'd get a 55 gallon trash can (maybe two) and do big water changes every weekend until I hit the numbers. 10% will take a long time and may never get ahead of the problem. Look into a roller mat or change filter socks every two days. Make sure skimmer works well, and hopefully the chaeto starts doing a good job.

 

[Acrofiend]

Stop the water changes and let the tank balance out especially if under 1 year old. Stop chasing nitrates and phosphates unless they’re at zero.
My method for removing algae is using a filter sock clipped to my sump and using the water change hose and my thumb to remove the algae. Then my tuxedo urchin removes the smaller algae.

 

[Acrofiend]

Like this

 

[jetskiwilly]

10 years old? When’s last time changed RO filters?

 

[Lavey29]

Stop the water changes and let the tank balance out especially if under 1 year old. Stop chasing nitrates and phosphates unless they’re at zero.
My method for removing algae is using a filter sock clipped to my sump and using the water change hose and my thumb to remove the algae. Then my tuxedo urchin removes the smaller algae.

Um, he said his tank is 10 years old with major elevated levels of phosphate and nitrates.

 

[ZombieEngineer]

Manual removal
Let the cheato grow out with 18 hour photoperiod.
Up water changes
Decrease feeding a little bit.
Consider carbon dosing and/or gfo

 

[gbroadbridge]

Stop the water changes and let the tank balance out especially if under 1 year old. Stop chasing nitrates and phosphates unless they’re at zero.
My method for removing algae is using a filter sock clipped to my sump and using the water change hose and my thumb to remove the algae. Then my tuxedo urchin removes the smaller algae.

Did you even read the OP post?

 

[gbroadbridge]

I have been battling brown algae for months now....NOTHING I do gets rid of it. I am wiping down my glass twice a day....I wake up and it needs cleaning and especially at the end of the day when the lights were running, MAJOR algae EVERYWHERE. And this is relatively recent. These are the details of my tank./

180g mixed reef that has been up and run-in g for ov er 10 years.
Ecotech Radion G5 Blues that run about 11 hours/day on the LPS/Soft Coral template.
Paramegters are:

Salinity: 1.026
Temp. 78
pH: 8.0
Ca: 422
P04: .69
dKh: 9.6
Nitrates: off the charts

I have been battling Nitrates and Phosphates for YEARS...I have tried everything, the latest of which is a refugium where my Chaeto is growing nicely.

I admittedly don't do water changes as often as I should.

But what explains all this algae which is choking out my VERY easy to keep softies and requiring me to clean the glass 2 x/day?

HELP!

Thanks!

You need to get your Nitrates and Phosphates under control.
And change a lot of water.

As you said it's been going on for years, don't expect a magic bullet.
It's going to take months and months of hard work to even start to see much difference let alone cure your problem.

Honestly, I'd almost be looking at at a tank reboot if you want a fast cure.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Some tanks with super high N and P still have no algae issues. It may be in those aquaria that something else limits it (such as iron), but it is also likely that herbivores do the trick. Fish such as rabbit fish or foxface can do a great job on algae issues.