The fight continues.....

[Ernie C]

I think I need a different plan of attack. Have gha and turf type algae. It’s getting better with water changes and me pulling it off daily but I’m missing something. Phosphates and nitrates don’t register. I have a a few damsels and a coral beauty some emerald crabs and a banded shrimp some snails and hermits.

The thing is corals look pale and aren’t doing well at all. In an older thread when My tank looked like Chewbacca, I was told to eventually bring up my phosphates and nitrates but I’m worried it will fuel the algae after so much work trying to get rid of it.

Any advice or words of wisdom?

Tank was set up from an older tank about a year ago. Salinity is 1.025, alk 13 dkh, calcium is at 420, ph is 8.3 temp was like 75 but just put in a heater to keep at 77 with less swings. Stopped dosing any alk to let it come down. Hadnt realized it was that high with all the maintenance I’ve been doing. Sorry for the long post

 

[laverda]

I would set up an ATS to out compete the algae in the tank. You can light your ATS 24/7 to get it started. After a week or two to get established, cut your display tank light schedule and rinse any rocks you can remove easily with hydrogen peroxide. Once you get the algae in you display under control reduce the light cycle for your ATS so that you can measure a small amount of nitrate and phosphate. See my DIY thread here for ideas on how to build an ATS for very little.

 

[fergusk]

I’d tend to agree - definitely worth coming up with something to help outcompete the algae, then kill it with hydrogen peroxide. One method I’ve been successful with is using phosguard to remove phosphates and silicates. Then a 24/7 fuge or algae reactor could help to combat phosphate and nitrate further. Using zeolite can kill it too, but it can also impact your biological filtration so I would tend to avoid it. Good luck!!