Forty Fathoms

Kelly · Joined: 17 May 2009 Posts: 6

Hi.

I have a fairly new 120g tank. It's 3 months old now and I am struggling with green algae...

Here are a few pics:

I have done some research and a lot of sites suggest removing the LR one piece at a time and washing it in tank water removed during a water change using a toothbrush.

Before I attempt this... is this a bad idea?

I placed a layer of base rock under my LR, and none of the base rock has algae on it - only my LR - so I shouldn't have to upset the sand too much to do this. Some pieces are completely covered.

Kelly

redeyess · Joined: 23 Jan 2007 Posts: 173 Location: Bath, Ontario

Hey Kelly.

I used to have the same problem back in the day as you can see here.
http://fortyfathoms.10.forumer.com/viewtopic.php?t=121

Here is what I tried.
1) Picking the algae daily. This really sucked. Basically picking algae from the rocks every single day.
2) A battalion of Snails and and a lawnmower blenny. Now these guys might have helped before the algae got as long as it did. But they didn't seem to touch the stuff.
3) Reduced feeding to every other day. I was feeding frozen and flake food at the time. It may have helped but my sailfin tang started to look really thin, so I stopped this. (currently he is super fat and looking great)
4)Reduced lighting.
5)Took every rock out of the tank and scrubbed it with a pot brush and tooth brush. This really really sucked, it took my fiance and I like six hours to do this. (The algae came back)

None of that stuff seemed to help.
So I took it to the extreme and took half of my live rock out a "cooked" it. By cooking it I mean putting it in a trash container full of saltwater (with a power head) and covering it. Basically depriving it of light for 4-6 WEEKS and changing the water every week.
When I took the rock out, it was nice a white and the algae didn't come back.
Basically this was the last resort for me, you can try the other methods by all means you may have more luck than me.
Good Luck. Let me know if you have any more questions.

Another question though what are you using for substrate?
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kenny · Joined: 23 Jan 2007 Posts: 61 Location: Frankville

It is a part of the succession of developing a Marine tank, but it does look like it has gotten out of hand.

What kind of skimmer are you running? If your skimmer is up to the task you can run sugar or vodka for a while. That increases the microbial activity in your tank and the microbes out compete the algae for nutrients. Then your skimmer removes the microbes.

Kelly · Joined: 17 May 2009 Posts: 6

I should have mentioned that I started with city water, but bought an RO unit from Jim last month... So I am slowly swapping out city water for RO water when I do partial water changes.

I don't have a skimmer yet. Most people I spoke with said my tank is not old enough to benifit from a skimmer.

I'm hoping that this is just a stage... and that it will pass in a month or so.

I plan on removing the rocks one by one sometime soon.

Thanks for the comments.

Kelly

pearljam45 · Joined: 22 Mar 2007 Posts: 262

I've had the same problem recently. I only feed every 2 or three days, and I reduced my light levels drastically. (from 11-7or8hrs/day)

Also, with every water change, I take a bowl of fresh water, pick out the algae and dip my fingers with the algae into the bowl. this way, all of the algae comes off my fingers cleanly. It seems to work.

Also, you'll probably notice that your powerheads/any other intake are covered with algae. This has had a huge affect on my flow, so I'm really careful to make sure that I clean my filter intake/skimmer/powerheads.

You'll find it easier if you turn them off, otherwise, the algae will get sucked in, chopped up and float around only to settle somewhere else.

Try to minimize the amount of free floating algae when you remove it.

My $0.02.

jimskoi · Posted: Tue May 19, 2009 2:44 pm Post subject:

Wow!
Thats alot of algae for 3 months.
Too much light and too much feeding.Cuts your lights down t0 6 hours for now and the feeding to ever other day.
How many snails or urchins do you have in there?

If you can take out some rocks and brush them off.It wouldnt hurt.

You have to starve the algae.

3 months is okay for a skimmer.By the sounds of it you have enough now for the skimmer to take out.lol.
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joeyt66 · Posted: Tue May 19, 2009 3:43 pm Post subject:

2nd on....
reduce lighting reduce feeding. And i too believe its time for a skimmer.

PS I should really take my own advice. Im starting to get some too lol
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kenny · Joined: 23 Jan 2007 Posts: 61 Location: Frankville

I had a thread about this going on AC but I figured I would drop a pair of photos in this thread to show how the carbon dosing thing worked for me.

Five weeks of sugar dosing and I cut my water changes in half. Skimmer production has doubled to keep up with bacterial bloom. The sugar boosts bacterial growth which out competes the algae. The skimmer pulls out the bacteria. So this is nutrient export like you do in the fuge with a macro algae but using the biological activity in the tank instead.

It has really helped me get ahead of the bryopsis and cyano that would not go away in this spot. Now that I got it beat I can get down the dealing with the root cause of where those nutrients are coming from.

rkelman · Joined: 08 Oct 2007 Posts: 228 Location: Belleville

Wow that's alot of algae in 3 months. I think your water would have to have had some phosphates to grow that fast. Along with the suggestions above I would do several large water changes with your RODI water.

Kelly · Joined: 17 May 2009 Posts: 6

~keny - wow! Big difference! Did you have to remove the LR and clean it? Or did it come that clean after carbon dosing?

~Jim - I think a skimmer might be in order soon!!

I drastically reduced the amount I feed - and the duration the lights are on - and although the algae is still there, no new algae sprung up. In the past I would remove algae from the sand only to see it back again the very next morning, so this is a good sign.

I'm building a new tank stand right now - and when I move the tank I'll clean the LR at the same time...

Kelly

kenny · Joined: 23 Jan 2007 Posts: 61 Location: Frankville

Kelly: That was just using the carbon source idea over 5 weeks. A lot of my rock is puttied together and corals are mostly mounted as well.

Most of my tank was ok but that particular spot was, well you can see how bad it was . .. lol I don't need to describe that.

If you are going to be moving everything anyway than I guess cleaning some up manually is an option. But for anyone that has some excess nutrient load they need to get under control the carbon dose idea is worth looking into. It worked very well for my specific situation and I am still on it to help keep Diatom blooms off my substrate.

I should also say that blasting the rock a few times to blow off detritus that was catching in that junk also made a difference. The dosing cause the bryopsis to turn color and separate from the rock. And once the longer bits where coming off my cleanup crew can deal with the fine algal turf.

thekingcobra · Posted: Thu Sep 17, 2009 1:25 pm Post subject:

Hey Kenny...you say this worked on Cyano as well? Could you give me a little more details or send me in the right direction for a link so I can try it? I have been messin with cyano for 6 - 8 months...never seems to completely go away.
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55 Gal
40+ lbs LR
1 x blood shrimp
2 x pepermint shrimp
1 x purple tipped anenome
1 x toadstool leather coral
1 x Pearl bubble coral
3 x Zoo coral
5 x turbo snails
10 x hermit crabs

rkelman · Joined: 08 Oct 2007 Posts: 228 Location: Belleville

http://www.melevsreef.com/vodka_dosing.html

Check this out.

Here's another one.

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2008-08/nftt/index.php