Algae problem...

[Luka]

Okay so I have an algae problem...I have been told it could be cyano, diatoms, dinos or beneficial bacteria. I have this red fuzzy kind of looking algae on my rocks I want to know what this is. Also I am pretty sure I have a little bit of brown hair algae.

Tomorrow I was going to go to Petco get some kind of phosphate remover to put in my HOB see if that helps. Also was going to get some snails as well.

Sorry for tossing so many images your way I really just want to pin point what this is, and figure out what I can do. Thanks in advanced guys.

My tank is fairly new about 3-4 new. I started with dry sand and dry rock, I went through a diatom stage I wouldn't call it a bloom though.

What I have observed:

Anyways its a brown algae that grows through the day and dies over night its the strongest when the lights the strongest and slowly declines as light intensity does.

Its produces air bubbles...sometimes if I poke the air bubbles they will release sometimes they will go up but algae will be holding them down.

It gets a little stringy not too much long though (expect yesterday)

Grows everywhere rocks, glass, sand bed, power heads, heater you name it

I don't think my asteaea snails nor my hermits like it

When I rub it off the glass it dissipates basically I can catch some on my finger

When I do water changes I gravel vac in hope to make the algae go away but it comes back the next day

After the gravel vac I kept the bucket out and the algae seemed to congregate near the bottom. I couldn't reach in the bucket and grab the algae it would dissipate.

The algae doesn't grow in areas of high flow

Under the blue lights the algae looks like a rust red

Parameters: (Just tested them)

Phosphate: 0 ppm

Alkalinity/dKH: 11

Calcium: 480 ppm

Magnesium: 1440 ppm

PH: 8.2

Ammonia: 0

Nitrites: 0

Nitrates: 0

Pictures:

Full tank shot


Sand bed (A tad brighter than it actually looks)


The bubbles


Growing in between sand bed and glass



Brown hair algae?? or something else? Also more air bubbles




Some of this red stuff what is it??


On the rocks...


When I scrub it off with my finger

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

New tank. but, check your water supply. This always what I see in a new tank with bad water.
Maybe get some prime and stability in there too.

 

[furam28]

This is normal for a new tank, especially if you start with dry rock and dry sand. Did you put any live rock or live sand in there at all? If you can get a small piece of live rock, and some live sand (a cupful) from an established tank from a fellow reefer that will help a lot in populating your tank with good bacteria. For the current algae issue it doesn't look too bad at all. Keep up with manual cleaning (brush all the rocks, and vacuum the sand) and do large (20-30%) water changes once a week. Reduce your light cycle. You should see your algae start to clear in 1 to 2 months. That will be a better solution for you in the long run than trying phosphate removers.

 

[furam28]

Looks like you have an HOB filter there. Any sump? If you can somehow add a skimmer to your tank (an HOB or a slim nano skimmer) that will help a lot in the long run.

 

[twilliard]

RODI water?
Its diatoms
Nothing to worry much about. Ya it looks bad but this is normal.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Looks like you have an HOB filter there. Any sump? If you can somehow add a skimmer to your tank (an HOB or a slim nano skimmer) that will help a lot in the long run.

just an fyi. I ran HOB aquaclear on all my tanks for the first 4 years in the hobby.(bout 5 different tanks 30g largest) Never had that kinda bloom happen.
at 3-4 months thats about right for blooms. adding good bacteria will help. carbon will help. In all my hob tanks I ran HOB refugiums too. Check that out. really does help.
heres the cheapest.
http://www.amazon.com/Marina-Hang-O...8&qid=1453587794&sr=8-6&keywords=hob+refugium
And make sure the filter is efficiently set up so its not missing much. Ya need to use the hob freshwater style with a place for bacteria.(LR ceramics carbon bag) and not rise them too hard when you clean it.

 

[Luka]

Cool cool thanks for the help guys much less stressed about it.

Forgot to mention, I buy my DI water from CVS(pharmacy) no worrys its not vitamin water its DI water pretty sure its silicate free it has to be.

So I think I will try to add some LR my tank is a 15 gallon so super small I don't want an ammonia spike. But is it okay to add LR to that small of a tank? umm will bottled bacteria do anything i.e microbelift, bio spira stuff like that. And sand would be good to add to?

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Read up on Prime and stability from seachem its a bacterial ammoina reducer and water conditioner. bio spira is similar i haven't used it though. You have plenty of rock, what was suggested was to find some pieces of rock to seed a diverse bacterial population. Live sand would do the same. it has "canned Bacteria" I personally like Fiji Mud. it has coralline in it too.
Many in a new tank will use canned and natural bacterial sources to help the tank mature.

Mostly dont sweat it. All tanks go through this phase. To me you have more of something feeding the algae or dinos, I always look at water first as it seems to be the most common problem. If it doesnt start to go away in a week or so you can be concerned.

 

[Lenny_S]

I get the same algae, but my CUC keeps it completely at bay. I have an all snail one sized for a 160 gallon tank. That's like 200 assorted snails, 90 some odd are dwarf ceriths, some Florida ceriths, Nassarius, Nerites, and some Mexican turbos. Whenever a little crops up, it's gone the same day, so they clean up really fast. You have plenty of algae to sustain a CUC, so I'd just get one appropriate for your size tank and it will probably take care of it for you. Algae growth like you're getting isn't abnormal, and even with everything going right, it is just a part of the hobby and closed systems. So just let nature take care of it.

 

[Luka]

Okay so what I did was a big 5 gallon water change with vac, scraped glass panes and brushed the rocks. Then I kept the lights off for one whole day. Yesterday I put the lights back on to normal timing got home and the algae was barely noticeable there was very little. You could only notice if I told you. We will see what it looks like today. I also added a few CUC to my tank.

Still haven't added a peice of live rock yet.

 

[furam28]

perfect! looks like u r in the right track. don't add too many more CUC right away. add them slowly: a few every month if needed to. remember, CUC themselves eat and poop, so they produce lots of nitrates too. and they also die easily. when they do die they release a lot of nitrates and phosphates and other nasties. if u ever see a freshly died snail, take it out and smell it (or don't!) and you'll know what i mean.

 

[Luka]

Funny you mention that I had two snails die to a greedy hermit crab a couple days ago and yesterday a dead hermit crab oh well I take em out as soon as possible

 

[Ryengoth]

Personally, I add a pinch of food daily and let it rot in my start-ups. You can dose carbon sources like vodka, white vinegar or formulated carbon solutions, but I often start the tank with rotting food so there's detritus for shrimp to eat and add 1 or 2 peppermints and monitor the ammonia and nitrate levels. Don't mess with the lighting schedule too much. Keep it on the same schedule you want your tank on. The lighting levels and time periods affect all photosynthetics so if you run a short schedule now and then add fish you could have a diatom and algae bloom which will be a pain once you have acclimated some critters.

 

[furam28]

Funny you mention that I had two snails die to a greedy hermit crab a couple days ago and yesterday a dead hermit crab oh well I take em out as soon as possible

Yeah the right amount of CUC is an essential part of a healthy reef tank. But trying to use CUC as some magic fix to a deeper algae problem is not a good idea. A big turbo snail or a bunch of small snails dying can actually cause an algae bloom. I have a nano tank so I've dealt with my fair share of algae problems. Now I have a healthy CUC in my tank that I know is the right amount. Every month I will have a few hermits and snails die. I will usually add the same number back every other month to replenish. When I see an algae bloom I cut down on feeding, vacuum the sand bed, manually remove as much algae as I can, brush the rocks and blow them with turkey baster. One or two big water changes later, you can barely see any algae.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Yeah the right amount of CUC is an essential part of a healthy reef tank. But trying to use CUC as some magic fix to a deeper algae problem is not a good idea. A big turbo snail or a bunch of small snails dying can actually cause an algae bloom. I have a nano tank so I've dealt with my fair share of algae problems. Now I have a healthy CUC in my tank that I know is the right amount. Every month I will have a few hermits and snails die. I will usually add the same number back every other month to replenish. When I see an algae bloom I cut down on feeding, vacuum the sand bed, manually remove as much algae as I can, brush the rocks and blow them with turkey baster. One or two big water changes later, you can barely see any algae.

why are so many of your snails and hermits dying?

 

[arman]

Does it smell very badly?

 

[furam28]

why are so many of your snails and hermits dying?

not so many. i find 1 or 2 dead hermits every month, and i think its normal. most of my turbos, ceriths and nassarius have been alive for almost 2 years.

 

[furam28]

Does it smell very badly?

dead snails stink quite bad. i once had a tiger conch die few days after i got it. there was slime everywhere inside the tank and when i took it out the odor is one i'll never forget! usually these snails and hermits are collected from the wild and if the LFS has just got them, there is a good chance some of them will die soon.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

k. my hermits don't go that quickly. had one for 4 years

 

[furam28]

the tiny blue ones, or the big ones? i only have dwarf blue leg ones that don't live that long for me.