Algae question

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robbieh15

New Member
I have set up a 55 gal tank with about 50 lbs of base rock and several peices of seed rock. I have a 450 w metal halide light running. I have a protein skimmer and a bio wheel filter. I noticed several areas of purple algae starting to appear. At the recommondation of the LFS, I have been adding purple up to my tank. The tank has been running for about 3 weeks and I am starting to get a lot of yellow hairy looking algae on everything including the sides of the tank. It seems to be taking over. Is this normal, or is there something I should do. My light runs for 10 hours Noon - 10pm.

Thanks for any help....

Rob
 
BigAl07

BigAl07

Administrator
RS STAFF
Hello :wave and welcome Rob

What type of light do you have exactly? I have to admit that a 450W NH isn't familiar to me (not saying anything is wrong just doesn't ring a bell).

Some algae is expected but what kind and amount is another story.

Don't add Purple Up to your tank. That's just s sales gimick to get you to buy more stuff from your LFS. It's "marketed" to promote/increase Coraline Algae growth. The irony is that when the tank is stable and ready the same Coraline will grow without that stuff. Save your hard earned money for the stuff you NEED.

Do you have any live-stock in the tank? If not then you need to remove the Bio-Filter now before your tank gets to accustomed to it. It's TOO efficient at what it does but it's unable to complete the Nitrogen Cycle and will cause a large increase in Nitrates.

Also if you don't have stock in the tank you don't need to run the lights for that long and cutting back will slow the algae growth but that's not how we stop it.

Are you feeding/adding anything to the tank?

What are your current water test results?

Have you done any water changes? If so how many and how much each time?

Good luck and hang in there.... :)
 
R

robbieh15

New Member
My light is a 400 w metal halide with a hanging hood. I have it hung to where it is about 10 inches above the top of the aquarium. I stopped adding the purple up several days ago, when I first noticed the increase in hairy algae. As far as livestock, I do not have any. I was told to let the tank get settled and cycled before adding anything to it. I do have a couple of unidentified little fellows on a piece of the seed rock I put in. My nitritates, amonia and salinity are all in the correct range. My ph is good as well. I have been changing the water once a week at a rate of about 20%. One thing I noticed is my temp is on the high side of the acceptable range. Not sure if this has led to the outbreak or not.

Thanks for the welcome and the help.

Rob
 
BigAl07

BigAl07

Administrator
RS STAFF
Rob you don't really need/want any water changes during the actual cycle. That "Softens" the cycle and prolongs it. That's not your problem here but it will prolong the cycle some.

What is "in" the seed sock that you mention?

Have you seen your Ammonia>Nitrites>Nitrates spike yet?

What are the specific test results for each of the above mentioned parameters? I'm trying to get an idea of where your tank is in the "Cycle".


You were told correctly when you say "let the tank settle and cycle before adding anything". That's GREAT news indeed :D

As for the lighting since you don't have anything that's photosynthetic (needs light to produce food) you can cut it back or OFF for a while to help reduce the growth of the algae but it's getting FOOD from somewhere. Are you adding anything else to the tank?

What are you using for "Source" water?
 
R

robbieh15

New Member
Thanks again for your help......

When I get home this afternoon, I will post my exact readings.

The little creatures I found, look like little tiny umbrellas. It has a tube body with some tentacles at the end....it is very small....you have to really look hard to see it. There are a couple of them.

As far as water, I have been using dechlorinated water from the sink. I have never had problems using our tap water for any fish projects.

By turning my light off, will this reduce the algae, or will it just slow it? Once we have all of the variables in check, is this algae something I will need to remove or add something to get rid of it.

Thanks again,
Rob
 
naperenterprise

naperenterprise

Active Member
I wouldn't add any chemical to remove your algae. (Use chaeto once your tank matures more)

You should get yourself a RODI filter and make your own water, I had serious algae problems when I first started my tank a year ago in this new house... Once I got the RODI I was on the road to recovery.

Check out the sponcers here for a good deal on a RODI filter. You will love it I promise you.

Keep up the good work, glad your here asking questions.

Have fun!
 
BigAl07

BigAl07

Administrator
RS STAFF
robbieh15 said:
As far as water, I have been using dechlorinated water from the sink. I have never had problems using our tap water for any fish projects.
Click to expand...

You may have just answered part of your own question. Tap water can contain MANY contaminants other than just Chlorine. You need to discontinue that practice yesterday and switch over to full filtered water. This would entail:

A) Buying RO/DI water from a reputable source (LFS etc)
B) Purchasing your own RO/DI unit and making your own source water (This is the BEST option as the RO/DI unit will pay for itself in short order and you're in COMPLETE charge of your own water and not relying on someone else to be responsible enough to change the filters as needed)

Many municipal water systems use tons of chemicals to clean and maintain their water for long term storage and transportation. Many (actually MOST) of these are very undesirable in a reef tank.

:)
 
blue_eyes53813

blue_eyes53813

Well-Known Member
I would definitely leave your lights off for a few days... Right now you really dont need them on at all. How much flow do you have in the tank? With enough flow the algae wont be able grow as easily.. I wouldnt add anymore chemicals of any sort to the tank.


And Welcome to RS
 
R

robbieh15

New Member
So I do not need the Bio Wheel filter? Do I need any other type of filtration? I have two power heads to install to increase the water flow, but that is it.
 
R

robbieh15

New Member
Once again I thank you all for your advice. I have taken the bio-wheel filter out. Here are my current test readings:

Nitrate - 20 ppm
Nitrite - 5 ppm
Amonia - 0 ppm
Ph - 8.00

Let me know what you think I should do.

Thanks,
Rob
 
R

robbieh15

New Member
Ok....I have turned the lights off and I am letting it run without the bio-wheel filter. I have put the power heads in and I guess I am in a holding pattern.

My latest readings were:

Amonia - 0ppm
Nitrites - 5ppm
Nitrates - 20ppm
Ph - 8.0

The algae is obviously still there....so how do I remove it or what do I need to do with it now?

Should I get some sort of scavengers to eat the algae?

Thanks for your advice,

Rob
 
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