do i need to do a water change?

[munki]

do i need to do a water change?
params are-
nitrate, nitrite-0
pH-8.4
ammonia-above 0, but lower than 0.25 ppm.
also i have light on one side of the tank that are on 10-12 hours a day to keep some macro alive and that side of the tank is covered with brown and green algae. the other side of the tank is spotless. is there a way that i can keep the algae down with out turning the lights off?
thank you for your time

 

[DaBird]

yes, water changes are a good idea...they replace minerals that the system uses up...this will also export excess nutrents that will help with part 2 of your question...Danny

 

[munki]

but if i turn the lights off after a while the algae will go away and i did a water change not to long ago and the algae is still on the left side of the tank.

 

[DaBird]

ok...I'm confused, normal for me, when was your last water change and how much did you change? what size tank do you have?

 

[InLimbo87]

If you think you might need one, go ahead and do it. It can't hurt, and it may just be the simple solution to any problem your having.

 

[ReefLady]

How old is the tank? Diatom (brown) and cyano (red) outbreaks are part of the maturation process.

Ways to help reduce the algae:

Water changes, protein skimming, reduced feeding, increased flow.

T

 

[munki]

the tank is a 55. the last water change i did was 10 gal.the tank has been set up for about 7 months. i am also confused. if it is an algae bloom how come it is only on the left side of the tank?
also-how do i get brown algae off of lr?
-thank you

 

[Witfull]

waterchanges are the best thimg for a tank...they help what we cant test for!

 

[munki]

yea but even if i do a water change every two days wont the tank still have lots of brown algae if i leave the lights on for 12 hours a day?

 

[Dentoid]

The brown algae sounds like diatoms. What kind of water do use to mix your salt. It is highly recommended to use DI/RO water to decrease the silicates and phosphates that fuel the brown algae. Also 10% weekly water changes are essential to replace trace elements lost to the tanks biological processes. The light is only one of the requirements for algae growth. By starving the algae of the nutrients like nitrate, phosphate and gasses like CO2, you can have all the light you want and algae will not grow to any appreciable level.

You should commit to, at a minimum, of a 10% water change per week for the health of your system and long term stability.

 

[blue_eyes53813]

I would also try to increase the flow on that side of the tank.. I had the same problem and extra flow helped alot.

 

[lcstorc]

Some critters to move the sand and clean the rock are also a good idea. Personally I have become very fond of the conchs. Fighting conchs for the sand and queen conchs for the rock.

 

[munki]

I would also try to increase the flow on that side of the tank.. I had the same problem and extra flow helped alot.

i would think that i could have 2 power heads on the left side of the tank and have nothing on the other side and leave the lights on on the left side of the tank and keep it dark on the side with no powerheads and the left side of the tank will still have a lot of algae growth and the other side would be clean.

 

[lcstorc]

Not really. The power heads will help keep things stirred up and not allow the algae to settle to the bottom. If you have an overflow and skimmer it will be skimmed off and removed from the system.

 

[munki]

so if i have a skimmer i could leave the lights on and wouldnt have to worry about algae?

 

[DaBird]

It depends on what kind of lights you have on. What kind are you running? Different spectrum lights will grow different kinds of organisms.

 

[DaBird]

If you have a reef tank, you're going to have to have some form of lights on for some amount of time to keep it healthy...

 

[lcstorc]

No matter what you do you are going to have some algae, There is just no way to beat it entirely that I know of. We have a lot of ways to reduce it to tolerable levels but it really is something that just comes with a reef or FO tank.

 

[munki]

It depends on what kind of lights you have on. What kind are you running? Different spectrum lights will grow different kinds of organisms.

i dont have a lot of light because i dont have a reef. i just have two flourescent 15 watt tubes, but thats all i know about them. i would just like to leave my lights on with out getting all that algae. so do you think a skimmer will help?

 

[munki]

No matter what you do you are going to have some algae, There is just no way to beat it entirely that I know of. We have a lot of ways to reduce it to tolerable levels but it really is something that just comes with a reef or FO tank.

i dont think i would mind a little bit of algae, but i just dont like the tank covered in a brown blanket.