a question on algae control

[mikethebike7]

First, I would like to know, is this the properway to ask a question, ie start a new thread?
I have had my saltwater tank for over three years now, but it is my first one, and I am somewhat isolated from other aquarists, so learning new things is not easy. I have a lot of questions,and I wish they had online chat workshops, LOL.
OK I have algae that grows on everything, and it detracts from the beauty of the tank, and it detracts from the 'joy of fishkeeping' for me. I scrape, but i have a 92 gallon corner tank, and this tank is just NOT designed for easy maintenance. It's like the tank is all the way back in a corner, or something, and that makes it hard to reach in and fix what needs to be fixed. So I bought this chemical product called 'chemiclean red slime remover'. The fish store man, who I trust, said it works very well, but that I should remove charcoal from my filters before using it. I have a fish only, non reef, saltwater tank, with no fish species that are considered delicate. I have five healthy fishes, so,I would like to know if anyone recommends this product, or if anyone can offr any other suggestions for combatting this algae which grows in my tank. I usede distilled water , by the way, when I do H2O changes. Thanks. Mike.

[BigJay]

the 2 reasons usually for bad algae growth is nitrates and phosphates.

Usually they are high due to overfeeding ,insufficient water changes,poor filtering system and over stocking of fish.

So answer those questions for us and maybe we can help.. (ie how often, what kind , how , and how much food) (how often and how much water do you change) (do you test the RO water for phosphates and nitrates)(what kind of fish, what size and how many) (what is your filter system , running a skimmer etc)

oh and what kind of substrate do you have and do you have rock in the tank?

[Witfull]

this is the correct way to ask a Q.

welcome to RS~

can you describe the algae, tell your water perameters, the fish you have, and equiment you are using.

[brandon]

your probably having a diatom problem. How long has your tank been cycling?

[mikethebike7]

I have a 92 gallon corner tank, with crushed coral substrate, I have two fluval canister filters a 405 and a 305. I don't have a protein skimmer(have been intending to though, but the local store didn't have any that he could recommend for my tank, supposedly), I have five fishes, a niger trigger, a sailfin tang, a marine betta, and a dwarf lionfish, and i just added a navarchus angelfish. All of these fish are decent sized, and they eat frozen mysis, frozen brine, and large flakes, and occasionally a housefly or earthworm, when available. I only feed as much as i see them consume, usually twice a day. To be honest, the water changes have not been regular enough, but i usually use distilled water when i do them. the tank's been running well over three years, and I don't really check the water chemistry anymore, because every time i ever check it, the nitrates, nitrites, and ammonia, and PH have always been in the very good to excellent range, and I mean almost every single time I ever tested. I thought i might have been doing something wrong when testing, but then I figure it must be because of the low fish population. Anyway, the only real problem has been the algae, and i was wondering if any of these algicide chemicals work well.
Also, if anyone can recommend a protein skimmer that i can attach to my tank, I would like to know. The guy in the fish store said , if I heard right, that I would need to set up a sump filter or something, to connect a skimmer. Thanks. mike.

[nikkipigtails]

the first thing is that CC is a nitrate factory as are canister filters if they are not maintained. If you're diligent about vacuuming the substrate and cleaning out the filter media and that works for you then that's great.

can you take a picture of the algae or describe the algae?

[nikkipigtails]

oh, and they make HOB protein skimmers but I'm not sure how effective one would be on your system. you probably need something larger that can have more flow going through it.

[framerguy]

Nikki, I think the depth of the CC bed is more the problem, a one or two inch bed won't really accumulate that much detritus and can be vaccuumed regularly. How deep is your SB Mike? The canisters are another thing though. If maintained dilegently they work, if not they cause problems. It's accumulative though. The work to a point but don't really break down the cycle to the last stage and leaves you with nitrates which could be causing your algae. I wouldn't use the chemical stuff to get rid of it. It's best to do it more naturally with either a refugium filled with Cheato, or an Algal Turf Scrubber. With a sump/fuge combo you could do away with the canisters also.

I've got to go to work now but will check back shortly.

[nikkipigtails]

Originally Posted by framerguy

Nikki, I think the depth of the CC bed is more the problem, a one or two inch bed won't really accumulate that much detritus and can be vaccuumed regularly.

That's true. I just choose to stay away from it so I don't have to do as much work.

[framerguy]

Cool Nikki. The benefit to using it is that it is a great substrate for pod production. They can't really navigate the fine sand but breed like crazy in the CC which is why it good for pod farms.

[nikkipigtails]

Originally Posted by framerguy

Cool Nikki. The benefit to using it is that it is a great substrate for pod production. They can't really navigate the fine sand but breed like crazy in the CC which is why it good for pod farms.

That's why I have a fuge.

[mikethebike7]

Not trying to be rude, but I would like to restate my question, in one sentence.

Does anyone here know if these chemical algicides work in a fish only, no invertebrate tank?

I really don't have much extra money, so setting up refugiums, etcetera, is , to put it lightly, a financial challenge for me. I would be struggling to buy a protein skimmer, I think. Also, I don't drive, and i work, and have a bunch of other animals to care for, so, unfortunately, I don't have the amount of time that I think would be appropriate to really take excellent care of a tank. Having said that, I don't mean to imply that I neglect my tank, my fish are all in excellent health, good appetites, etcetera, and they have grown since i had them. Maybe, someday, I will have the time and money to set up a beautiful reef tank, but for now, I am just trying to make the best of what i have. Thanks. Mike.

[mikethebike7]

PS I have crushed coral, and it's about two inches deep, although the fish have piled it up in some areas, and cleared it right to the tank floor in other areas. The fish store guy says just stir it up and overturn it when changing the water, to control algae in the substrate. Personally, i have been wondering if it would be beneficial to set up the tank with a bare floor, and just have a bunch of rockwork on top of the glass floor. I think the water currents would be stronger, and it might help the filteration. Thanks. Mike.

[yungreefer2410]

u need to vacuum ur substrate at least once a month

[SubRosa]

ChemiClean will work on cyanobacteria, aka slime algae, but is useless on other algaes.You really should do something about those canister filters.A quick fix would be to replace all of the media with rubble sized pieces of live rock.Not as good as a deep sand bed/refugium but a nice improvement over your existing system.If you really feel the need for a chemical solution API's AlgaeFix will work on more types of algae than ChemiClean.

John