Algae problem

[troxy12]

I've had my 29 gallon aquapod set up for 8 months now. I have a few fish in there and they look great. My problem is there is a lot of red sludge in the tank. I suppose I need a cleaning crew for the tank, but my question is what is the best way to get rid of the sludge so I can put a cleaning crew in to keep it looking nice?

 

[molsen187]

if you put the right kind of cuc in there they should make the tank look nice for you given enough time.

 

[troxy12]

I know the clean up crew will eat algea, but what about the sludgy stuff. Should i take the rocks out and scrub them and then put the clean up crew in?

 

[Clownfish518]

Red slime algae can be the result of too many nutrients in the system, and low alkalinity and low flow. What is your alk and pH at?

 

[troxy12]

Ph is 8.2...Just tested it less than 10 minutes ago. I use RO water to do the water changes....My question is, what is the best way to get rid of it off the rocks and to keep it minimized after that...

 

[Varga]

manual removal is your best bet. Keep it away by under stock/under feeding your fish.

 

[DaveK]

This is a very common problem. A quick search on "cyano" will give you a list of many threads on the topic. What it all comes down to is control of nutrients. You need to be removing nitrate and phosphate faster than you are adding it.

 

[troxy12]

Well, what is the best way to remove the nitrate and phosphate from the water...I don't have a sump obviously...Any ideas?

 

[BigAl07]

Check out my signature for Nitrate Removal (NO3) but you want to address this like most any other "problem".

• A) Address source water (it may be a bad filter system or just bad source water)
• B) Evaluate your feeding regimen (Many pre packaged foods are loaded with preservatives and presevatives = Phophates which in turn = Rocket Fuel for Algae). You may want to change foods and initiate food rinsing prior to adding to tank.
• C) Increase amount and frequency of water changes once you determine SOURCE water is acceptable.
• D) You can incorporate a Phosphate Media reactor to help in this problem.
• E) The most affective approach is to hit ALL of these points and stay on top of your testing. Your testing will mandate your next moves.

You'll want to manually remove the Cyano and any other nasty manually daily (more if needed) to get the nasty and it's stored food out of your tank.

 

[troxy12]

Thanks for the tips...I do weekly water changes from a brand new RO system we just hooked up...Could be overfeeding or the preservatives in the pre packaged food...I will let you know of the reults...

 

[Rhodes19]

Well, what is the best way to remove the nitrate and phosphate from the water...I don't have a sump obviously...Any ideas?

Big water changes like I'm doing at the moment for my 29 g. When you do a water change place the tubing over the red algae and it will get sucked away mostly. A good skimmer will help as well.

 

[troxy12]

So i will change a bigger percentage of the water, but is it ok to scrub the algea off the rocks? i use the hose, but the quickest way would be to scrub if off the rocks...I just dont want to damage the other organism on my live rock...

 

[BigAl07]

Here is what I had to do one time in my Frag Tank (Way over-feeding in my case).

I did a water change on the tank beside it and kept 5g of the old tank water. I moved to the Frag tank and pulled each rock out one at a time. I immediately submerged it into the 5g bucket of used tank water and scrubbed the algae like I was a MAD MAN (in some rights I was). Then I replaced each rock into the tank and got another. This minimized the amount of time the rock (and organisms) were exposed to air and also allowed me to export a good amount of the nutrients locked in the algae because I was scrubbing outside of the tank.

Once I replaced all the rock I removed anything else in the tank (Cyano on the sand bed) and did a large water change. The tank looked messy for a few hours but the next morning looked MUCH better. Unfortunately I didn't get into that shape quickly and I sure didn't get OUT of it quickly. I did that 3 different times in addition to the other means listed above.

 

[troxy12]

That's what I wanted to do and sounds like it worked for you...I have no problem putting in the time as I enjoy working on my tank....I'll be scrubbin away this afternoon after work...thanks...

 

[BigAl07]

sounds like a PLAN to me. Just be VERY careful as there could be any numbers of "Critters" in the rock work and you don't want a scrape or sting if you can avoid it. Also eye protection is a good idea.

Keep us posted and GOOD LUCK! You can beat this

 

[troxy12]

Yeah, i don't want to disturb the amphipods......they should be ok though

 

[troxy12]

Well, I scrubbed the rocks and did a big water change...Tank looks good right now, we'll see if I have to do it again....

 

[MountainFish]

I've been having similar problems with my 55gal tank.

I got rid of the cyno algea by getting a better/more powerful lighting fixture and that cleared up in about a week, but then the hair algea just bloomed like there was no tomorrow.

I followed the suggestions expressed earlier in this thread about removing the rocks individually and scrubbing them. It has helped some but it's starting to come back.

My tests last night showed 0 Nitrate, 0 Nitrites, and 0 phosphates. I have a feeling I was over feeding but I'd curbed that back significantly over the past week or so.

At this point i'm doing about a 10% water change every other day.

I have 1 turbo grazer snail and a yellow tang which nibble at the algea but neither make much of a difference against so much of an infestation. I'm considering getting a lettuce sea slug to help out, but I really want to fix the problem at its source, not just getting something to deal with it.

What's causing all this aglea growth? ahahhh!!!!

also, how would I go about testing my RO water for silicates? do i need a special test kit or is there somewhere that I can get it tested at?

 

[BigAl07]

I think if you were over-feeding you probably still have excess nutrients in the tank. Try blowing the rocks off right before every water change to help remove any that has settled and become afixed to the rock's surface.


Keep up a hefty water change schedule and in time it should start to die back.