[meschaefer]

Quote: Originally Posted by cali_reef That went down to 25ppm when I took the reef tank off the main sump and have a BK300 skimming it 24/7.

If I hadn't seen your tank, I wouldn't think you could have much success with Nitrates in the 25ppm, let alone 50ppm!

[jhale]

I'm not running anything to soak up the Po4 anymore, it's been 0 for a while.

My nitrates were off the charts, some large water changes brought them back down to 10 or so.

Even with crazy high No3 I had no algae growing. I have such little growing I'm afraid my clean up crew may starve. The one place i had any kind of macro or hair algae growing was in the overflow by the durso's.

[ShaunW]

Quote: Originally Posted by kimoyo I know algae (not macro) is a broad term but I'm curious if anyone has seen reef tanks with algae issues (phytoplankton rich water) but awesome corals, sps for example.

I don't think this happens often in aquariums unless the aquarist grows his/her own phytoplankton and adds it.

I would think this is the ideal, . The problem is the other algaes that come about over time through introduction.

Personally, I think that algae should almost be treated as a "pest (like Redbugs for example)" in that one should quarantine additions to ones display tank such that certain algae is not introduced. Since once the addition occurs they are extremely hard to remove, i.e. bubble algae, hair algae, etc.... Rock cooking is the answer, and lots of patience.

Bacteria are a different story all together.

[ShaunW]

The secret to this hobby IMHO is that it requires time and attention to detail. Doing water changes, spending the money to acquire the proper equipment for your tank, keeping temperature constant, etc..

The best aquarists have said it before, the key to success is stability.

Maintaining a constant environment requires time and effort, to deal with the food intake/waste added, and the stresses placed on the aquariums internal environment by the external environment. Nature deals with this by having TRILLIONS of gallons of water to dilute the effects of the external environment.

Algae problems stem from instability in a semi-mature tank and/or the addition of pest algae.

[Aqua Pro Builder]

Quote: Originally Posted by solbby and/or the addition of pest algae.

Doesn't most algae, including pest algae, die when introduced in a tank with poor nutrient in the water column?

[Aqua Pro Builder]

Quote: Originally Posted by jhale My nitrates were off the charts, some large water changes brought them back down to 10 or so. Even with crazy high No3 I had no algae growing. I have such little growing I'm afraid my clean up crew may starve.

One of my tank has a similar situation-there is nirtrate but no algae growth.

[Alfredo De La Fe]

Phytoplankton should not be an issue in most reef aquariums. Skimming, water changes, filter socks and of course corals suck up most of the "plankton" produced in our enclosed systems.

What is being described in this thread as "green water" is more than likely DOC (Disolved Organic Compounds) that are discoloring the water. The only things that can correct this are: Water changes, agressive skimming and activated carbon.

Most of the algae problems reef aquarists face are micro and macro algaes and many are actually bacteria. (Blue green "slime" and red slime are actually cyanobacteria) Right now I am having a small problem with bubble algae (I had not noticed it until a few weeks ago) and every once in a while a small patch of hair algae appears. But this is normal and that is what the critters are for. (Snails, hermits, tangs, etc.)

-Alfred