hi guys, my new set up tank get blue green slim algae and hair algae again as the previous tank when i still live in new jersey,the thing is there are all zero po4,no3. i have try hang higher the light,dim it down,increse flow,get more macroalgae,do more oven water changes...but still.it really drive me crazy and about to leaving this hobby... plz feel free help me with this! i appreciated!
blue green slim algae and hair algae
- Thread starter juan
- Start date
sea hare is only covering up the problem not getting rid of the cause, do more frequent water changes using ro water only, top off with ro water only, how long is the light on for, what test kits are you using to measure phosphates and nitrates?
I know it's not the answer but sometimes it gets so frustrating not being able to get rid of unwanted algea to the point of getting out of the hobby. I think it'll help clear ur mind by not seeing hair algea everywhere. Then take the steps listed above.
I am having the same problem .I think it is from nitrogen not nitrate or phos. I got rid if it once by using nutir sea water a big water change just match the alk. I'm also thinking the light spectrum played a part too but for me I didn't have enough nutrients so lowering the light bleached the corals sps. My problem is I don't know what sparked it my tank does good for a while then everything goes zero than the slime starts.I don't know if its possible but I have a funny feeling this slime eats the nitrogen before it turns to nitrate so the more I try to get nitrate the more slime I get .its almost like my tank is stuck in some weird chemical orbit that prevents the tank from becoming nutrient balance. Trust me I wanna quit so bad but I love my fish and some of my sps look great some don't but I'm a thick headed greman/puertorican don't ask lol ..I know what the tank is capable of and it shows me signs that its right there ..I just gotta figure out what outs the tank over the line .I know its not flow for me I have 2 returns 2 mp 10 and 2 other power heads hidden behind the rocks .I'm gonna get some sea water again today . I added a tiny bag if carbon but a underside bag because of the low nutrients.
thank you guys,i really appreciated! so far i am trying carbon dosing on my tank,even though there r not po4 and no3 in my tank. after few days dosing,my zoas all lost their color,also lost color is my red macroalgae. today i have to cut the dosage in half,see if the color will come back or no tomorrow.
- Location
- Staten Island
Another option you may have is to out compete the algae with something like an algae scrubber, while that won't completely eliminate the problem it will redirect all your nasties to one place where it can easily be removed. Simple to maintain, just clean it out out once a week. I haven't built mine yet but I've seen plenty in action. Enough to have one make it onto my todo list.
Well the only reason you would not be seeing any readings on po4 or no2 is because the algae is consuming it and this negates any test readings.
But that is what algae feeds on, so it is best to try and alleviate the problems by sourcing the root of issue.
If you have not done so yet, you may want to look into cleaning your filtration system (whether it being sump/refugium or such).
thank you for helping guys! i finally end up using gfo last week,thing looks getting better,slime getting less but hair algae still a lot.maybe just need to wait for another week to see the result,i may also start the algae scrupper too next week.will see..
- Location
- Manhattan (FiDi)
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