So Frustrated...Algae problems

[CajunReefer]

I believe I read where you are scrubbing the rocks. Are you taking the rock out of the tank before scrubbing. If not, perhaps you are just spreading the bad stuff

 

[slojmn1]

NorthBay101, Thanks for the offer of the Phosphate sponge, I am going to try the Marc Weiss Phosphate remover stuff. I just ordered it yesterday. We'll see how that works. How is the candy coral doing? How about your frags?

I do scrub the rocks in the tank and I figure I am spreading the stuff, but it is everywhere anyways so it really does not matter.

smokinreefer, No sponge stuff in my tank so no hidden nitrate factories. I do drip kalk with my top off system in small doses. If I use the regular dose my pH goes to high and my clams do not like it. I have a NURSE system so the topoff is running in small amounts all of the time to keep levels very constant. Thus the kalk gets in my system all the time as opposed to just at night. I figure this helps a bit. I will take your advice and stop soaking the food with ZOE and Selcon. I have been wondering if this stuff may be adding to the nutrient factory. I hate to quit though as my fish are so brightly colored and sooooo healthy. I know the ZOE and Selcon is helping to keep them healthy. I may drop the Selcon and keep using the ZOE. I'll have to think about this one.

Thanks for all of the wonderful support

.I plan to beat this stuff one way or another.

 

[kjb]

I had a bad hair algae episode and found a few things that helped,...
Sally Lightfoot Crab and Emerald Green Crab - Once I put these guys in I started noticing swaths cut clear of algae until it was all gone.
I also tried a Sailfin Tang, just a little one, and it wasn't out of the bag three minutes before the feast began.

 

[mwm6]

slojmn1,

Well, I couldn't believe your pic when I first opened the link.... I've had the same growth in my 180 for the past 12-13 months. Mine isn't quite as thick, but it's primarily brown short growth and not pleasing to the eye!

I'm almost convinced that my calcium reactor is causing this. I'm going to check some params on the output - but my tank was set up for 6 months before I added the reactor and once the reactor was on-line - voila - . This stuff DOES affect some SPS's and will hinder the base growth onto the rock.

I've been reefing for 13 years - all without a reactor and all without this stuff, until the reactor..... Maybe, maybe not..

here's a pic of mine - hard to see it close but you can see the dominant brown tint..........

I'll keep you posted on what I find.

I'm getting used to it as far as the look- doesn't usually effect the SPS's - except for a few that literally have the base growth on the rocks die off - then the coral seems to take over and ends up OK......
http://www.personal.psu.edu/mwm6/p1010008.jpg

 

[slojmn1]

mwm6, bummer for you. I am glad to know a few others have this junk as well. Only because I do not feel so alone and completely incompetent. I have been wondering about the calcium reactot as well, as I noted in my first post. I cannot remember the sequence of when this stuff first popped up in relation to putting the calcium reactor online. My notes are not directed to this stuff until it really began to spread. What are you planning on testing for in your effluent? I have considered taking my new calcium reactor off line for 4-6 months and see if it helps. I could dose B-ionic in an attempt to keep the calcium levels up. My first plan of action is a change in feeding habits, discontinuing the Selcon additive and going to ZOE additive 1x per week only. The second thing will be using the Marc Weiss phosphate remover for 6-8 weeks to see if there is any change. I may add a bunch of snails in the next month along with shortening my light cycles as well. These four things are the plan for the next 2 months. If there is no change in 2 months I will then unhook the calcium reactor for an extended amont of time. I hate to do this though. This will be last resort. Lots of folks run calcium reactors without this problem, but maybe not us

I know it is not a good idea to try and change more than one thing 'cuz then you wont know what really worked, but I am going to buck my behavioral analyst training and go for these four variables at once.

 

[smokin reefer]

slojmn1, Me again. I to used to use the zoe and selcon in my tank. I do believe this was part of the algea problem. Glad to here you are willing to cut way back on this. As far as the phosphate sponge, I have no real experience with these things. I read so many conterversial stories I decided against it. That is up to you. I still stongly beleive you should get you some sort of carbon filter, as I think this was the real anchor in removing all the unwanted, some good, nutrients and minerals. And remember be stingy when feeding. It will take at least a month before the stuff starts to show a real sign of dieing. Once you get the stuff under control, and your tank becomes more mature, you can gradually, I mean gradually start to give back some of the goodies. Believe me I thought I was starving my fish , but they still look as healthy as the day I started this. But when that stuff starts to turn colors and dies off, it will be well worth it. I resently even put a piece of acropra in with a bunch of the GHA on it and within 2 weeks it has began to turn white and die. Keep us posted on your results. I am very curious if this works for you. I wish you luck.

On the removing of the algea, what I did was to place a pre-filter on my return pump, scrube the algea. Let float to the sump, occationally using the turkey baster to get it up and out. Get it trapped in the filter. Wait a day so the stuff gets trapped real good, turn of pump, remove sponge filter. Better than taking the rock out of the tank.

 

[tazdevil]

What type of problems has everyone heard about w/using phophate sponge? I'm having a battle with slime and hair algae (not winning yet) and it was suggested I use this to help. What problems should I be aware of if I use a Phosphate sponge??

 

[smokin reefer]

Taz, do a search on phosphate sponges on this forum. And you will see what I mean.

I like the idea (carbon filter) because the water is forced though the filters. This is how filtering is suppossed to take place. If you like the phosphate sponge, you could place one into the filter with the carbon. And you will get much better results.IME.

 

[Sebastian]

You appear to have a Dinoflagellate bloom in
your tank. Have you had any loss in your snail population? It seems that larger snails
like the Turbos have problems with this algae, it is toxic to them. IMO the Astraea snails deal with it much better. If it is a Dinoflagellate outbreak drop your photoperiod back to four hours per day and start adding kalkwasser to boost your PH around 8.4 during the day and a minimum of 8.2 at night per Peter Wilkens. You should see the effects in a week.

 

[Jawfishski]

You didn't mention a protien skimmer. This looks like the few skimmerless tanks I've seen. I'd focus on export, and be careful what you feed.

What exactly was your phosphate reading? Are you using an RO/DI?

 

[ZenDogg]

I've been out of the hobby for about 3 years, but I encountered the very same problem in my 29G Reef. This stuff is a pest. Here's what I did to remove it:

1. Phosphate remover 24/7.

2. I manually scrubbed all my rocks in a bucket to remove the algae/diatom bloom (it looks almost like you have a combination of both just like I did). After they were scrubbed I put them back in the tank. I also scrubbed off of the shells of my clams.

3. I stopped feeding the tank completely for 1 week.

4. I went to minimal lighting for (2 hours a day) for a week. I even kept a blanket over my tank to make sure no outside light got in.

5. Did I mention lots of phosphate remover?

Doing this seemed to cure the problem, but I'd then get a new bloom about once every 3-4 months. Eventally, I found that my LFS sold me some crappy Live Sand that was loaded with silicates and various phosphates. Once I removed it, the problem stopped completely. You may want to start looking hard for the source of your problem.

BTW- I never lost a coral doing the prescribed steps.

 

[KenH]

I believe Calcium Reactors do aggravate possible algae problems if the other conditions are right for its growth. CO2 injection is definitely a plant growth stimulator.

Here is a before and after picture of my latest tank after I started using the Marc Weiss product

Here, you can see that I have a very tough dense matting algae starting to cover large sections of rock. I have never seen an algae like this before and it looked very disconcerting. I could not scub it off and nothing seemed to eat it.

With no other known changes, I added two jars of the Marc Weiss product to my sump in a fine media bag. I saw no difference for about 2 weeks, then I noticed the growth had appeared to stop and then over the course of 4-6 weeks, the algae was completely gone.

Here is the after picture 6 weeks later.

I have continued to leave the product in the sump for a couple of months now and have not observed any adverse affect. If anyone else tries this stuff, post the results here so we can see if this stuff is affective in more than just this one case.

--- Ken

[ October 12, 2001: Message edited by: KenH ]

 

[SPC]

Ken, do you have a refugium, just wondering how this product might effect caulerpa etc...
Steve

 

[slojmn1]

Sebastian, Thanks for your reply, This is definately not a Dinoflagellate problem. i did have one of those blooms early on in hte cycling process of my tank but it ran it's course. My Turbo population has been fine. i lost one turbo about three months ago but hte rest are happy. I plan on cutting back my phopto period as you suggested. I do already add kalkwasser in my topoff water.

Ken H, awesome shot of before and after. I have ordered the Marc Weiss stuff and hope to receive it tomorrow or Monday. I am very excited about the possible results. Thank you so much for your input.

spc, I have a refugium with prolific caulerpa growth. I will be watching closely what happens to the caulerpa through this process.

 

[KenH]

I do not have a refugia or caulerpa. I do have a fair growth of halimeda in the display tank and that has continued normal growth. My tank is mostly SPS & clams with some LPS and softies. Everything continues to grow at a very fast rate.

The stuff actually lists the ingredient it uses which is one reason that I decided to give it a try, which is more that I can say for most of his stuff. I'm at work, so I don't have the chemical compound name handy.

--- Ken