Algae to start with...

[inadaze]

My aquarium is being overtaken by green hair algae. I tried water changes, lowering my light period to nine hours, and adding turbo snails. Nothing helps. I have small conchs that may have killed my snails. Is that possible, even if they are a fraction of the size of my turbo snails?
Also my soft coral has shrunk and doesn't look too hot anymore.
My coralline algae has also begun to get white dots all over it.
I have some macro algae that I keep ripping out but it keeps coming back in full force. i tried buying a yellow tang but it didn't last the night.
I am not fully experienced with my 33 gallon and I would like to learn.
I've tested my water and everything is fine concerning bacteria, ph, etc...
If anyone could help....
Thanks
Jason

 

[Anonymous]

Try doing a large water change & cut back on feedings...

i tried buying a yellow tang but it didn't last the night.... 33 gallon...

Uh oh...

 

[MarkO1]

you might need more flow. Recommendations are a 10X or more turnover rate. What is yours?
_________________
Mercedes O405

 

[klingsa]

How old are your lights? If they're close to a year old, I'd get new bulbs. A change in wavelength emission can benefit algae and make your corals unhappy. What tests did you do on your water? Did you test for phosphates and nitrates? Sounds like one or both may be high. What water are you using to top off? Tap water, depending on where you live, contains phosphates, nitrates, silicates, and other compounds which the algae use as nutrients. Using RO/DI water will eliminate that possible source of contamination and starve your algae into submission.
Good luck!
Sara

 

[inadaze]

Forgive my ignorance but what is meant by 10x flow? I have a potein skimmer, canister filter and a powerhead as circulation. Do i need more?

as for lights, I have 3 ZooMed flurencent. 2 ocena sun, 1 coral sun. I have had them for a year, but the guy at the pet store told me they were good for 2 years. Was he screwing with me? (I hate pet stores)

I'm going to try another water change and I will cut back on feeding.

I do use tap water for top ups (I know that's a big no no but I don't have the cash for RO/DI filter). I tested my tap water and there is no sign of nitrate or phosphate. I don't have a silicate tester, and I've never seen one for sale.
As for my aquarium water, Nitrate and Phosphate tests are practically clear.

Thanks
Jay

 

[klingsa]

Personally, I'd change bulbs every year. That's what I tell people at the LFS where I work, since it worked so well for me. As for RO water, your LFS may sell it. That's where I get mine. Or, if you have a friend in te hobby, maybe you can go in together for a system, since one person usually doesn't need all the water it puts out every day.

Sara

 

[tazdevil]

Phosphates come to mind. Tap water: the GHA could be from a high amount of Phosphates (PO4) building up in your system. A PO4 test kit may not read any detectable levels, as the GHA can remove all the free PO4, and releases it only when it dies (thus adding more fuel for more GHA). You stated that your kit did not detect any PO4 from the tap water- be sure if your testing the source water, the kit can read fresh water as well (some are salt-only, seperate kit for fresh).

If this tank is less than 1 year old, this may be a normal outbreak in a newer system, that, with time, should cure itself, just be sure your not adding additives etc. that may promote the GHA.


The canister filter could also be contributing to the problem if your not cleaning it on a very routine schedule- as time passes without cleaning, they'll start adding nitrate to your system, a "fertilizer" for GHA.


FWIW< I would never place a tang in a 33 gallon, they can be stressed and die from being in too small a tank. Much debate about that, but, a majority will say anything less than about 75 gallons and tangs is asking for trouble.

 

[Graywolf57]

I'm new here and just wanted to say it's nice to see that many reply posts with nothing but help in the comments and very little preaching....nice change of pace from some of the forums.

Inadaze - Too bad about the tang, small space but that shouldn't have been anything that would kill it overnight. You said you wanted to learn, that was a painful one but now you know. The good news all of the things mentioned are things you can change for relatively low cost. Not that it's foolproof but if you don't have the bucks for an RO/DI, try distilled water as topoff for a while and see if that helps. It won't harm anything and is almost always safer than tap water.

In the long run, I think a RO/DI unit is cheaper once you can get one.

good luck

 

[Anonymous]

i tried buying a yellow tang but it didn't last the night

I

know this may be a dumb question but did you aclimate properly. I had a nice peice of LR that I bought from some guy and it had Hair Algea all over it. I put it in anyways and placed my lettuce nudibranch on it and it was gone within a few hours. I suggest trying one of those were I am at they cost like 10 bucks max. They also dont require supplemental feedings cause they are photosynthetic as well

 

[fishfanatic2]

If no one else has said it, 10x flow means a pump with a pumping capacity 10 times the volume of the tank. Example- for a 10 gallon , you would need a pump that pumps at least 100 gallons per hour (gph) Hope this helps!