Hello All,
I’ve had a reef tank for about a year and a half now. When I started the tank I had the usual algae problems which cleared up after about 4 weeks. I then ran the tank well with no algae and not too many problems for about 11 months using T5 lights. I of course didn’t have any special corals due to the relatively low lighting.
About 6 months ago I decided to upgrade to HQI lighting and bought a ramp holding 2 x 250 watt lamps and two T5 actinic tubes. Almost immediately I started to have an algae bloom which was quite devastating for a lot of the smaller organisms, and which covered the majority of all the live rock. I assume it was the sudden increase in light which caused this to happen.
The algae type differed from green hair algae to brown film algae etc. I then reduced the photo period slightly and added a batch of turbo snails. Current photo period is 8:30 actinic, 9:00 HQI until 20:30 then the actinic also stop at 21:00. I also used an anti phosphate treatment provided in small bags which were placed in the sump on the splash plate (its not very easy for me to have a canister filter installed), but the majority of the return water was forced over the treatment bags. I was told to use this treatment only for a maximum of 2 to 3 days as the treatment could then leach phosphates back into the water when maxed out. This treatment had a huge effect on the amount of algae and within a couple of weeks I was confident that the problem was becoming back under control.
However the problem is still apparent. I have managed to get rid of about 80% of the algae but the last part refuses to go. It appears that the most difficult areas are where there is the least water movement. I then added another power head to see if this would the assist but to no avail. I have since tried two other new phosphate treatments which have a minor effect but the algae re-grows when the treatment is stopped.
I add no additives to the water apart from the standard food for the fish and supplement of powdered Calcium for the hard corals. I test regularly for Ammonia, Nitrates, Nitrites, the pH, Alk, Cal and Mag, all of which are within good ranges.
I have tested the water used for changes and water top ups and can not find any levels of phosphate so can not image where it is coming from.
Not that it is linked, but during the algae bloom I also encountered a massive growth in the one or two Aiptasia morphs which I had. I was told to try and keep these under control by injecting them with lemon juice. This seems to work but I fear to be losing the battle.
Has anybody got any help they could give?
Thanks in advance,
Paul
I’ve had a reef tank for about a year and a half now. When I started the tank I had the usual algae problems which cleared up after about 4 weeks. I then ran the tank well with no algae and not too many problems for about 11 months using T5 lights. I of course didn’t have any special corals due to the relatively low lighting.
About 6 months ago I decided to upgrade to HQI lighting and bought a ramp holding 2 x 250 watt lamps and two T5 actinic tubes. Almost immediately I started to have an algae bloom which was quite devastating for a lot of the smaller organisms, and which covered the majority of all the live rock. I assume it was the sudden increase in light which caused this to happen.
The algae type differed from green hair algae to brown film algae etc. I then reduced the photo period slightly and added a batch of turbo snails. Current photo period is 8:30 actinic, 9:00 HQI until 20:30 then the actinic also stop at 21:00. I also used an anti phosphate treatment provided in small bags which were placed in the sump on the splash plate (its not very easy for me to have a canister filter installed), but the majority of the return water was forced over the treatment bags. I was told to use this treatment only for a maximum of 2 to 3 days as the treatment could then leach phosphates back into the water when maxed out. This treatment had a huge effect on the amount of algae and within a couple of weeks I was confident that the problem was becoming back under control.
However the problem is still apparent. I have managed to get rid of about 80% of the algae but the last part refuses to go. It appears that the most difficult areas are where there is the least water movement. I then added another power head to see if this would the assist but to no avail. I have since tried two other new phosphate treatments which have a minor effect but the algae re-grows when the treatment is stopped.
I add no additives to the water apart from the standard food for the fish and supplement of powdered Calcium for the hard corals. I test regularly for Ammonia, Nitrates, Nitrites, the pH, Alk, Cal and Mag, all of which are within good ranges.
I have tested the water used for changes and water top ups and can not find any levels of phosphate so can not image where it is coming from.
Not that it is linked, but during the algae bloom I also encountered a massive growth in the one or two Aiptasia morphs which I had. I was told to try and keep these under control by injecting them with lemon juice. This seems to work but I fear to be losing the battle.
Has anybody got any help they could give?
Thanks in advance,
Paul
