HOW TO STOP ALGI
- Thread starter peter walla
- Start date
I have just started my tank up, as i am leaving it for a month until the chemistry settles down, i only have my lights come on for 1 hour a day as there is nothing in the tank to control the algea. My tank has been running for a week althought that is not long, there has not been any growth so far. I have a phosphate reactor that is running 24/7.
Peter,
:welcome:
Algae is common in new tanks and it sometimes takes half a year to go away. That said, you have to make sure you are doing the right things to keep your water clean. Make sure you are doing regular water changes with good water/salt, using a good protein skimmer, not overfeeding the tank, and using pure water (Reverse Osmosis is good) for your top off. If you are already doing these things, then you will simply have to give your new tank some time to settle down.
:welcome:
Algae is common in new tanks and it sometimes takes half a year to go away. That said, you have to make sure you are doing the right things to keep your water clean. Make sure you are doing regular water changes with good water/salt, using a good protein skimmer, not overfeeding the tank, and using pure water (Reverse Osmosis is good) for your top off. If you are already doing these things, then you will simply have to give your new tank some time to settle down.
peter walla":2y1licpf said:
Below is the best advice you could have received. As Len said, your tank is still cycling and as long as you minimize adding extra nutrients (overfeeding or using untreated tap water) things should level out.
Len":2y1licpf said:
As far as your tank parameters, the fact you have nitrite/trate showing (and I would imagine ammonia as well) says the tank is still settling out so give it time. There are 2 keys to sucess in this hobby-patience, and moneypeter walla":2y1licpf said:
. The only thing that jumps out at me is that it appears your level of phosphates is high. That does fuel algae, so you should try and figure out why that level is elevated. Also, there isn't a need to run the lights while your tank is cycling so I'd keep them off or down to a minimum which may also help.
The tank will take 2 days to cycle if you use LR, the tank will still take 1 month to settle because of the salt you have added. My tank has just had LR in it for the past 2 weeks and my lights only come on for 1 hour a day. I also have my Phosphate reactor running, there has been no algea growth so far.
lfc 5 times":gz3qxe37 said:
Sorry, but that is absolutely untrue. Liverock does contain the bacterial colonies which are necessary to convert ammonia (cycle) unto less toxic elements, but those colonies take time to grow into sufficient numbers to support the bioload of a tank's inhabitants. Having LR cuts the time it takes for these colonies to spread, and a tank may be "stable" in a shorter time, but not fully cycled-there is a difference. Practically that means you can start adding livestock slowly, watching for ammonia spikes which indicate you have critters making more waste than the developing bacterial colonies can process. By no means can you fill a new tank with new liverock and 48 hours later throw in a "fully stocked" bioload without things going horribly wrong. Don't take my word for this, simply do a search here and you will find many examples of people rushing to stock tanks too quickly that are not mature with disasterous results.
As far as the "one month due to salt" statement, I can't even begin to fathom what you mean by that.
Who said anything about stocking the tank??? Your water will be fine but you have to stock your tank slowly so the bacteria can increase as the load in the tank increases to deal with the increased bioload. It is best to leave the tank for approx 1 month from the original setup. Unlike FW were you wait for the bacteria to colonies the filter, SW needs time to fully stabalise as fluctuations in the water ie its chemical make up need time to stabilise. So you making sweeping statement's that i expect a fully stocked tank within 2 days is completely different to what i said, however if he wanted he could start to slowly stock his tank after 2 days as the slow increase in bioload will cause the gradual expantion of the bacterial colonies already present within his tank.
lfc 5 times":ddjqa790 said:
Uh, that's not even close to what you posted originally that I have quoted and answered above. You seem to be a bit confused as to what the term "cycled" means in general usage so I suggest you do some more research. Freshwater bacteria and saltwater bacteria colonize a tank in the same way, there is no 'difference' between how it works. In using LR the bacteria are inherent in the rock, whereas in freshwater you must usually wait until the colonies (which are in the water naturally) multiply on whatever surface/filter or substrate you put into the tank unless you seed it from an established tank or use a commercially prepared product. It's the same process fresh or salt water, and in fact similar types of nitrosomas bacteria that do the job.
Here's a good article that covers both freshwater and marine cycling process:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebInde ... ycling.htm
As far as your statement above that SW must level "chemically" for one month before it stabilizes which affects bacterial growth is also incorrect. It is generally accepted that all it takes is 24 hrs for newly mixed salt and water to be stable enough chemically to use in your tank.
Good information in the link below:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/seah2ofaqs.htm
Finally, your last assertion that after 48 hours one could begin to stock a tank, even lightly is bad blanket advice all around. Live rock quality varies from piece to piece and supplier to supplier. Excellent quality rock may not spike if you throw minimal livestock in immediately, but its the exception not the rule and certainly not something I suggest a new hobbyist attempt. The only sure way to know when a tank is ready is to test the water and watch for the ups and downs that indicate there is sufficient bacteria to support the livestock.
My original post was "I have just started my tank up, as i am leaving it for a month until the chemistry settles down, i only have my lights come on for 1 hour a day as there is nothing in the tank to control the algea. My tank has been running for a week althought that is not long, there has not been any growth so far. I have a phosphate reactor that is running 24/7." As you can read i have no intention of putting anything into my tank, my stocking plan has me putting an anenome in my tank in 9 months time when the tank has greater stability, i have not mentioned placing anything into the tank. My advice has been to leave it for 1 month. As i said in my second entry "If he has only had is tank for a month should there be stuff in it yet?" And sorry, but that is absolutely untrue, it took 3 days for my SG to stabilise as all of the salt within the tank went into sollution. I did not get this information from the internet as anything can be said here, this information came from a marine biologist who also is a consultant for Thailand upon conservation. He is a consultant for another country but i admit i cannot remember which one. So just because it is generally accepted doesn't make it right. I am not trying to belittle you as i think that you are extremely noligible and probably have a vast experience, but this guy rights papers which are published and the tank's that he has constructed speak for themselves.
The trace elements present in the system react and it takes time for his to settle down, also the salt that is added, contains a conditioner to stop it from becoming a solid mass during storage. This conditioner will be present in large amounts when the tank is first set up, this disipates from the system over time. So yes due to the chemistry within the salt water it is best to leave the large amount of salt water created when setting up the tank time to stabilise ensuring the best of starts for the tank. The period of time to leave the water is 1 month. Smaller amounts of water used for water changes, a 24 hour period will do as it is not a massive amount of water.
You will not get a spike if the LR does not have any die off, as my LFS is 5 min from my house the rock was hardly out of the water. If there is nothing producing ammonia within the tank if it is not stocked it will not spike. The quality of the rock does not go of the bacterial count present, it goes upon the amount of living matter upon the surface of the rock, so IF YOU WANTED TO(which i don't), in theory you could begin stocking the tank in 48 hours. The bacterial count will only increase when there is an increase in avaliable nutrients. When i mentioned FW i was only making a comparison in the fact that it does not need time to stabilise in the sense of the the make up of the water. I understand that i may not have made myself clear but i do know that i am right, i was wrong about one thing, it is indonesia he is a consultant for, came to my mind later on. I agree there should not be the levels of phosphates within his tank, but i think that he has stocked his tank to soon. I would add on fish/invert per month giving the time for the bacterial colonies to increase.
~
You will not get a spike if the LR does not have any die off, as my LFS is 5 min from my house the rock was hardly out of the water. If there is nothing producing ammonia within the tank if it is not stocked it will not spike. The quality of the rock does not go of the bacterial count present, it goes upon the amount of living matter upon the surface of the rock, so IF YOU WANTED TO(which i don't), in theory you could begin stocking the tank in 48 hours. The bacterial count will only increase when there is an increase in avaliable nutrients. When i mentioned FW i was only making a comparison in the fact that it does not need time to stabilise in the sense of the the make up of the water. I understand that i may not have made myself clear but i do know that i am right, i was wrong about one thing, it is indonesia he is a consultant for, came to my mind later on. I agree there should not be the levels of phosphates within his tank, but i think that he has stocked his tank to soon. I would add on fish/invert per month giving the time for the bacterial colonies to increase.
~
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