Pesky Algae Problem

[Kyleot]

Hi Everyone! I have been doing some research in the forums, as well as other websites, and I have come up with a plan to get rid of my nuisance algae. I have a 37 gallon tank with a RENA filstar canister filter I am using for flow and filtering, and AquaC Remora skimmer. I have had a horrible algae problem for quite some time now, and have attributed it to the water I am using. I have been using Filtered Tap water since I set up the tank. I recently started using RO/DI water from the LFS. I have done 4 five gallon water changes in the last two weeks. I have two damsel fish, a few different mushroom leathers, some zooanthids and a pencil urchin.
So I plan to get rid of the canister filter altogether, and to employ two power heads for flow. Also I plan to keep up the water changes. All water tests good, but I suspect it's due to the amount of algae in the tank. I have had this set up since Oct 06, so I kinda expected this to just be a phase, but it never ended. I have tried to scrub the live rock to remove the algae, but didn't have any luck, and I don't want to damage the rock. At any rate, I am hoping to get some feedback on whether or not I am on the right track. And if I should do any additional steps. Thanks for the help. I have included a picture to show the extent of the algae.

 

[mr_X]

hello. welcome to reefs.org


what kind of substrate do you have? if you have sand, and it contains silicates, this will be working against you.
what kind of lighting do you have , and how old are your bulbs? your bulbs need replacing if they were in the fixture since oct. of last year. that could be your problem too.
how recent have you started the RODI? 2 weeks ago? if so, it may take a little longer than that.
have you checked your phosphate level?

 

[cindre2000]

You do not have a silicate problem and silicate sand does not leach silicates...

Do you have anything that eats algae?

 

[ChrisRD]

I tend to agree that the tapwater you were using was likely a big part of the problem. IMO you're on the right track by switching to a purified water source, upping the water changes and ditching the canister. You might try adding a few large turbo snails - IME they're excellent grazers.

Increasing circulation and improving detritus removal will help lower nutrient levels too (and in-turn help control pest algae). I periodically "storm" the rockwork in my tanks and remove detritus with a syphon and/or micron bag. Clean the skimmer frequently too. IME they work better when the neck is not gunked up.

HTH

 

[Kyleot]

As for Substrate, I have live sand I bought, I think it was some kinda of Argonite mixture. At any rate, I have included another picture to better help the description of my setup. I have two 65W PC's, 1-Dual Daylight / 1-Dual Actinic . I guess new bulbs are in order then, because they are the same I have been usingsince Oct 06. How often do you recommend changing out bulbs? I don't think I have anything that tests for silicates. Also, Phosphates are at 0.0. The only think that I have that eats algae is the pencil urchin (which I haven't seen eat any really at all) and I have at least 50, maybe 75 snails (I started with 5). Thanks again for all the help!

 

[ChrisRD]

I can't quite make it out in the pics, but if it's hair algae, smaller snail species won't help. I would expect an urchin to help, although a long spine might be better for this stuff...

 

[cindre2000]

What type of snails are those, since if you had that many, they should be everywhere. Rock urchins and Tuxedo urchins are also fairly good for algae. Pencil/Slate urchins tend towards scavenging and eating coral; not really eating all that much algae.

Another thing to think about adding is a hang on filter, its an easy way to get some surface motion, you can also turn a larger one into a refugium.

Generally people say replace the bulb once a year, however, on a algae free set up you will see a gradual increase in algae as the spectrum shifts lower; so some established tank owners just watch the growth patterns in their tanks to tell them when to change the bulbs.

 

[mr_X]

i have seen alot of talk of the silicate /sand issue. since you have agagonite based sand, i don't think that's the issue. however, i would like to see information backing up your comment cindre.
a pencil urchin will most likely clean the rocks, but it will clean the rocks of everything. a friend of mine had one and his rock was a greyish white. stripped clean as a whistle. if you don't mind that, then go for it. i would first try and see i could find the source of the problem and have my rock nice and pink.

 

[ChrisRD]

Plenty of folks have used silica sand in reef tanks without a problem - not that I recommend it, but it's been done. That said, from what I've seen, silica sands are generally angular particles, not the round particles (known as "ooliths") like the aragonite sand we typically use in reef tanks. The angular shapes may not be as "friendly" to soft bodied sand infauna. I've never seen this studied - just guessing. Personally, I see no reason to use anything other than aragonite sand, so I don't plan to test the theory. :wink:

 

[Katfsh]

Large turbo snails work wonders!! BUT they do not solve the problem. My 24 gal tank was covered in hair algae 2 weeks ago and I put in 6 Large turbo and 5 Large Astrea Snails and It is 90% gone. But before I did that I also added a skimmer replaced my pc lights for a Mh/pc unit, and I have always used ro/di water. and I am in the plans of swapping to a 20g tall with sump and fuge.

katfsh