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DISASTER ALGAE!

malulu

malulu

NJRC Member
can't agree more - "...Patience will be rewarded." this is the most important factor to be successful in this hobby... just take your time, and when encounter new issue(s), ask here, we will all be helping... you tank will be beautiful, just need some extra time, that's all.
good luck.
 
A

AChilton

blange3 said:
AChilton said:
I don't think i took any shortcuts in setting up my tank. My tank has a protein skimmer, a uv steralizer and the wet/dry. I started with an RO unit but the membrane is now shot and i need to get my hands on a new one (setting me back 100 bucks) There is no live rock in the tank because right now it's just a FO tank. soon to be FOWLR. I don't have any inverts because don't most of them need the live rock? I don't think i took any shortcuts
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So what kind of rock is that in the pictures and did you cycle it in any way before adding it to the tank?

So what are your parameters? A list of the tests with real numbers for results please. "My parameters are perfect" doesn't help us to learn more about your tank.

How long has the tank been setup? You may have all the right equipment, but there are natural cycles that occur and the equipment ain't going to change that. We need to know where in those cycles the tank falls.


Without any further information I would guess that you bought base rock, soaked it for a week or two at most and it is in a tank that is less than 4 months old, give or take. Between the organics leaching out of the rock which is actually cycling at the time and the nutrients coming in with the tap water, you have more than enough fuel for an algae bloom. Please let me know the correc details if I am wrong.

Moving away from the tap water, doing frequent water changes, and letting the tank stabilize will help. Cleanup crews are good, but few of the crew will attack the really long stuff. Siphon what you can when you do water changes, pull some off by hand, but take a break from scrubbing everything daily. Patience will be rewarded.
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Well for starters the rock is just cement rocks. i didn't do anything to them just put them straights in the tank while the tank itself was cyclings. The tank is maybe 6-7 months old. I can't give you any exact parameters because my test kit is extremely inaccurate (even though it was 60 dollars and the best one they had there.) i've had my water tested at my lfs and it reads perfectly. they use a dry test kit which is most likely more accurate than mine. but that's as much as i can give you right now.
 
A

AChilton

No ideas anyone? the siphoning idea doesn't work because the algae literally breaks up so it's no longer existant. like it mixes in with the sand as i siphon and it just breaks up microscopically so i cna't sift it out or wait for it to settle on top. so i obviously can't take it out by hang for the same reason. i left it alone for a few days (about 3 or 4) and couldn't stand to look at it anymore so i had to scrape it off. I know everyone says to stay away from algaecides but i feel like it's my last option. (i have no inverts in the tank. and like i said i'm just look for a temporary fix for now. i know what the long term one is)
 
Rikki Reef

Rikki Reef

Hello all, What your clean up crew? I'm looking to set mine up better and was wondering what everyone using and best places to look for them?
 
Mark_C

Mark_C

Staff member
Officer Emeritus
NJRC Member
Moderator
8 year old thread ;)

Regardless...
I use a snail mix. Some use hermits. Hermits will ALWAYS kill snails, so best one or the other.
I use Nassarius for the sand bed, cerith and micro ceriths for the rocks, margaritas for the glass, and astrias for everything in between, with a few bumblebees thrown in for decor.
I also supplement the snails with a few sexy shrimp and a cleaner shrimp, and I keep any bristleworms, as they're excellent scavengers.
You can find a good mix and some good deals at reefcleaners.org
 
myrjon

myrjon

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
tank has extra nutrients .that make algae grow . i had this prob with a tank ran cheato and now no algae but takes a little bit of time .
 
Empire

Empire

I remember using ultra algae x a few years back to fight a byropsis and hair algae outbreak. I wonder if that's still around.
 
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