I continue to lose the algae battle

[Junk2]

Everything seems happy but I continue to lose the algae battle, likely because while I have a magnus curve 5 I don't run it. Instead I use filter cups with coarse and medium that gets replaced every week. Any suggestions besides using a skimmer - I just have never had success dialing them in.

 

[myrjon]

Run chaeto / limit lighting cut down on white light. using ro-di?

 

[EJGraham14]

Everything seems happy but I continue to lose the algae battle, likely because while I have a magnus curve 5 I don't run it. Instead I use filter cups with coarse and medium that gets replaced every week. Any suggestions besides using a skimmer - I just have never had success dialing them in.

Get a bunch of nerite snails

 

[NJTaxMan]

How many hermits do you have in there? I kept looking but didnt see any. A good handful of hermits will just go amunchin on your GHA

 

[amado]

You need a army of algae eaters.
you need snails/ crabs
You need a urchin
I would also get a sea hare and remove it when the algae is gone.
You should get a ICP test to see what your numbers are.

check your RO-Di and make sure you are using zero tds
Water.

reduce what your feeding. Stop feeding corals don’t add coral food to your tank.
Skimmers adjustment need to happen slowly.

I would make sure the water level is correct.

take some water to your lfs and have them test your water

 

[Junk2]

Thanks all. Have one long spine urchin but no hermits since I'm pretty sure the last time we had any that it was them that ate my torch. Never caught in the act but it just had to be. I think I'm going to get rid of the colorado nem though because while it looks healthy it's on the glass on the backside as far away from the black widow as possible. Been there for two weeks and doing well but all my nems are doing great and don't want to risk any chemical fight..

 

[john90009]

I would also suggest a cleanup crew. If they are blue and or scarlet hermits they won’t choose corals over algea unless they are starving. And I don’t think they will starve in that tank. Astreas, nerites and a few giant Mexican turbos if you want, doesn’t seem to be many small sps frags in there for them to bulldoze. But you need a cleanup crew.

 

[Hallowhead]

When I see chaeto suggested I get nervous, don't want to over strip the water of nutrients, but it may be a good solution in the short term. I too struggle with my protein skimmer and it results in a constant battle with algae as nutrients are higher but test low. I think I need to get a new one, and or really figure out how to tune my current one.

I would suggest, slowing down the feeding, make sure that you're not adding much more food than the fish can eat (food isn't pouring into your overflow and cultivating in your media cups) Increase your clean up crew for sure, my thought at least on my end is I don't have enough fish to justify the larger protein skimmer I have so it never skims the right skimmate. I need to step up my fish, or downsize my skimmer.

 

[MadReefer]

I would use the skimmer and keep working on it until dialed in. Those are good skimmers and only had issues when water evaporated which is why I have an ATO.