green algae

[grimreefer]

I have a 50 gallon reef that has been running for approx. one year. Over the last couple of months a green hair like algae has appeared on my rocks and other objects in the tank. My nitrate levels were high(over 100ppm) so i conducted a series of water changes to lower this level. The very last water change i did was a 10 gallon change and i also scrubbed the rock surfaces. I currently use power compact lighting(1 96 watt actinic and 1 96 watt ultra daylight).Both bulbs replaced this month and i run them about 8 hours a day. My readings on this day were :Calcium- 450 ppm,Alkalinity-3.0, Nitrate-40 ppm, and PH is always 8.0-8.3. After my last water change the algae was gone for approx. 2 weeks. Now it has returned as bad as before. Do you have any suggestions on a possible problem or fix. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thankyou Vance Basile. P.S. Many of my shrooms and my frogspawn have also shrunken in size over this time as well.

[rshimek]

Hi Vance,

It sounds like you have a bad case of the "high nutrients."

Basically, this is what happens in a system where we have to feed it, but have no way of pulling out nutritents as they accumulate in the tank.

When such occurs nitrates and phosphates will accumulate. Phosphates in high concentrations inhibit coral growth and that might be the case here.

You didn't say what kind of filtration you have on the tank. Obviously I am proponent of deep sand beds, and you might want to check out my article in the recent AFM. This will be one component of lowering your tank's nutrient load.

You still will need a way to export phosphate and nutrients that cannot be converted into gaseous form. I would suggest that you use some other macroalga for this. Try to grow Caulerpa or some other macroalga in your sump or in some place in the tank. As it grows harvest it periodically to remove the phosphates and nitrates it has sequestered. Use some sort of grazer to get ahead of "hair," some urchins, like long-spined urchins eat the stuff. Almost nothing else does.

Hope this helps a bit. :)

[SJJR]

Hey there, i have exactly the same problem. I have this green hair algae that has been in my tank for about a month now. It covers parts of my rocks and grows between some of the zoos. It actually hasnt effected any of my corals in a bad way yet but it may in the future. I remove some of this algae by my hands about once a week and take it out of the tank so it wont reattatch itself. I have a 26 gallon bowfront with a Rena Filstar xP1 canister filter and a Red Sea Prizm high eff. hang on skimmer. I use Aqua-marin bio-calcium that adds calcium and all the trace elements. In addition i have a 55watt PC and 15watt actinic. I am trying to get rid of this green hair algae too and dont know what to do? ANy help would be appreciated. I do have some type of macroalgae(green rooted plant that grows with new flat bulb looking leaves that stem up) in my tank that is supposed to take up nitrates and stuff. The green algae is actually in between these stalks of this plant though so i dont know how much there helping with thta problem. Any help would be much appreciated. Also i am looking to upgrade my lighting and i am on a budget and i live in Canada, so the US prices are much higher for me from websites. Anyways i have zoos, mushrooms, ricordias, brains, octobubble, hammeer and a Maxima clam in my tank. I am only looking to keep other LPS and other softies. NO SPS but i would like to see some faster growth on some of my corals, i am also looking to get a yellow leather and i know more light would help. Any recommendation on what i should get, i am looking to either upgrade to a 65wattPC with a 65watt actinic or i am possibly looking at T5's. I just dont need any more light than i actually need to keep my corals.

[rshimek]

Hi,

The macroalgae do take up nutrients. But you have to periodically remove them and discard them and let new algae grow in their place.

Your tank has far too much diversity in it for its size, and that is contributing to its nutrient overload.

Trace elements are algal fertilizers. If you are feeding your system, even marginally, your animals will get enough that way. Stop the additions of trace elements, and that will help.

[SJJR]

What do you mean by letting new algae grow in the place of macroalgae?

Also what do you mean by too much diversity for its size? I know i have some different species of corals but they do well under the light i have.

The bio-calcium i have adds calcium as well as all the trace elements. I need to add calcium so therefor i need to add the powder that i have which includes the trace elements. I dont have a choice in removing the trace elements from the powder. I also have a friend who has the same size tank as mine and he adds trace elements like iodine and his tank is doing well. I need the trace elements for some of the corals we have. How would removing the trace elements help the corals out?

[rshimek]

Originally posted by SJJR

Hi,

What do you mean by letting new algae grow in the place of macroalgae?

Just what I said. Let some algae grow, harvest it, remove it from the tank and discard it. Then let new algae grow. Think of the algae as concentrated nutrients. By doing this you remove some of the excess.

Also what do you mean by too much diversity for its size? I know i have some different species of corals but they do well under the light i have.

You have a very small tank, and you seem to have a lot in it. I would consider that it has too much life in it for the size of the tank. All of this animal life is releasing ammonia and phosphates as waste products. This, in turn, is not being filtered out or removed, and this stuff fuels your algal bloom.

The bio-calcium i have adds calcium as well as all the trace elements.

Trace elements are poisonous to animals in anything above trace amounts and they get these in foods.

Algae, on the other hand, need trace elements to grow. By adding trace elements you are fueling your algal blooms.

I need to add calcium

Use kalkwasser instead, it is cheaper, and it is a balanced additive adding both calcium and alkalinity, without the side effects of adding unpleasant heavy metals.

I need the trace elements for some of the corals we have.

If you need the trace elements, you drink them. :D

No coral needs any trace element additions and most of the "so-called" trace elements are poisonous at levels above those found in natural sea water. If you don't have a test kit for them, don't add them.

How would removing the trace elements help the corals out?

How does removing a slow acting poison help any animal?

You might check out this (http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-08/rs/feature/index.htm) article.