algae

[Kelly68]

Hi Guys:

It has been ages since I have posted, but I added some new lights to my tank about one month ago. I bought some T5's and added that to my tank. I also bought a huge skimmer which is working awesome.

I have cut back on the lighting but maybe not enough due to a huge algae outbreak. I am sure it is because of the new lights. I did what I did when this first happened....had them go off for about an hr in the afternoon to help break the algae cycle and it worked then...but just doesn't seem to be making any difference now. It is really starting to gross me out. How can I get this algae to subside? Anyone have any luck with anything that might help me??

Thanks!

[Kelly68]

Anyone? I sure could use some help here. I am about ready to cry because it is starting to look really terrible. I am having a hard time keeping up with it. Any ideas for me on how to kill it?

[sarduci]

Well, there are 3 things you can really do to affect it outside of lighting....

1)feed less - less food for the algae to use to grow
2)feed it to something - get a variety of snails to munch on it, so your skimmer can pull it out
3)remove it by hand - not fun, but it gets it out

Depending in what kind of algae it is, more flow in the tank may fix it. But if it's your seahorse tank, that might now work. Then you might just have to add a (larger) sump or lighten the load in the tank.

[Kelly68]

No, the algae is in my 210. It only bloomed after I added the lights. I know I probably shocked the system with the lights...but tried to add the light slowly. Apparently not slowly enough. I only feed once a day in the morning for now. I did go in with a toothbrush over the weekend and scrubbed off the live rock. To my surprise there was some nice coraline starting underneath this icky stuff. It is not hair algae...like a brown and red. Some comes off really easy...others you have to work at it. It is not slimey or hair if that tells you anything. I am trying to reduce the lights again and keep scrubbing...my skimmer is going mad. Fish load is the same as before with no problems.

[sticky]

What is the tds of your water? You also may want to do small water changes every day as well as siphoning out the algae that comes off easily. The change in wavelength has started a algae bloom and until the system has no more fuel for the algae it will continue.

If it was me I would check my rodi water first, limit my lighting, feed less, do small incremental water changes and finall test for calcium, alk, ph (swings). Snails I would think would be your best best. This stuff will subside.

[sarduci]

I'd agree with sticky - it needs food to grow, so it's just a matter of finding its food source and removing it. Calc, alk and ph (if out of whack) can let it do this also with more fuel (light).

[Kelly68]

Well, I got down and dirty today. I checked the readings and found a higher nitrate level then I would like. Everything else seems good. So, I went in and did about a 50 gallon water change. And scrapped all algae..and believe me that was a chore in a 210 to get to the stuff on the back wall. But after 4 hrs, it is now clean again. I did what someone told me to do about adding lights. I added paper down underneath the lights and everyday take off one piece down the row....that was little by little the light will get stronger but not a shock. I hope this helps.

[sarduci]

Didn't see this until today....

If you're going to use something that could fall in your tank, like paper, made sure it's plain, uncolored paper. There are a lot of chemicals that the paper gets treated with before it gets to you, and I'd hate to see a piece fall in, get shreaded by a pump or ate by a fish, and cause some issue for you.

Some people use egg crate on top of their tank or plastic window screen for doors. Both are non-toxic, good at shading the tank on the cheap side of things, and can be cut to fit.