Help !!!! Algae Bloom

[DingyDamsel]

I went away for the Thanksgiving holiday. I left my tank in the care of my husband.He may have over fed, and left the lights on to long.My tank is very cloudy. Two water changes have been done since this.They both were close to 20%.I also cut back on feeding and light time, and but a new filter in. Today I didn't turn the lights on at all, or feed. Does anyone have any advise for me?

[DrHank]

Test your water parameters including nitrates and phosphates. If either is high consider a fuge with macroalgae to compete for nutrients. What type and how old are your lights? Finally, what type of algae are you referring to?

[JaredWaites]

You might try using PhosBan for now until you can afford a refugium addition. But concentrate on the source of the Phosphates and Nitrates which are fueling your algae growth. I mean are you positive its overfeeding that caused this problem, or is it something coming in from water changes? Are you using RO/DI water?

[Acro-Phobia]

Was your tank running fine before this happened? If so, you might have had a death in the tank which threw everything off.

Was it really an algea bloom or just a cloudy tank. A rapid algea bloon, i.e. inside a week might indicate a cyno bacteria outbreak. This can be caused by one of many quick changes in your tank conditions which gives it a chance to establish itself.

Try to zero in on the exact change and that will help narrow down the possibilities and help with the solution. Is all your equipment (pumps, skimmer, etc) running correctly?

[jadeguppy]

She has a phosban running on the tank. The bloom is in the form of green water. Very green water. No fish deaths and with the hermits, banded shrimp, and bristle worms I don't think anything could last long. The lights are T5, less than six months old, 4 bulb, one reflector. I think Nova lights, but I'm not sure the brand. The skimmer was running normal, which is rather wet but a decent amount each day. It is a hob. She has some macro algae in the actual tank, but not as much as a fuge would have. Other than skipping feeding for a day or two and doing a black out with 30-50% water changes each day, I don't know what to suggest to her. Both of us did 20% water changes on the tank so it has been done three times.

[DingyDamsel]

Thanks for the explination to everyone Heather. I'm not only new to the hobby, but new to the website, and how it works.I apprciate everyone tring to help me though.It's great to be able to get all this advise from experienced people.I thank them all.

[DingyDamsel]

Here's what my lights are:
Nova Extreme High Output T5 Lighting Fixture:
Includes 2x39wT5 Ho slimpaq 10,000k daylight
2x39w T5 Slimpaq 460nm Actinic
3 moon white lunar lights

[DrHank]

What are your parameters? pH, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, Phosphate. What is your water source? RO/DI, Tap water, Walmart RO? What is your water temperature? What are you feeding? How often? How much? What livestock do you have in your tank?

[Redfish]

The bright green blooms are actually a form of phyto and/or single cell algae. It happens commonly when the lights are left on or the temperature temporarily spikes. It will take about a week for it to go away. Keep the skimmer running to keep the oxygen up and just wait. Lots of water changes will help but it is just going to keep going as long as there is food. At some point a nutrient will become limiting and it will stop.

It will cover your glass in a couple of hours after each cleaning if it is algae. If it doesn't stick to the glass it is probably a phyto.

[Redfish]

I forgot to add that it also generally occurs as a phase change in an aquarium. If you are still in a beginning cycle of have made some change in the system, that may be contributing to the bloom.

[jadeguppy]

HMMM, could I use some of her water to start a phyto culture?

[JaredWaites]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11300903#post11300903 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Redfish
The bright green blooms are actually a form of phyto and/or single cell algae. It happens commonly when the lights are left on or the temperature temporarily spikes. It will take about a week for it to go away. Keep the skimmer running to keep the oxygen up and just wait. Lots of water changes will help but it is just going to keep going as long as there is food. At some point a nutrient will become limiting and it will stop.

It will cover your glass in a couple of hours after each cleaning if it is algae. If it doesn't stick to the glass it is probably a phyto.

You are correct indeed, but if the source of the problem isn't addressed then it could pose a future problem. Plus if she isn't doing more water changes than nutrients won't be taken out of the tank because as the algae dies, its releasing more Nitrates and Phosphates back into the water column starting it all over again possibly.

1. Eliminate any direct sunlight to the tank for one.

2. Do weekly water changes.

3. Run PhosBan until you can reduce the algae growth (which you are already doing)

4. Avoid Overfeeding

5. Find out your source of Phosphates and get rid of it.

Algae needs Phosphates AND Nitrates to grow, we can't get rid of Nitrates as they are bi-product of our beneficial bacteria in our tanks, but we can reduce or eliminate the amount of Phosphates that enter our tanks, by just running PhosBan you aren't fixing the problem, your just putting a band aid on a broken leg. Not only that , think of the money you can save by not having to be anymore PhosBan.

Let me know if you want some more help on reducing Phosphates as I've taken plenty courses for swimming pools, I know they aren't the same and the chemicals can't be used for such, but I may know of some alternatives to help you get your tank back in line.

[JaredWaites]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11301726#post11301726 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jadeguppy
HMMM, could I use some of her water to start a phyto culture?

The stability of the culture wouldn't be great. A culture crash would be imminent because of the sterility of the Phyto.