Why the algae

[marino420td]

I recently moved my frag rack from my refugium into my rubbermaid sump.



Now there is a coating of algae covering everything and I never had any algae in the sump prior to this move. Why is this? I just bought some astrea snails for the sump/frag tank. Any other critters I should add to help control it?

[aquarius77]

It could be that the light is getting old and shifting spectrum. How old is the bulb?

[bobbet43]

did you just start lighting the sump, if so then that could be causing it

[marino420td]

I did just start lighting the sump. What would you add to the sump to keep the algae in check?

[RedEyeElf]

a fuge? or just wait it out, algae is only gonna grow if there is excess nutrients, hence, the brown corals

[redox]

this is my opinion only and you can take it or leave it but.....the algae is a normal thing in a new system. Its really nice when you first set it up but it gets harder and harder to keep it looking that way. I started with rubbermaids inside and contiplated useing them outside . While inside I realized that the actual rubbermaid needed to be cycled first before I put corals in. Once the coraline takes hold you are over the hump. I think if you have enough patience to let the vat cycle with indirect light and let the coraline grow first before you add coral . this would limit any unwanted algae once you add lighting(slowly) and corals. I had the same issue in the gh. The vats had to cycle for at least a year before I had any success

[marino420td]

Thanks for the feedback. One thing I wanted to point out was that my system, including this rubbermaid sump, have been running for over a year. The only change made was hanging a light over the sump and adding the frag rack.

[bobbet43]

i had a very similar experience, i setup my sump with enough room for frags, was about a year before i put any in there and when i started lights on it i had an algae bloom for about 2 months. once coraline started it went away