Algae problem please help

mu8st7ang · #1 04/23/2006, 05:15 PM

Ok here is the deal I have a 54 gal bow corner setup. The tank has been great for about 2 years now no problems. The about 1 month ago i took out the last of the bio balls. Everything was still kick *** no problems I was running 1 65watt actiniic and a 10k pc which where on its way out so boom I get the red algae all over covers eveything couldnt get rid of it then I buy the red slime remover and within 2 days it was all gone.. So now i go out and pick up a nice pc/mh setup with (2) 65 watt actinic and 1 10k m/h everything was great fish all doing great all my mushrooms and inverts where great within about 2 weeks of adding the lights I got this brown algae thats very dark and hairy everywhere. I do numerous water changes but nothing it wouldnt go away it got so bad my anenome dies and takes my tank out killing 2 percs,1 flame and 1 mandarin and 1 scopas tang I was away when it died and didnt get it out till it was to late . So only thing left in my tank is a cleaner shrimp and probrably 10 snails some hermit crabs and about 70lbs of live rock. No for the past 3 weeks i have been tring to get this algae stuff out to no avail. I went out and bought an r/o unit everything i can do. Its a very stringy algae that covers the substarte after about an hour and covers everything reaqlly fast my water is a murky brown color I just dont know what to do.. My nitrates,nitrie, are 0ppm my amonnia is at about 5ppm and the phosphates are at next to nothing. My skimmer pulles so much crap everyday i must get a gallon of this smelly brown mud every 3 days I have no clue how to get rid of this and its really discureging As I have so much wrapped into this can someone please help figure what this is and how to elimiate it I have pics if i could figure out how to get them up

toccata · #2 04/24/2006, 03:12 PM

You are going to get some changes with new lighting. I went from PC's to MH's and whoa... After a few weeks and making sure the water params are in check things are much better.

mu8st7ang · #3 04/24/2006, 09:04 PM

BUt that bad my tank has been a mess ever since. I mean the parameters are good just this hair/stringy covers all and is brown algae

PalmTree · #4 04/25/2006, 04:20 AM

I know its a long shot and I may be way off but I would check the TDS coming out of the R/O. I understand that you were having thos problem before this point and that is why you got the R/O to begin with but it can't hurt. If you have my luck its probably something really bizzare and unheard of. Is tearing down the tank and starting from scratch an option?

mu8st7ang · #5 04/25/2006, 06:46 AM

Im sorry but what is TDS I dont mean to sound stupid here. A guess I have a little positive news today as when I got home my glass wasnt completely covered in a brown film and the water was actually clear but this is probrably cause I did a 20% water change yesterday plus I also changed the prefilter mat and rinsed the sponge in the filter..
Ps. I appreciate everyones advice and help

PalmTree · #6 04/25/2006, 12:16 PM

TDS is total desolved solids. I'm not sure if that is the problem at all but it was kind of a shot in the dark. I've been in situations where I had a problem in the beginning and got a fix to the problem only to find that the fix was not working properly and made the problem worse! I have some real dumb luck. I'm sure others will chime in with some more expertise.

mu8st7ang · #7 04/26/2006, 02:35 PM

Update : 3 days after the water change and the water is still clear some what its a little mirky but not brown anymore.. I hope this means the worst is behind me im still getting algae but not nearly as bad as it was actually im only getting a little bit that i brush off. I thought this light was gonna help me it turns out it hurt me for about 2 months

mburnickas · #8 05/01/2006, 10:46 AM

you changed them too quick. You should have made the switch very slow. It is like new bulbs. Example, if you haev 4 bulbs you replace like a bulb a week. Then this will should not happen.

mu8st7ang · #9 05/02/2006, 03:15 PM

Ok so the algae that was covering everything is gone and the water is crystal clear the skimmer is pulling alot but now i seam to have a green hair type algae that is like a moss substance if i can figure out how to put up a picture i will cause i dont know how to kill this type

mu8st7ang · #10 05/02/2006, 03:37 PM

HOPE THIS WORKS

mu8st7ang · #11 05/03/2006, 09:29 AM

So i put my power head towards a huge bush of green hair algae and when i woke up this morning it was gone but there where these tiny little tube things left in the area there like whitish yellowish and about ad long as a finger nail and look hollow any idea what they are

akbuuur · #12 05/09/2006, 10:30 PM

i think im having the same problem