diatoms, HA, and bryposis... ugh.

T

texreefer

My 20g has been up and running since june and I have battled through many algae blooms, but it's kind of getting irritating now... I do 20% WC weekly, I feed very sparingly, run my lights 8hrs/day, and tests are PH 7.8 PO4=0 NO3=0 NO4=0 KH=8 CA=290 MG=1300. I suppose I just don't really understand where the nutrients feeding the algae are coming from or where the silica that cause the diatoms are coming from... I know the usual response is turkey baster and WC for the diatoms, prune and WC for the HA, and prune and MG dose for the bryopsis, but that's not getting the job done. I could probably bolster my CUC a bit, but geez, every single weekend before I do my WC, everything has bloomed just like it was the weekend before. I get my saltwater and my ro/di top off water from fish2morow, and I feed 1/3-1/2 a cube of Marine Fusion every 2-3 days. I could really use some help.
 
For starters your calcium is really low and the alk is probably a bit low. Its hard to test the phospates accurately when algae is growing out of control because it will eat them before you can test them. I do tryst the water from F2M but you might test it for phosphates before you put it in the tank just to rule that out.

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Correction. CA-420.
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What type of mag supplement are you using. To battle bryposis you need to use Kent Tech-M and raise the levels 50 ppt per day. Then get level at 1550-1600 ppt which will be 5-6 days and then hold it there. Bryposis will melt over time and it can help with hair algae as well. My 2 cents..
 
I've heard of this magical tech-m. The only problem with that is, if I'm doing 20% WCs weekly then I'm going to have to skip them to get my Mg that high...
 
In my opinion (which is not worth much) it is just part of your tank still "setting up". From my past experiences 6-9 months after setting up a new tank you will get the pain in the butt algae that has no reason for being in the tank except that it is a new tank. Im having some of the same issues with at 30 cube that I set up in June and the water in it is better than my 120 SPS tank. If I were you I would try to add to my CUC, raise the Alk and keep on doing what you are already doing and just wait it out.
 
I suppose I'll just wait it out... I just hope the algae doesn't choke out any more of my corals. GHA smothered 2 of my acan frags. I plan on getting my 40b set up in the next few months anyway.
 
@texreefer wrote:
I suppose I'll just wait it out... I just hope the algae doesn't choke out any more of my corals. GHA smothered 2 of my acan frags. I plan on getting my 40b set up in the next few months anyway. said:
Keep doing what you are doing so that none of the coral dies but I would not worry to much about what is causing it cuz I think it is just the tank "coming of age"...
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Try running chemi-pure and purigen. That's what I use all the time in my tank. Do you have a sump? If so any macro algae?
 
No sump. No skimmer. Any thoughts on getting a breeder box to hang in the tank and putting macro in it? Seems like a space waster. I have used chemi-pure before in my hob filter (normally a carbon bag or nothing at all in it) but I have some PhosBuster Pro from macna I could use, anyone else use it?
 
I actually use a little container to hold bar soap for the macro algae. It has two suctions on the bag that sticks easily to the glass. I'll take a picture when I get home. I bought for $2 at Walmart
 
That won't help in this case. You could turn off the lights for a three days to weaken the stuff, then try to siphon out what remains. Bryopsis is very tough to battle, and a Foxface will eat all it can reach - it might be worth getting that fish for your system. Keep in mind that fish has spines and you can get stung if you aren't aware of it while tinkering.

Tell us about your clean up crew. What exactly do you have, and how many of each?
 
Sounds like a skimmer could help. As Marc mentioned lights out for a few days and manually remove as much as you can. Get it to a manageable level and then keep trying!! Not sure what type skimmer those with nano's are having success with but I am also interested as I have now set up a 29 gallon nano as well for QT. Aqua C Remora hang on??
 
I think I have about 3 Nassarius snails, 10 bumblebee snails, 2 astrea snails, and 2 elephant snails. I just don't trust or really even like hermits. Do you have a MINIATURE fox face I can have for my 20g? lol. Lights out helped before, but my corals were quite upset afterwards and the algaes came right back. Can't wait to have a tank with a sump.
 
Foxfaces do start off as small fish, and grow over time. It doesn't have to stay in the tank forever.
 
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