Help w/ algae questions

J

JeepTJ

[So my tank is starting to look pretty bad. I got some Marine SAT and made the first dose last weekend on the advice of the gang at EA, and the lawnmower blenny is having a blast, but... what else can I do to help out? I'm currently running actinics for 12 hours a day, and the halides for 5. Nitrate and phosphates come back as 0 (salifert). The fuge is lit 24/7 and the chaeto appears to grow, but not fast...

I don't know squat about algae, so if you can take a look at the pics and let me know what I'm up against and what I can do to help, I appreciate it!

pic1 is this hair stuff that's really bugging me, nice and long flowing - and ironically it's covered most of the snails so you can hardly see them for the stuff.

pic2 is some clear mucusy kind of stuff. there's also loads of just green/brown junk on the rocks too, but the blenny seems to like that stuff - he stays away from the slimy things and the hair stuff.

pic3 is why my tank just looks beat down.

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[That looks like dinoflagellates to me. The tank has too many nutrients currently, and the skimmer isn't keeping up. You'll have to pluck and siphon out as much as possible. Increase flow with more powerheads, clean or improve your skimmer for better output.]
 
[What is your water change schedule like? Make sure you have a good source for water if you do not have your own ro/di unit. And do 20 % water changes weekly till you lick the algae problem, then I would go to bi-weekly. Hopefully you are not using Oceanic salt. And the first algae looks like hair algae. And I agree the other looks like a dinoflagellate alage. Which is nasty stuff, sometimes it will actually kill the snails that try and eat it. What kind of sand are you using?]
 
[I have had about the same experince as most people here.

My hair alge was cleaned up by hermit crabs, turbo snails and a lawnmower blenny along with some manual pruning and reducing my light time a bit. Water changes I am sure did help as well reducing the Nitrates

I also have some bubble algae but that is being delt with using emrlad crbs.]
 
[Thanks for the replies! Some answers to questions:

- Tropic Marin salt is used.
- Skimmer (ASM-G2 or G3?) is having to be emptied about twice a week and creates a ton of foam - so much it foams out the top a bit.
- Water changes were going to be once a month, but I was going to step up to once every two weeks with this problem - I may now do once a week on Rick's recommendation for now.
- Have RO/DI system to use for topoff water and new saltwater mixing - TDS out of RO/DI reads 0.
- Sand is 60 lbs of CaribSea Arag-ALive. 20 lbs of Ecosystem miracle mud in the fuge.

Marc - If I siphon out the algae, is it safe to put a micron bag in the sump and siphon it through there so I don't lose the water? Also - I'm trying to get a flow guru to come over and help with the flow - I've got over 2000 gph of equipment, maybe I just can't aim/tune it right.

salsini - My "cleanup crew" is currently 6 trochus snails, 6 nassarius snails, 1 fighting conch and 6 cortez hermits. If I add a bunch of turbo snails, will they run out of food and die? I'd hate to have that...

Thanks!!!]
 
@tesfeld wrote:
[How long has the tank been setup?] said:
[Should have anticipated that one! Tank's been up for 3 months. The algae has really been taking off for about 3 weeks now.

I feed 1/2 cube of mysis in the morning, and 1/2 cube of spirulina brine with a little cyclop-eeze at night. I don't feed anything for the blenny right now, cause I figure he's got plenty growing in the tank. My livestock is: 2" sixline wrasse, 2" orchid dottyback, 1.5" banggai cardinal, 3.5" lawnmower blenny, 2xcleaner shrimp, 1xpistol shrimp

Is that too much food? Maybe not enough? When I feed - the cleaner shrimp appear to go absolutely insane flying around the tank.]
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@TealCobra wrote:
[Siphoning w/a micron bag is a good way to save your water. I recommend it. I also would use a micron bag or some poly for your water to pass through when it returns to the sump. You will catch a lot of detritus and get it out of your water column. Just make sure you clean it often. That sounds like a pretty small cleanup crew. IME said:
[Just started using a micron bag on the drain to the sump about 2 weeks ago - and it has helped the water clarity bunches! Does get dirty quick, though - seems to be overflowing in a week. I just got like 10 from filterbag.com, so I should be set for a while!

Good to hear about siphoning algae into the bag - Was woried it may spread some spores or something that way and make things worse. Will make it easier to siphon more often.

Also have a phosban reactor on order - hopefully that will help out too!

I'll pick up three turbo snails this weekend and see if they like any of what I have to offer! hehe]
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[Yes, cut back on feeding as well. Once a day is all you need for that bioload.]
 
[i used to have a lot of algea like yours. I took the rocks out, one by one, and brushed gently with toothbrush and with all the valuable suggestions above, you should be fine. Now, my tank loooks a lot better. Good luck.]
 
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