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My reef tanks (29 and 75 gallon) started getting some weired green algae which grows not only on my live rock, but also on some of my soft corals.
NO3 - looks peaty low (<10).
Does anybody have any suggestions how to cope with them?
There are also some red algae, which I also don't know how to stop from spreading.
Any ideas?
Thanks
November 9 2007, 21:47:10 UTC 4 years ago
my nitrates were high and that was causing that stuff to grow crazy.
I did some water changes and cut back on the hours of light and that helped it go away.
But it wasn't really bad, my clowns loved it. I still have a little in my tank but it's not out of hand like it used to be.
November 9 2007, 21:50:45 UTC 4 years ago
Like this.
November 9 2007, 21:53:49 UTC 4 years ago
There are supposed to be some fish that will eat it/control it.
As far as the red algae goes, I had some issues with it for a brief while, but I increased my in-tank flow and it disappeared for the most part.
What does your flow consist of in both your tanks?
November 12 2007, 04:14:10 UTC 4 years ago
I've just got myself some green crabs, who said to be green hair algae eaters.
But thanks for your suggestions.
November 9 2007, 21:54:44 UTC 4 years ago
Can you cut back your lighting and maybe flip that rock over so it's not getting as much light?
I dunno, I can ask my buddy when I see him next. He knows more about saltwater than I do.
November 9 2007, 22:01:24 UTC 4 years ago
November 9 2007, 22:08:13 UTC 4 years ago
Mine would lay in it and just have a good old time.
What is also weird is I had 2 black clown and one orange one, and the orange one and a black one paired up and started bullying the other black one. I had to move him out of the tank.
November 9 2007, 23:05:16 UTC 4 years ago
November 9 2007, 22:58:27 UTC 4 years ago
November 10 2007, 05:40:04 UTC 4 years ago Edited: November 10 2007, 05:41:10 UTC
10mg-N/L nitrate is still rather high for a reef. While not acutely dangerous to reef inhabitants, that is sadly more than enough nitrate to cause algae problems.
Some things you can do are:
- Make sure your alkalinity is high, and even if it is, raise it to the upper end of the range (4.5meq/L and higher).
- Make sure your magnesium is high.
- Make sure you don't have a detectable concentration of phosphates. If you do, run some sort of phosphate sponge
- Of course make sure your calcium is good too. Judging from your coraline growth in the background, I would say your calcium and magnesium are likely good
- Raise your pH to 8.4 - 8.5. Be careful when doing this and watch for signs of stress, making sure the diurnal cycle never takes the pH over 8.5 during the day.
- Reduce your lighting.
- Make sure your RO/DI water is 0 TDS. If not, change your filter catrridges.
- Perform some massive water changes.
All these together can seriously make a dent in nuisance algae.Most cleanup crew critters will not touch hair algae once it has grown, but they can be useful in preventing it from growing in the first place. The only fish I have observed eating significant hair algae are rabbitfish.
November 12 2007, 04:17:25 UTC 4 years ago
My KH is in fact very low around 6-7. And Ca - too - <300. PO4 and NO3 are bellow detectable levels though.
I've got some green crabs who I was told should eat green algae and some red snail who should eat red algae.
I'll try to build up my KH (A and B formulas seems to be not working) and Ca and cut down 2 hours of my illumination
November 12 2007, 04:28:20 UTC 4 years ago
The record on the effectiveness of these critters is spotty at best. Often times, they only consume fresh growth and help keep the algae from growing in the first place. Once it has grown to a visible size, they no longer are interested in it.
You can check on Reef Central, but I think you'll hear the same thing there, that the various crabs and snails are not very effective.
Because your calcium and alkalnity are low, and a higher pH helps control the green hair algae, I would start dosing kalkwasser. My guess is that if two-part supplements are not being effective, they cannot keep up with the demand. You may eventually need a calcium reactor... But I would start with a kalkwasser system and see if that can hold the levels up. Bear in mind that neither a calcium reactor nor a kalkwasser dosing system are terribly effetcive at raising calcium and alkalinity; they are most effective at holding levels high. Thus, you will still need to raise your calcium and alkalinity up with additives first before you can expect any form of reactor to be effective. I hope this helps.