Alge has ruined this hobby for me...Update

[Rabbit]

Um, dude, that seems like putting out a fire with gasoline.

Lights off, algae dies, kills remaining animals then the mess will get really smelly!

Turn lights back on, lots of organics, algae bloom will be bigger than ever!

You might want to syphon off some of the matted stuff, but it's all part of the cycling process.

FWIW,

DR

 

[esmithiii]

Cosmo,

Hang in there. My suggestion is to run the lights, skimmer and powerheads. Reef tanks like lots of circulation. The algae should run its course. You should have seen my 180 when it was cycling! It was so green you couldn't see through the glass unless you scrubbed it twice a day. Now it is crystal clear. I would add snails, no hermits.

Give it time.

Ernie

 

[CosmoKramer1]

I just got back from my LFS i grabbed 20 snails from him.He gave me a deal .50 each so i took all he had.goofyreefer i noticed that too some of my hermits have snail shells now.I got to say my water is crystal clear.The alge is just all over the live rock and agronite.I guess things arent as bad as i thought,the sand bed is loaded with critters and theres millions of pods on the glass and rock.

 

[EmilyB]

Algae is a result of nutrients. Likely coming from the cycling at the moment. You haven't mentioned your skimmer that I could tell ?

You will have to starve the algae eventually, good skimming, regular water changes. This is my opinion.

Check the output water of your RO (not RO/DI ?) as well.

 

[2poor2reef]

Well, I'm certainly offended. I spent a lot of money on my South Georgia Pond habitat tank and Ernie goes and disses it. Oh well, at least I don't have a tank that looks like TVA dam water.

Seriously, Cosmo, if you don't go through the wars what kinda stories are you gonna tell. That's half the fun of posting replies on the board. "You think that's bad algae? I remember in the UGF days I tested my water and the nitrate kit exploded they were so high. Algae grew up out of the water and clogged the fan in my hood. Dumped a gallon of tank water down the drain and it clogged my pipes.". Yep, those were the days when reefin was really hard. Only real men could be reefers. Not like today when any greehorn can run a tank. Why when I started my first tank back in '97 all we had were Tums to boost our calcium levels...

 

[CosmoKramer1]

LMAO 2poor2reef...too funny...well all these hang in there replys have motivated me again.BTW i didnt expect a beautiful reef tank in 2 months,i guess i expected everything to work out perfectly...hehe....My RO is only 3 months old and its not a RO/DI just a 3 stage RO unit...well i'll calm down and just watch the snails do what they can and wait for the alge to go away on its own,hopefully the coraline will take over on the glass so far theres a few spots on the side glass alittle smaller then a dime.Again i thank you all for the support,maybe this time next year i can give a newbie a hang in there reply

 

[CosmoKramer1]

Emilyb...I do have a skimmer on the tank i'm running 24/7 right now.. ...
I checked out your web page AWSOME!!!...your tanks look absolutly beautiful...cool dogs too...I realy like the greyhound....we are thinking of adopting one too...

 

[EmilyB]

Thanks Kramer.... You should email me about the greyhound if you would like, we've had Simon about five years....he raced until he was four, and the track closed down.

 

[Reef Fever]

I had a horrible algae bloom when my tank was a few months old- I put way too many Turbo Snails and started dosing Liquid Calcium, and eventually the hair gave way to hard purple.

Also, I cut my lights back to a 7 hr. shift for awhile. Now I have them on 12 hrs, with no algae problem.

 

[CosmoKramer1]

well if anyone is still watching this topic,heres a quick update....The snails are making some progress.I noticed these little white with alittle pink in the middle things darting around in a group yhere must be at least 100 of them.baby snails?? I put a bigger powerhead on my skimmer and its really crankin out grunge now.I'm feeling hopeful again but i still have a long way to go

 

[BROKER]

Hey CosmoKramer,

It is a pain in the butt I know I still have small bouts w hair algae once in a while but I beat most of it with help from esmithiii. He gave me plans for a kick ass sump/refugium. I don't know what kind of room you have to build a sump/refugium but they do also have hang refugium to harvest macroalgae which is very efficient at transporting nutrients from your tank. (likely this algae outbreak is because its a new tank and a refugium may not be much help right now but could save you headachs down the road) The refugium part is also fun to watch and can be a side project while your tank matures a little bit longer. Powerheads will also help with your cyano outbreaks. If you do build a sump you can add a sea swirl or wavemaker for circulation. The cool thing about this hobby is that pain in the butt problems can be part of the fun. I spend part of my nights reading boards,searching archives,old posts and reading books to learn more and change things to beat or avoid these types of problems.

It is an expensive hobby that requires alot of time and patience. But what do you expect for being god of your own little world.

Hang in there it a long ride and you have only started. Things will get better.

 

[danmhippo]

CosmoKramer,

"darting"? I would assume you are talking about mysis shrimps or copepods. Whichever it is, they are excellent snack for your fish/corals and they thrives in thick algae beds, hair or not.

 

[Reef Fever]

Those little amphipods are a valuable asset I aquired through my hair algae bloom. They seem to really bloom along with the algae, and I still have a healthy supply of 'pods long after the mermaid hair is gone.

I went a long time before getting any fish, so my tank was full of the little buggies.

My mandarin loves 'em!

 

[ReefMon]

Sounds like it's turning around for you, but I have not noticed if you are doing any water changes?

IMO, it's the first 6 months where large water changes are the best way of reducing the high nutrient levels caused by curing rock.

HTH
Glenn R

 

[CosmoKramer1]

Funny you should ask i just did a 20% water change yesterday... :lol: ...Those thigs swimming around the top of the water arent pods,theres millions of them on the glass.these look like they could be little shrimp...well at least things are thriving in the tank,even though its kinda ugly

 

[Reef Fever]

Sounds like Amphipods to me- the algae on my glass was covered with them- they are now all in my sand (although the Mandarin keeps them hiding or eaten!)


Is this what they look like?

http://www.reefs.org/hhfaq/pages/pictur ... hipod.html

 

[Mouse]

Hey Cosmo,

You may want to try switching your calcium additive to Kalkwasser as it can help absorb Phosphates from the water. The problem with Algies is they have a very fast rate of metablosieation, allmost instantaniously the phosphates and nutrients are absorbed into the tissue, leaving nothing left for your test kit to pick up.

And who cares if its a stinky green reef, the best part is its YOUR stinky green reef. This is a hobby, and with all hobbys you get what you make of it. Dont try to force the reef into the state you want, assist it.

Constant gentle nudges work much better than the occasional total refurbishment.

When doing water changes, make sure you take your time. Mix water one day, then exchange the next.

 

[CosmoKramer1]

Mouse
I'll give that a try...I did alot of reading before i did the water change i got 3-5 gallon buckets i mixed the salt and water then airate and droped a small powerhead in each for 24 hours.Even though it's RO water i still let it sit for 24 hours.My tank is 65 gallon with 50 gallons of physical water.I changed 10 gallons and pulled out as much alge as i could without knocking everything around.The new snails are doing a pretty good job.I have about 5 dime size patches of coraline alge on the side glass and a bunch of small circles of it.Thats telling me things cant be all that bad.Theres also millions of pods all over the place,and the agronite sand bed it rockin with critters,i'll just wait this little set back out.All the great advice and motivation i got here really helps...thanks people

 

[esmithiii]

I have about 5 dime size patches of coraline alge on the side glass and a bunch of small circles of it.Thats telling me things cant be all that bad.Theres also millions of pods all over the place,and the agronite sand bed it rockin with critters

Cosmo,

Sounds like a textbook case of normal, new-tank algae bloom to me. Mine did the exact same thing at about 2-3 months and is crystal clear right now. Hang in there.

Ernie

 

[CosmoKramer1]

Update on the alge problem......well it looks like its starting to die off alittle.Its turning brown and when i blast the rocks with the power head it just falls off.so i cut a turkey baster so its wider at the bottom and i'm sucking it off the rocks and pulling the stuff thasts still alive.I bought a alge blenny and hes making fast work of the shorter alge,i can actually see live rock again and it looks like coraline is really growing.I noticed it starting on my base rock and much more on the glass.Macro alge growth has taken off also looks pretty cool in the tank.I noticed something very cool the hose going from my power heard to the skimmer is covered with coraline alge,tons of small dots and it looks like its on the inside of the tube too.I still have a long way to go but the water is crystal clear i only have to clean the glass once every other day and i can see rock again.So i'm feeling good that i didnt give up,and i have you good folks to thank