algae problems

[c-town]

hey guys, i can't seem too figure out , what is causing the brown film algae and a green film at the bottom of the glass. ammonia, nitrite,and nitrate are 0 ppm. i took out all the bio-balls out of my sump. i read that sometime too much good bacteria can cause this. my skimmer runs 24/7. also i have a 25 watt gamma sterilizer running 24/7. any suggestion?

 

[camaroracer214]

could be phosphate or silicate. what type of water are you using for water changes? also, how often do you do water changes?

 

[Len]

If it's a new tank, it's normal, even if you are doing everything right. Tanks can take a long time to balance itself out, so you need to be patient and continue doing proper maintanence. If you aren't topping off (and doing water changes) with Reverse Osmosis water, it would be the first thing I'd upgrade. If you are using a RO filter, make sure the membrane doesn't need replacing. I get algae in my tank when my RO membrane is old.

 

[Kasey]

I'm having the same issues with my tank (about 2 1/2 months into my tank setup).

I use just distilled water and was thinking of an RO/DI unit for Christmas - is RO that much better than distilled?

 

[camaroracer214]

distilling water is prepared by just boiling it and collecting the condensation in a separate container. it doesn't remove everything from the water though. it removes large particles, salts, etc, but certain things can remain.

ro, especially ro/di removes 99.9% of all the junk found in tap water. it can remove chloramine, silicates, nitrate, phosphates, etc. it's more effective and better in the long run.

 

[Anonymous]

An RO/DI is as critical as a skimmer, imho.

 

[jollylager]

What kind of creature cleaners do you have in the tank?

 

[yellowfiji]

Phosphate promotes brown film algae big time. I have to use phosphate remover to keep it in bay. IME, dry food contributes the most of phosphate in my tank.