Algae, algae, algae and new tank

[paultaylor]

Hello All,

I setup my (first ever) tank with the live rock about 8 weeks ago. (450 litres with T5 lighting, 75Kg live rock from Indonesia). I have been skimming since the first day.

About after a week I notived algae starting to grow in patches. I then got about 10 snails and hermits to assist on the cleanup. I then went on holiday for two weeks and when I came back the tank was overrun with alge, green, brown and red type of varying description. At this stage it was not possible to see the live rock.

I cleaned up the tank and did about a 5% water change. I then went to an LFS who explained that I should not have put the lights on when the tank was cycling and thats why I had the problem. I then bought about another 30 snails and hermits to help resolve the problem.

They have been happily eating away now for a few weeks and the tank is looking much better. I would like to add that I have done regular water tests and all my readings are zero. The water used is from my RO/DI unit which I bought. Apart from the above mentioned water change I have not done any other, this I understand is correct during the cycling period.

The current state of the tank is shown in the below pictures:
http://chapelle.netculture.net/aquarium ... lgae_1.jpg
http://chapelle.netculture.net/aquarium ... lgae_2.jpg

As you can see there are still some areas which still need to be cleaned up. With the advice from the LFS, I reduced by 50% the lighting. As the algae is almost gone I though it a good idea to increase gradually the lighting again, however when I do this the remaining algae starts creating bubbles after about and hour and I'm worried that its going to explode into life again and cover the tank.

What should I do ?

Many thanks in advance for your replies,
Paul

PS. The tank is only home to the snails and crabs mentioned above.

And oh yes, what is the best way to clean up the sand of algae, the snails don't like the sand much and stay clear :
http://chapelle.netculture.net/aquarium ... e_sand.jpg

 

[Anonymous]

You can probably kill your lights completely because there's nothing in there that requires it at this time.

Also, your tests are coming out "0" because chances are the algae is taking up the nutrients that you are trying to test for.

As for the sand, a tiger tail cucumber, or a fighting conch would do well. If you looking to stir up the sand bed a little, you could try some nassarius snails too. These snails are not algae eaters, but will go after anything else that would otherwise decay in your tank: Fish food-flakes/pellets, frozen foods that aren't being eaten by your fish, etc.

HTH,
~wings~

 

[Juck]

If you keep aggressively skimming the tank and you have plenty of flow, then this should pass,,, pretty much every new tank goes through something similar,,,, though it's hard to tell exactly what kind of algae you have there,, looks like some of it is cyanobacteria.

What kind of skimmer are you using?

Definitely cut the lighting as much as possible if there is nothing in the tank that requires it

If you have a small grain size in your sandbed then any of the caribbean cukes commonly available will help clean it up and keep it clean. If you have larger particles then Queen and fighting conchs do a great job,, though you will need 5 or 6 to make any difference in such a large tank.

Good luck!

 

[Anonymous]

Anytime you have nutrients, carbon dioxide, and light, you will get plant life. Your LFS is just limiting the light. And the algae will die off, decay, and nutrients will rise. So when the lights come back on the algae will come back.

IME the best thing to do is add plant life you desire to starve the uglies for nutrients. In a refugium sure, but the key is the macros/marine plants. That way the system will be more self maintaining regardless of what other measures you are using.

 

[paultaylor]

I'm still a bit confused; does that mean that I should kill the lights which will kill the algae. If thats the case then does that mean that when its all dead and I relight it won't reoccur ?

The skimmer I am use is a Aquacare Venturi 1000L unit, it seems to work great and is constantly creating foam.

 

[Anonymous]

I'm still a bit confused; does that mean that I should kill the lights which will kill the algae. If thats the case then does that mean that when its all dead and I relight it won't reoccur ?

The skimmer I am use is a Aquacare Venturi 1000L unit, it seems to work great and is constantly creating foam.

The only safe assumption is there is always at least a single algae cell in the tank someplace. So when you relight and if nothing else has changed then the algae will regrow. You may not get a regrowth if there is other plant life (even corraline algae) in there to consume the nutrients instead of the the uglies. The idea is to get the good stuff ahead of the bad stuff.

Most slime, cyanos and other uglies are fast growing and equally fast dieing. Where as the macros, marine plants and corraline are slower growing but slower dieing also. So by limiting the lighting you allow the slower plant life gain an advantage. Then over time they can consume the nutrients instead of the faster ugiles.

 

[ChrisRD]

Paul,

It sounds to me like you're experiencing some normal algae cycles, as the tank is still very new. If you're seeing improvement, just keep doing what you're doing and be patient.

 

[paultaylor]

OK so I'll just carry on with the lights at 50% until things have fully cleared up.

One final question I have is water changes, should I start doing a 10% monthly water change or wait until the tank is all nice and cleaned up first ?

 

[Anonymous]

OK so I'll just carry on with the lights at 50% until things have fully cleared up.

One final question I have is water changes, should I start doing a 10% monthly water change or wait until the tank is all nice and cleaned up first ?

I never do scheduled water changes. But then I maintain my tanks with plant life. So yes I would wait until it clears up.

 

[ChrisRD]

should I start doing a 10% monthly water change or wait until the tank is all nice and cleaned up first ?

Sure 10% a month is good. You can start ASAP if you like.

 

[Anonymous]

should I start doing a 10% monthly water change or wait until the tank is all nice and cleaned up first ?

Sure 10% a month is good. You can start ASAP if you like.

Yup, totally agree. Just to add, make sure you us ro/di water. If you don't chances are your water change will do more harm than good, because you end up feeding it more phosphates other goodies that plants need to grow.
~wings~

 

[Baianotang]

Tang it!