Excessive algae

[mke1963]

I have a problem with a new 650 litre tank.
I am moving across from fresh to marine, and so still getting used to the differences.
Very stupidly when setting up, I used "Cycle" to speed up the maturing process. I have ended up with an overdose of 'Cycle' and now, a week later, have very strong growth of what looks like brown 'sandy' algae.
(Bear in mind, in my defence, that I live in China and all written material is written in Chinese and no-one at the local aquarium shops speak a word of English.....try finding the Chinese phrase for "is the protein skimmer big enough?" )

The algae seems to have "fallen" because under the shadow of rocks there is very little at all, but "in the open' it is very thick.

Any suggestion solutions? Or tips? Or gadgets? ....that I can use to remove the algae.

Kind regards, Mark

 

[mke1963]

Sorry....should say that 650 litres is about 170 gallons

 

[ChrisRD]

Hi Mark and :welcome:

The algae you're seeing probably doesn't have much to do with the bacterial additive. It's probably a diatom bloom and it's normal at this stage. In fact, it's normal to see a few different types of nuisance algaes come and go in the first few months as your tank settles down. It should subside on it's own given some time provided you keep your water quality up. Good husbandry practices will keep nuisance algaes from persisting during these initial months, and from becoming a problem later...

For example, make sure you're using quality source water (RO, RO/DI, etc.) and you're not dumping a lot of unecessary nutrients in your tank (ie. overfeeding your fish, dosing excessive amounts of liquid invert foods and the like, etc.). Make sure your circulation is good and do regular water changes. Syphon off any accumulations of detritus when you do the water changes. Also, make sure you've got adequate nutrient export (ie. protein skimming, possibly activated carbon use, etc.).

HTH & good luck with your new setup.

 

[mke1963]

Chris
Thanks! It has been tempting to just panic. I spoke to the guy at the local dealer who helped set the tank up and he is also not so concerned. ("Mei wenti", in Mandarin Chinese, by the way).
I read somewhere that with marine tanks, when there is a problem.....do nothing and do it immediately.
It is a struggle getting going with it all and having to deal with it all in Chinese.
- Mark

 

[SnowManSnow]

You have probably already considered this, but I'll ask just the same seeing as how I went from FW TO SW myself and know some of the pitfalls.

Are you still using a bio-wheel type of filtration? Normally, it's better (unless your just doing a FO tank) to get rid of the biowheel and purchase a nice skimmer.

Also, somthing I later realized is that water movement is much more important in SW than in FW systems. My FW tank has only the filter that moves the water, while my SW tank has 4 maxi jet powerheads.

One more thing, being a neophyte in SW aquaria I took the advice of the LFS and several books I had read and used damsel fish to cycle the tank. Now I wish I had done somthing else. I'm going to have to swap those damsels for other ...less agressive fishes.

You probably already knew all this,

But I just thought I'd try and help out if I could.

PS... Yea..that sounds like a diatom bloom. I bought margarita snails that completely destroyed it for me

B.

 

[mke1963]

I am fairly certain it is a diatom bloom and have been reading up on this today on the web.
I have a purpose built new double filtration system (double because the stand has a solid wall) that incorporates a single protein skimmer (which I think isn't big enough).

All the equipment is locally-made (some from Taiwan) and everything in Chinese. It's very difficult to get information here other than on-line and by talking to the dealers. The market in China means that few can afford imported US or German equipment!

I have a sketch of the filtration system which I'm hoping to scan and share with people who can maybe suggest improvements!

The advice about the flow is useful indeed. I had been concerned because there was only one inlet (being changed tomorrow to 'fan' out the water through two inlets). I installed a second powerhead at mid-level at the other end because it was obvious that the water flow was weak (the tank is 5 feet 11 inches long). There is also an undergravel system (not reverse undergravel though) with two powerheads low down (just 3" above the gravel line).

- Mark