brown hairy algae

[219mem]

Hi there,

My one month old 100 gallon tank is covered with algae. I've change 10% of the water 2x and I was hoping by now the algae had stoped growing, but it hasn't. I don't even connect the lights any more. What should I do? Introduce cleaning crew so soon? What kind of cleaning crew?

Thanks.

Nuno Costa Lobo

 

[ChrisRD]

If you give us some more specifics about your system we can give you a more detailed response, but in general, it's normal to see some algae blooms in the first few months. At this stage it's probably diatoms which will subside fairly quickly depending on what you're using for source water (hopefully something pure like RO or RO/DI).

 

[Tackett]

if your source water has phosphates, or other algae nutrient in it, you are chasing your tail and will wind up with a saltwater swamp soon.

 

[SnowManSnow]

I'm with these guys, make sure you're running RO or RO DI water in there. Also I wouldn't think it would be too soon to introduce a good cleaning crew... I had margarita snails that DEMOLISHED my brown diatoms in the very early stages of my setup. Some folks here can recommend exactly what you need.

ps.. dont grab anything that will eat anything you plan on keeping later.. DUH

 

[Tackett]

ps.. dont grab anything that will eat anything you plan on keeping later.. DUH

LOL I had to read that like three times before I figured out what you were saying. Funny, and good advice. Look into the future my friend, it can save you headaches.

 

[danmhippo]

Give us a pic of the tank, different algae can be dealt with differently. Since the tank is only a month old, and you haven't had any clean up crew, I'd suppose you don't have any live stock in the tank as well. Did you clean up the LR before you put them into tht tank? How did you get your tank cycled? What's the current nitrite, nitrate and phosphate reading? Do you have skimmer? what type/model?

 

[219mem]

First of all guys I am sorry to disapoint you but I'm running tap water. Here, in Portugal, where I live, distilled water bought from a wallmart is quite expensive. My tank evaporates at least 1,5/2 liters of water a day. It would be unbareable.
I could, on the other hand, buy a RO system. Thing is that this kind of system throws away far too much water and it turns also very expensive. What I usually do is air the water for a couple of days before introducing it in the tank.
I know several guys in the area that use the same tap water and they run their tanks with no probs.
I have a 100 gallon tank with sump and Aquamedic Multiflotor SL skimmer and 3 circulation powerheads. Main pump is Eheim 1060.
One thing that has been puzzling me is the fact that the skimmer's cup doesn't get filled. I can see that inside the skimmer there's plenty of foam but it doesn't rise to the cup...
Up till now I thought that it was because I had few organic matter in the tank... But now... I don't know...

 

[Tackett]

uhhh..I cant really tell from those pics, but that dont look like algae to me. Could be though. Test your source water for phosphates, I know many things can contribute to algae growth, but your tap may not be that bad.

Dude the more I look at those pics, the more I know I cant tell what it is. Can you get it any bigger?

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

Yeah, those pics are really too small to really see the algae.

Top pic looks suspiciously like aiptasia to me.

 

[Tackett]

That is what was going through my mind Sug.

 

[Anonymous]

Top pic looks like aptasia. Nothing to freak about, but zap it with a syringe of boiling kalk to get rid of it if it is.

A one month old tank having an algae bloom is not that uncommon. Keep up the water changes. Can you get a poly filter pad? That and some phosgard would help with your tap water. I think you can renew phosgard in the oven too.

I would keep up the w/cs, keep the clean up crew going, and feed as little as you must.

And be patient, The system needs time to mature. It can take as long as a year, but your patience will pay off in spades.

Good Luck!

 

[Anonymous]

Sorry, I missed the "what kind of clean up crew" part

Turbo snails, Tubo spp, or turban snails are the best, IMO. They are big, but they are good cleaners. Scarlet hermits, Paguristes cadenati, are the only hermit I would put in a reef. They do good too. A Mithrax sp. emerald crab or two.

A Mespilla sp, Tuxedo urchin or a Diadema sp urchin is a good addition also

A wide variety of creatures, some snails, some hermits, a crab or two and an urchin. This is what I think works best. Astrea, Nerite, Trochus, Cerith and Strombus snails are all good. A few of each will work better that a ton of one kind or another. Remember, if you put too many, they will starve, die, and the pollutants from the dead snails will fuel another algae bloom, so start with a few.

 

[Tackett]

A Mespilla sp, Tuxedo urchin or a Diadema sp urchin is a good addition also

Stop me if I am wrong here, but dont urchins have a nasty habit of turning rock into swiss cheese?

 

[Anonymous]

A Mespilla sp, Tuxedo urchin or a Diadema sp urchin is a good addition also

Stop me if I am wrong here, but dont urchins have a nasty habit of turning rock into swiss cheese?

There is one, Echinometra sp. or Rock boring urchin. They are black with a white circle around the base of the spines. I had one in a reef, and never had a problem, but yes, they will bore through rock. Otherwise, they stimulate corraline algae growth by scraping deposits and er, redistributing them They are great cleaners too, esp the wor I mentioned.

 

[Tackett]

Ill be damned. Thanks buddy.

 

[Anonymous]

No sweat. Inverts are our friends

The book, "Invertebrates" by Julian Sprung is an awesome tool for a reefkeeper, BTW

 

[219mem]

Guys, it's late here. I can't do it right now but tomorrow I'll have better pics. thanks for all the help.