Green Algae!!!

[yamahaguy06]

If any one could help me with this problem it would be much appreciated.

I have a 60 gal. Saltwater tank and it has been set up for about a year, w/ 40-60 pounds of live rock. I am using a Fluval 304 w/ basic foam, pre filter media, and carbon. No protein skimmer yet.

I have always had a big algae problem. I use filtered water, And can not get the Green ALGEA to go away…

 

[aresgod]

if you could be more specif, and detailed or get a pic of the algae, also what are your water parameters, your feeding schedule, whats in your tank ect... depending on the kind of the algae it is most likely a nutrient problem, algaes need PO4 (phosphate), Nitrate, and sun light to produce algae, there are things you can do to prevent this but details of your tank woul dbe very helpful

 

[seastaar88]

if it is the phosphate that is the source, figure out if it's your feeding habits first. products such as rowa-phos and phos-guard are phosphate sponges and i swear by rowa-phos -- miracle worker. but you really do need to figure out what's going on BEFORE you rush to buy product.

 

[yamahaguy06]

if you could be more specif, and detailed or get a pic of the algae, also what are your water parameters, your feeding schedule, whats in your tank ect... depending on the kind of the algae it is most likely a nutrient problem, algaes need PO4 (phosphate), Nitrate, and sun light to produce algae, there are things you can do to prevent this but details of your tank woul dbe very helpful

Um.. not shure what water parameters you are talking about like. ph, salinity and stuff like that???

 

[yamahaguy06]

All I have in the tank right now is a littly DottyBack Royal. I feed once a day Emrald Entree and switch of with Brime shrimp.

my salinity is about .22, .23
ph-8.3
tank not in direct sun
I don't really use chemicles or water treatment on a regular bases, I have Amquel, and NovAqua for when I need them But besides that I change 25% of the water a month.
let me know what you think... thanx

 

[Julie-Anne]

a month? from what in know you should be doin weekly water changes and maybe try using reverse osmosis water and check your nitrates that could cause the algae to i think <not entirely sure cause i dont own a saltwater tank but i do ALOT of reading>

 

[yamahaguy06]

Yes, I do change weekly, a 5 gal bucket once a week, it comes out to 25% a month. and I use only bottled water (big refilable jugs).

 

[aresgod]

that is very strange, I would suggest adding some hermits maybe a mithrax crab or two, have you always had this problem, if not think back to anything you might have done differently, If your water is fine then I am not really sure what it could be, I would suggest to go down on feeding (once every 3 days for 3-4 weeks) small amounts, decrease light levels, by the looks of the pictures it looks like hair algae,which is dependent on both phosphate and nitrate so there are excess nutrients some where, also test for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and phosphate if you have the kits, if not i would suggest purchasine one, there about 20$

 

[Julie-Anne]

what are your nitrates at if their high that might be a contribution to the algae

 

[1979camaro]

im betting it is the filter media...how often (if at all) do you clean it? those thinks get gunked up really fast and produce oodles of nitrates -> algae

 

[yamahaguy06]

I have always had an algea prob. and I have a test kit for Nitrate's and Nitrites, and both are good (0 ppm(mg/L)).
My test kit does not have a test for phosphate, I have never heard of this??

I am using a Fluval 304 with..
Carbin-change once a month
Pre filter-rense w/ tank water about once a month
and foam in the top chamber.

but wierd thing is both Nitrites and Nitrates are perfict???

thanx for all the reply's oh..one other thing is i have my light on about, a long time from 7am to sometimes 10pm. could this be it???

 

[aresgod]

yea that is an extremely long photoperiod, I would get a light timer, also just because the test say no nitrate and phosphate doesnt mean its not there, most likely the algae is using it up so it appears there isnt any but in reality it is present

 

[yamahaguy06]

Ok cool, I will definitly get a timer for my light and what do you recomend about 8 hours a day?
Oh so about the nitrates, if they are there like your thinking what should I do??

 

[1979camaro]

if you dont have an photosynthetic inverts you dont need more than 6-8hrs

i still think the filter emdia could be causing you some trouble

 

[yamahaguy06]

I have been reading a lot that having power heads in your tank to make water flow or current will cut down on algea because there are no dead spots. So if that is the case, what kind or how many do you guys think I should put in my tank?? Right now I have a little Rio 10 or something like that (it's small).

Filter, all I have is the Fluval for my tank, should I be using anything els with it???

 

[aresgod]

depends on the cash you want to spend, I would trade in the Fluval for a decent skimmer pick yourself up 2 or 3 medium sized powerheads and i think your algae might disapear, because as camaro said the filter media for your fluval is what we salties like to call a nitrate trap, I would just run a protien skimmer and get rid of the fluval, or take out all the media and just use it for water flow

 

[yamahaguy06]

Wow thanx a lot fo that post. I didn't even know you could do anything like that. I will really think about doing something els. But without the filter, and the carbin and all that stuff what keeps the water clean? and I can really just run my tank off of a skimmer and powerhead.

 

[1979camaro]

the water just stays clean...there really aren't that many floaties that get in it. a source of flow, a skimmer, and live rock are the three essential components of a successful SW tank in my opinion. most people try to turn over about 10x the volume of the tank every hour or more...so if you got two or three big powerheads which would give you 600gph total of flow you would be good

 

[yamahaguy06]

Ok now do you meen 600gph from the skimmer or filter or just water surculation from the powerheads? and the powerheads are just pumps that you submerge in you tank and they pump water around right..

 

[aresgod]

combined flow, from the power heads, skimmer, and filter, however you have to remember you should rely mainly on your power heads for water flow because even the pump used on your filter or skimmmer might say 250gph really its alot less because with the filter there will be alot of head(tubing) to pump the water through so you will get less circultation, and typically skimmers decrease the amount of flow of the pump as well