Why why whY

[Krazykarl]

Ok so as many know my tank is pretty mature. Been up for three years +. To this dy I still cannot seem tO keep algae out of my tank and off my glass.

I'm doing everything right (so I think but obviously not). Here's my regimen

Monthly water changes 20-30%
I run bio pellets in a fluidized reactor
I run gfo and carbon in line with ech other
Nitrates and phosphates are undetectable using API
2-250 watt mh radium 20k bulbs (3 months old)
My skimmer is a euro reef rc4 or something like that. Thing is 7 feet tall and rated for 1500 gallons.
Bare bottom sump
Tds reads 96 ppm in and 000 out.
I feed flake once a day and pellets twice. Feed frozen once a week

Why do I keep gettng insane amounts of algae on glass and rock. All my coralline disappeared and rock is green. Lost almost all sps except one colony of green stag. I'm ready to give up

 

[reeffreak]

my guess is that API phosphate test your using isnt giving you the right readings , I would compaire the results to a better quality kit like sailfert or a hanna checker . do you rinse your frozen foods before you feed ? the flakes and pellets could contribute to this if it sits in the tank without being eating up . From what ive been readin its almost impossible to get undetected phosphates , they could be undetectable because the algea is eating it up hence the reason for a zero reading . so if theres algea there nitrates and phophates somewhere in the system , could be leaching from your rock .

the coralline algea dissapearing could be because your alk levels , where do you sit on alk and calcuim . I would start by doing tests with better quality test kit and go from there to start .

 

[Salty Cracker]

What is you bio load, and how long do you run your lights?

I still get algae on the glass, a fine mist of it, every 2 days if I don't clean it, but no hair algae except sometimes on the edge of the overflows.

I feed flake once every 2 days (a few pellets mixed in) and frozen 2x a week at night (just for corals).  However, that monster skimmer should be able to suck up almost anything left over...  In my 125 I think I have 7 fish.  Do you change the type of salt you use?  I had problems with algae when I was using IO salt, not sure if that was the culprit but I've stayed away from it ever since.

API is a crap tester, but my guess is going to be you're running your lights too long/strong...bleaching the coraline and corals and allowing algae to thrive, or maybe the 20K is too blue?  Sorry just thinking out loud here, it really sounds like you have a good setup, do you dose 2-part at all?

 

[Krazykarl]

My lights run from 12pm to 8 pm. Lighting is very white in my opinion.
I had a problem setting up my ca reactor initially as I overdosed and my all jumped to 18!!! Since then my ph has come back up to 8.3 and I've been doing water changes weekly to bring it back down. I currently have the reactor shut off.  I don't feed very heavy and I have about 15 fish and sOme inverts. It gets consumed rather quickly. I do not rinse my frozen. I know it's bad but with my skimmer and bio pellets I assumed it would get taken care of mechanically. It's frustrating

Also my algae issues are not gh. It's just the dusting on ye glass and ye hard ass bright green patches that develop randomly.

 

[reeffreak]

Well your alk sky rocketing could be reason its bleached out it should slowly color back up as you bring all the levels back to par , you said you have your reactor shut off now ? So are you dosing to keep levels par this could be another reason you coralline is bleached is the system getting any calcuim import at all . I would still rinse out your frozen food  having a big skimmer doesnt "gaurentee " that the extra nutreints are being exported out . Again get a realiable test kit API is garbage . for the record ive used IO salt for 7 years with no issue with algea , I dont even think that make sense . DarrylV has been using it and said he wouldnt switch to any other aswell , I cant see IO salt being an issue with algea .  HTH karl

 

[Salty Cracker]

Hmm, it could have been that big imbalance that effed with the whole food chain right down to the bacteria... ?

I will say that on my substrate, I can get a very bright green algae if I don't vacuum it up say once a week, it's weird stuff that locks the sand together.  I don't get it on my rock however, I assumed it was some sort of algae similar to coralline since it's tough... maybe that's the same stuff you have but the chemical imbalance let it take over? 

I'd say stick with it and just do what you know is right.  You've got all the right stuff there (although I was always sort of afraid of Ca reactors for the very reason you are talking about.)

 

[Salty Cracker]

Well your alk sky rocketing could be reason its bleached out it should slowly color back up as you bring all the levels back to par , you said you have your reactor shut off now ? So are you dosing to keep levels par this could be another reason you coralline is bleached is the system getting any calcuim import at all . I would still rinse out your frozen food  having a big skimmer doesnt \"gaurentee \" that the extra nutreints are being exported out . Again get a realiable test kit API is garbage . for the record ive used IO salt for 7 years with no issue with algea , I dont even think that make sense . DarrylV has been using it and said he wouldnt switch to any other aswell , I cant see IO salt being an issue with algea .  HTH karl

Yeah, I'm not sure it was IO, I just kept away from it as a means of eliminating a suspect... I think I've tried every brand out there at this point.  Can't argue with Darryl's results. 

 

[spyd]

Definitely check your ALK and Calcium levels. Although, this would not contribute directly to your algae problem, it could be the key. If your corals are dying off from high ALK levels, that will cause nitrate and phosphate spikes. Water changes should be closer to 40% if changing monthly. I generally perform 20% water changes every 2 weeks. What type of sandbed are you running? Maybe a case of "Old Tank Syndrome???" You could also try some Prodibio to up your good bacteria in the water table. It will be beneficial with the biopellets. Also, what are you using for powerheads?

 

[teebone110]

Soooo many variables can lead to algea blooms, its like throwing darts..

If your params were out of balance, this alone can lead to massive blooms.


Do you know the history of your live rock? If they were previously enjoyed by another user and he used tap water, they may have accumulated excessive phosphates which may be leaching out of your system?

Also your source water is fine? RO membrane good, DI resin changed, low to zero TDS.

GFO being changed reguarly? GFO, time, stable params with a balanced nutrient exchange  should fix it.

 

[Krazykarl]

I have a wave box as my water movement and I sometimes turn on a 1600 power head. I think it's related to alk levels as my ph dropped down do 7.8. It's back now but my ca and alk levels are still high. Ca was around 500 and alk 15. My goal is 450 and 8-11. My temp swings between 78-80. Sg is 1.0025.

 

[Krazykarl]

Gfo was changed last week. Biopellets are 2 months old. Carbon last week. Water change last night.

My Rock isn't the prob as I've never had this bad a problem. It's always been stable. I think it's entirely attributed to the alk spike. Tds is 0

 

[AdInfinitum]

No mentions of mag? Coralline is a heavy magnesium consumer.  Raising mag to high levels is also a way to control some nuisance algaes.

 

[Salty Cracker]

If he's doing sufficient water changes, mag shouldn't be too too bad.  If he's not dosing 2-part he's very likely not dosing mag either, and just dumping in chemicals is the quick way to an even bigger crash.  First...better test kits so he knows where's he's at, and then -slowly- fixing what's out of whack.  A good salifert mag tester wouldn't hurt

 

[reeffreak]

If he's doing sufficient water changes, mag shouldn't be too too bad.  If he's not dosing 2-part he's very likely not dosing mag either, and just dumping in chemicals is the quick way to an even bigger crash.  First...better test kits so he knows where's he's at, and then -slowly- fixing what's out of whack.  A good salifert mag tester wouldn't hurt

+1

 

[teebone110]

In my experience, I found that if my mag levels were low, I also had a hard time in maintaining calcium levels.

Definetly check your magnesium level.... +1

 

[spyd]

ALK of 15 would explain why your corals are melting away though. That is high!! I try and shoot for 8. Normally, I fluctuate between 7 & 8. Mag is also a must to check on peridoically. Calcium, I like to shoot for 400 - 420 range. Once you hit the 500 mark, then you will find significant evaporation and salt creep.

 

[Krazykarl]

Working on water changes every other day to bring levels down slowly. Also I don't have a kit to test mag. Never monitored it before. Always just checked ca and kept it between 420-450. My alk always seems to fall in place. But I think the reactor f'd it all up.

 

[teebone110]

If you haven't been checking your magnesium, that is probably the issue.
Get it checked and be prepared to add some.

 

[Krazykarl]

Is it possible that my rb LEDs are causing my algae issues? Hear me out... The right side of my led strip cut out recently and I noticed the majority of the algae on the glass was beneath the illuminated blues. I took my entire strand offline for a couple days and left only the halides on. My algae wasn't even remotely close to bad. In fact I had next to nothing. I put them back on yesterday and I'm going to monitor how quickly the dust returns on the glass.

 

[Neopimp]

Entirely possible.  Experiment and report findings