Algae Issues Help

[shinv]

My tank is biocube 29, use biocube skimmer, two 425 fans, four fishes feed once per day. Water test result seems very good (using API testing kits) . Any suggestions how to get ride of those algae? Fishes or Inverts? Only two turbo snails I bought the other day.

The tank first build up photo

IMG_0807 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

What does it looks like now

29G | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

 

[dnjan]

Please give test results. So we can see both what you are testing and what values you are getting.

 

[tike]

Here's the link to the water test.


Testing | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

I have never been a fan of api test kits. I have one for nitrtae that always shows 0 ppm and then salifert shows 10-20ppm. How old is the test kit? How many hours per day are you running your lights? From what I can see in your images your powerheads are pretty clogged which is reducing your flow a lot. Red cyno algae on the gravel can be slightly vaccumed off. It looks like red turf algae on the rocks, the only success I have had removing that short of scrubbing the rocks is a Mexican Turbo snail it will also do a number on the green algae in there.
Now, I feel there has to be a nutrient source for the algae which I am taking a guess comes from feeding, you say you feed the fish once per day ? How often are you doing water changes and what amount? You need to start exporting some of those nutrients out of your system and water changes is a good place to start.

 

[dnjan]

So I am reading that there may be a small amount of phosphate.
And that the tank has been up for about a year and a half.
Probably long enough for an accumulation of detritus in the sand to be working it's way back out into the system.

Do you use a phosphate absorber from time to time?
What do you use to remove organics?

 

[senji]

+1 on phosphate cyano loves it. when i had my outbreak mojo told me dont worry cyano is the BEST exporter. just give it time and quit feeding and turn up the flow or redirect it. it will eventually starve itself out. it took 3 mos for mine to starve. also chemiclean will help or a phosphate remover.

 

[shinv]

Thanks~~

I guess the test kit might be 2 years old. My lights keep running 8 hours per day. I changed both power heads last weekend. It is the red turf algae, thank you for telling me the name, hope my turbo snails I just added yesterday could work I'm doing my water changes once per month, about 20% of water.[h=1][/h]

 

[shinv]

I don't think I use any a phosphate absorber, I use chemi pure elite in my filter system. [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] [/FONT]

 

[N1Husker]

If you have red cyano, I don't think your snails will touch it, mine never did. It's not really an algae, it is a bacteria. Boyd's Chemiclean has always worked for me.

 

[blk822822]

With chemiclean dont run your skimmer and take out any carbon your running. Fallow the directions. Then when you put the kimmer back on ile it will pull like crazy so turn it down fast. Then do a water change after. But current is a key to keeping this stuff from sticking . And flake foods can cause it also......alot of them have phos.

 

[shinv]

Got you~ Thanks