algue film

[pvillalba]

hi: it`s the first time that i post here . i really appreciate the info that i learn of all of you.
i have one ??.
in the last week i have a green algue film in my front and laterals sides of the tank i clean the glass but the next day when i come to my house i have the same situacion , and i have the same problem day by day and now.. in this moment i have =
sand aprox 3.5" in the tank and in the sump dsb aprx 5.5" with live rock , chemi pure and phos remover of seachem
age= 4 month running this new system f 120 gal.
ph=8.2
am=.25 or less
nitrites=0
nitrates=10
cal=450
alk=12
i drip kalk all nights ( 1 tsp with 1/2 gal of water )
bio-calcium 2 times x week ( 1/2 of doss recomended)
kent pro buffer 2times x week (1/2 of doss recomended)
water supply= ro
i really don1t know what is the problem if somebody can give to me some info , i really apprecite to fix this problem
thank`x

 

[flip_3_6_0]

Is the algae made of small hard specs, i get what i think are diatoms on my glass sometimes and they are hard to get off and are sometimes bright green

 

[pvillalba]

yes i have a some diminute spots with algue that i cant`t get of the front side but the algue take all front and right - lefth sides and is easy for sbrub with one magnet. yes is bright green

 

[wrightme43]

What type of lighting do you have? Is it used? Is your tank exposed to sunlight? Diatoms are usually to my knowledge brown, in color. Are you feeding a High Quality food (low phosphate)? Has anything in your tank (fish) gone missing recently? Some people light thier sump 24 hrs a day and grow calupera algae to scrub nutrients the simple algaes use to grow. Tell us more about your tank. Some one will have your answer. Welcome Glad you are here. Steve

 

[NaH2O]

Welcome pvillalba!!

Do you have a skimmer on the tank? What is your circulation like in the tank?

 

[plumber_bob]

As Nikki posted.. if you have lots of circulation, especially blowing on the glass/acrylic sides, the likely hood of algae growing is less. I used to actually dedicate a powerhead just to blow on the front of my tank, just so I wouldn't have to clean it that often.

It helps if we know the current specs of the system, live rock, how many power heads, lighting (how old are the bulbs?) etc...

Bobby

 

[pvillalba]

i have a a.clear skimmer rated to 180 gals. a have 4 p heads with a natural wavemaker. i have a 9 fishes ( 1 yellew tang , whitecheek tang , 2 ocellaris , 2 firefish ,1 green chromis , 1 orange spot gby ,1 cardenal bangai and 4 shrimps.
corals= 1bubble ,2 hammers , 1 candy ,1 star pol,3 zoant`s , 1 soft tree ,1 finger leather , 1 brain , 1 plate , 1 tongue 3 stripe mush. ( all med - large corals )
lighting = 2x250 watts 10,000 cool white mhalide and 2 flou real actinic blue.
i use spectrum with mysis or brine shrimp = one time per day.
for corals i use brine shrimp with zoo and phyto plankton one time per week.
thank`s to all for your help

 

[NaH2O]

I'm not a big fan of phyto (unless it is to feed a baby clam) - the excess nutrients it puts into a tank will help fuel algae.

How bad is the algae.....fwiw, using your magnet every day doesn't seem outrageous....unless the algae film is so thick you can't see thru the glass? Also, try to remember your tank is young and will go through some algae phases....my tank looks like a swamp right now (going on 6 weeks). Maybe I missed it....what is your clean-up crew?

 

[pvillalba]

thak`x nikki for your help :

my cleaning crew is 25 turbo, 1 lettuce slug, 2 emeralds , 3 sand sifting stars , 2 red stars

 

[NaH2O]

I like a variety of snails. Trochus, cerith, nerite, nassarius (for substrate), astrea, and I have fighting conch in my tank as well. You can try and control some of the nutrients in your tank by not dosing phyto and see how things go.

Here is a thread: Is Phytoplankton a Necessary Addition to a Reef Tank

 

[pvillalba]

thank`s nikky for the info that you post.
i`m try to use other forms of food to my corals.
what do you think about cyclopeeze??? :?: :?: . i heard good coments about this produt .
in the mean time ., i can cotinue use zooplnkton with brineshrimp frozen??

 

[wrightme43]

I agree with Nikki, lots of variety in snails. I use cyclop-eeze, it seems to work well for me. I feed my corals cyclop-eeze once a week, I also use Marc Wiess combovital, (I know I am going to hear it, for that) in my humble opinion it works for me. I also use coral-vital and every one commets on how thick my corline algae is. I believe it is due to coral-vital. I believe that coraline algae can out compete green alqae and use the nutrients first. How long are your lights on per day? Is your tank getting direct or indirect sunlight while you are at work? In the tanks I have seen a extra long photo period or sunlight hitting the tank have been the cause of excessive algae growth. Supposedly 6-8 hours a day with metal halides is enough for corals to grow properly, sometimes less than that. I am sure some people will agree and others will disagree, however this is what works for me. I hope it helps you. Steve

 

[NaH2O]

An important thing to remember about feeding anything is to do it in moderation. I've read many great comments on cyclop-eeze, but again....too much of a food can cause issues. Have you considered making your own blender mush?

 

[jesshimom]

Mush recipes

Nikki, do you have a link handy for different mush recipes? I think Shilo is ready to start cooking!

:lol: :lol:

 

[NaH2O]

Here is the thread What's in your Mush. I think it is important to have a dedicated blender for mush making. I've also been instructed to make the mush outside. I don't understand that one :lol: I was surprised at how few used Nori in their recipes - I believe mattseattle was the only one on the thread.

Hope it helps!

 

[mojoreef]

Hi pvillalba and welcome to Reef Frontiers.
Your tank is still a bit young so it is going to be fluxing for a bit and a little slime algae is not uncommon. Couple things to look at. One is the feeding, specially for the corals, I wouldnt go to far with this and the corals will get most of thier nutrient intake from the tank itself, so go slow on that. Also the use of bio calcium is going to introduce nutrient to, It uses glucomate (sugar) as a carrier. If you can find an alturnative or drip more kalk in its place I would go that route.


take care

Mike

 

[jesshimom]

Nikki, why do you think you need a dedicated blender if it is cleaned every time? Just curious.....

 

[jmaxwell]

I am w/ mojoreef...I do not feed my corals (sps as well as lps) and only feed my fish every other day (I have never had a problem w/ slow coral growth w/out feeding). I believe you will still see excellent growth w/ your corals and less of an algae problem...I also agree that the tank is not fully mature yet. Also be sure to limit your nitrates by soaking and rinsing your fish food before putting it in the tank.

Best of luck,

Jim

 

[pvillalba]

thank`s to all for this info. i think i1m gonna make my own food for my livestock .
nikki great post( What's in your Mush). how many times (fishes ans corals ) you feed ?, fishes 1x day ???
coral 1x week ??
( pvillalba

 

[NaH2O]

Nikki, why do you think you need a dedicated blender if it is cleaned every time?

Sorry, that is just my OCD showing through. I freak about anything that can be cross contaminated with "non-aquarium use". Just in case there was something that didn't get washed out well enough.

pvillalba - you are forcing me to admit to my poor feedings prior to the lightbulb going off in my head. Eeek....Over feeding of poor quality, surely loaded with phosphates, food. Since I currently have no inhabitants to speak of (except some snails) I am not feeding the tank at all. This week I am going to make up some mush to have on hand for when I add my first non-snail inhabitant (should be in the next couple of weeks, as my tank is still fluctuating like crazy). My plan for blender mush - Nori, shrimp, scallop, selcon, and fish (depends on what looks good at the grocery), blend up and freeze in a ziploc laying flat (I also plan on soaking the items in RO/DI prior to blend). Then, I can just take little bits off at a time (defrost in some tank water). I hope to feed a small amount at the most every other day. Funny thing about making the mush....I made my own baby food for my daughter, so this is kind of the same thing.