any suggestions of getting ridoff algae? my office tank is about 1 month old now but the sand is covered with green long algae and the rock is showing a red silky cover ... suggestions on how to combat this? i dont have any fish/inverts yet. just live rock with few corals on them.
Best way to get rid of green hair and red algae
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Bored4ever86
Well-known member
it all depends on where the excess of nutrients are comming from...
if its over feeding of the corals: feed less + water changes
Posphorus levels: change foods (or not) + phosban reactor
Nitrate problem: more live rock, more flow, add DSB and skimmer if theres not already one
Just from the 1 month age on the tank i think that the tank isn't fully cycled hence the algae blooms. Wait till it is fully cycled and the absence of nutrients will starve out the algae. You can help this along, atleast the hair algae, with a emerald mithrax crab (cleaned up what was left in my tank in 1 week). Also theres always the manual removal method mixed with adding some macro (ie cheato) and starving the algae.
if its over feeding of the corals: feed less + water changes
Posphorus levels: change foods (or not) + phosban reactor
Nitrate problem: more live rock, more flow, add DSB and skimmer if theres not already one
Just from the 1 month age on the tank i think that the tank isn't fully cycled hence the algae blooms. Wait till it is fully cycled and the absence of nutrients will starve out the algae. You can help this along, atleast the hair algae, with a emerald mithrax crab (cleaned up what was left in my tank in 1 week). Also theres always the manual removal method mixed with adding some macro (ie cheato) and starving the algae.
I just started my tank 5 months ago and from what I understand this is the natural evolution of the tank (assuming you have live rock). I did large daily water changes for months and when all parameters were perfect I got a Rabbitfish to eat algae and a Valentini puffer for company
You should be using RO (basically distilled) water. Tap water won't do.
Also, keep reading this site. I have learned alot from just reading the new posts and doing searches on things that interest me. Alot of our newbie questions have been answered a billion times already but the oldtimers have been patient and kind with me.
Good luck!
alki
Well-known member
I use tap water. But Im a lazy bastard..
The reason you have algae is because your tank has nutrients. The reason your tank has nutrients is because you added live rock. Live rock has a certain amount of die off and detritus that comes with it, and that die off and detritus has now decomposed and made it in to your water column as phosphates and nitrates. Your algae consumes these nitrates and phosphates to bring things back in line.
How do you get rid of the algae then? Well you have to get rid of its food source, the nitrates and phosphates that are in your tank. Some of them are floating in your water column still, and some of them are bound up in your algae. What you must do now is try to scrape and siphon some of your algae, and continue to do water changes with high quality salt and Ro/Di water. This will not be a one time battle, but rather a war of attrition. As you remove more and more of the phosphate and nitrates, you will have less and less algae.
Peace,
Jesse
How do you get rid of the algae then? Well you have to get rid of its food source, the nitrates and phosphates that are in your tank. Some of them are floating in your water column still, and some of them are bound up in your algae. What you must do now is try to scrape and siphon some of your algae, and continue to do water changes with high quality salt and Ro/Di water. This will not be a one time battle, but rather a war of attrition. As you remove more and more of the phosphate and nitrates, you will have less and less algae.
Peace,
Jesse
