Big problem with algea a.k.a. bacteria

[vwmoneypit]

I have been in the hobbie for a little over a year now thanks to kevin poc .I have had very very good luck with my tank except this .I started to see it about six months into the tank I was using fresh tap to do changes (1st mistake)well after this got to the point it was the brown lagoon I gave a ring and told to use filtered . I did the research on prices and came up with the culligan idea .And it worked ! About six months later was all gone !Well I had some work trouble ,well I will just say I have been revamping I buisness that was on the edge of dyin do to no impovements.Anyway so I was using fresh for about a 2 months and bam all back and twice as bad damit well needless to say I baught a odid from kev and it is all still thier what am I doing wrong?
PLESE HELP GETTING VERY SOMETHING ERHHH!

 

[Krish]

Bummer...Algae will grow where there are excess nutrients in the tank (nitrates, phosphates etc) and the fact that you used regular tap water before probably helped contribute to the issue along with other factors that can promote it to grow like overfeeding, allowing waste to settle and rott etc. Seeing it went after switching to culligan (which I gathered from a quick google search filtered drinking water???) and now is back I'm thinking it must be something else in there fueling the algae to grow. Are you still using the culligan or did you go back to regular tap? Also, can you tell us a bit about your setup like what are you using for filtration (ie you using bio-balls in your system) are you using any sponges, if so how often are they cleaned/changed, how often do you do water changes, what livestock do you have etc so we can get an idea of where the problem may be coming from to know which direction to point you in.

 

[vwmoneypit]

Well with all this into account it tossed up some good points I have a 55 and a 15 gal drip through americal refuge witha 75 watt hiliede with a 75mag it is going into a uv ql25 and then into tank with 3/4 pipe I have againts my will a couple of rios 120s in the rocks moving bottom water .I have a 250 light, centered , r/r the center brace and lets see .I have about 40-50lbs rock and three clowns ages are 10-1 yrs old 1 cleaner shrimp 1 clarke clown and 1 I cant remember the name brown shrimp the ones that eat the bad enens.I have a carpet he is about 10 inches and 1 leather about 4x5 and besides that alot of xenia...thanks to kevin ohh boy did that spread quick ohh and 7 crabs and the typical snails ect.ohh and a internet special skimmer works pretty good behind a nock off mag 50 and a 1/2 pound off grass thats about it and water changes every 2 weeks to a month depend on timeage!

 

[Krish]

a 15 gal drip through americal refuge

Is this an amiracle wet/dry filter you are referring to with bio-balls? If so, then there's probably your main source of nitrates right there. Wet/dry's are nothing but nitrate factories. Their end product is nothing but nitrates do to them not having any anaerobic zones for denitrification to take place (the process by which nitrates are converted into nitrogen gas) so what happens over time is you end up with an accumilation of nitrates. Water changes will help dilute it some, but they are bound to come right back up do to a wet/dry's efficiency in how well it can convert ammonia into nitrite then into nitrate in a short period of time and the fact that your water changes are spaced every 2-4 weeks in between means there is more of a chance for the nitrates to reach high levels. Most people who run wet/dry's have the same issue...High nitrate levels leading to algae problems. One of the best remedies is to remove the bio-balls or whatever bio-media is being used in the wet/dry application slowly over time (so as to not shock the system) and allow your live rock to do the work for you as it can perform all of the necessary biological functions as well as it can perform denitrification do to it having anaerobic zones for the necessary bacteria to grow. I had the same problems as you and had to convert my wet/dry and remove the bio-balls and things went uphill from then. Just a few thoughts...This info is all going on if you do infact have a wet/dry when you said amiracle

 

[vwmoneypit]

yeah to make shure check the pics not the best cheap camera well I hope they help I think it is that must been why it was only 75 bucks at kevs

 

[vwmoneypit]

not to say anything bad but i would sell it for that if it is the source

 

[vwmoneypit]

ohh and I cleaned all the filters all three the drip thru mag and the overflow

 

[Krish]

yeah to make shure check the pics not the best cheap camera well I hope they help I think it is that must been why it was only 75 bucks at kevs

Which pic??? Do you mean the one in your gallery? If so, I can hardly see anything because of the size

 

[vwmoneypit]

Well thanks for the advise I went ahead and pulled out the bios and rearanged the refuge I made it so the water spills onto a 42 dagree plexie and off to side down into the refuge then up over a deverter and into the sand and the porcilan bios and then it has to feed with pressure throu a filter sponge and into the other half of the refuge where the skimmer and pump is I also have a sea apple which is my friends so I did a 40 % water change along with it and the nitrates for the moment are in the safe zone I will keep in eye on it so DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY OTHER IDEAS TO GET RID OF THE STUFF

 

[Krish]

Well thanks for the advise I went ahead and pulled out the bios

Did you remove them all one shot???:shock: If so, you may have a bit more algae issues to look forward to from a possible shock to your biological system until your rock is able to take over, but it all depends on how much your system relied on them. That's why I had posted earlier to remove them slowly over time becasue your tank may rely heavily on them for the nitrifying bacteria ( the bacteria responsible for converting ammonia into nitrite then into nitrate) and by removing all the bio-balls at once, you may be removing one of the primary sources of nitrifying bacteria for your system all one go. By doing it slowly over time, it gives the live rock a chance to take over and build up the necessary bacterial colonies to support your bio-load on it's own...

As for other ways to get rid of the algae, you will have to continue to get your nitrate and phosphate levels down as they are food for the algae to grow. No food, and it starves. Some helpful tips to keep nitrates down is to do your water changes more frequently like say every week. You don't have to do a big one every week, but atleast shoot for about 10% which during this time, you can siphon up any detritus/waste you see knocking around. You leave waste in there too long and give it time to rott, and you have water quality issues which leads to nuicance algae problems which may be happening to you now with doing your water changes every month or so. Also, any sponges used need to either be changed or rinsed in ro/di water or old tank water only atleast every 3 days to prevent the same from happenening (ie waste being trapped in the sponge and allowed time to rott and break down water quality). Also, you want to try and physically remove any algae you can from the tank either by carefully pulling it off (depending on what type it is so as to not spread anymore spores into the tank) or siphon/vaccum up what you can. The reason why is because you want to export all of the excess nitrates and phosphates it has bound up in it. Just a few more thoughts. I'm sure the others will chime in as well

 

[vwmoneypit]

WOW thank well I took my time to think about it matter of fact I couldnt even sleep last night call me wierd but I love this hobbie so what I did is looked at the sources we talked about and came up with ....One the red bios balls were just on the surface about 1/2 submerged depending on the water level sothe had allways been washed daily so yank!!! TWO I had a layer of blue bois that were in the lets call it the bubble zone under the primary flo grate I took the ones that had big big sponges and left them for now and the rest yank THREE I have ceramic bio noodles I call them that were incased in allot I mean alot of waste lets say in some spots 1/4 inch yep all hiddin uner neath I went ahead and siphoned this all out after I cut the flow to the tank then I refilled the refuge and moved it around a bit (the set up and lighting ) and did the stuff listed above and a 40% water change so I will keep an eye o it and YOUR other question I did have at leaste 40 lbs before I got the refuge so as far as relyin on the bios I favor the rock remember throu denitrafacation takes the other half and if the plastic couldnt do it something was lets prey it is the rock !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[vwmoneypit]

SO I HAVE ANOTHER GOOD QUESTION? I have been reding on dsb and ssb and the affects of both would it help to siphon the sand to get all the bad nitrate out or would that possibly make a bang affest on the sand I know with years of fresh water I would get a spike s I would siphon 90% gravel and 50 % water change to fix prob I will defenatly do the algea spots whats yout out take on this ?

 

[Krish]

I hate sand I run a bare bottom tank for the simple fact of the amount of waste that gets trappped in the sand bed and also because I love tons of flow so I can point it anywhere and not worry about a sand storm. But going on your question, are you running a dsb or a ssb. If it is a dsb then you'll have to be careful how you care for it. I never really got much into deep sand beds, but you don't want to disturb the lower anaerobic levels. However, with a ssb, you can go to town and siphon straight through it which is recommended. What your critters don't consume, you can remove

 

[vwmoneypit]

Right on well in the front it is about 1/2 inch and towards the back it is 3 inches in the corners I am going to move evry thing and level it .this will put the bes at abot 1 1/2 .I have alot of shells mixed in to it as well doesnt look very kleen that way but more relistic .SO what u think of it I am debating moving the rios to upper rock pointing down it is hard not to make a storm
ANd it makes the carpet mad .SO tell me what u think of siphonin it at this level and should I wait awhile to move rocks around cant seem to get a good area the way I want it and I have time today will shoot a better pic as well thanks alot I apperciate all the help this is my peace and hobbie Ilove this stuff .....

 

[Krish]

You are fine to siphon that sand bed being that shallow. If you were to move the rocks around like you said you wanted, you'll be surprised at what has probably settled under there which could use a bit of vaccuming as well. As for where the flow is concerned, you'll probably have to mess with it some and see what works best for your tank layout as you want to try to eliminate any deadspots as they are problem spots. I'll keep an eye out for a better pic (if you get one) so I can see how everything is layed out because it is kinda hard to see the pics in your gallery due to the size

 

[vwmoneypit]

well I hope these pics are better oh and on machanical filters I started a new thread with it what works easiest and best the pic is not so explanitory

 

[Krish]

Looks good man...I'd just vaccum your sand and allow things to shape itself. You've done quite a bit of changes lately so give it some time to work for you

 

[vwmoneypit]

Thanks for all the help by the way any ideas on machanical filter

 

[Krish]

LOL! Yeah...Water changes I don't use any honestly. I use to use magnum canister filters for mechanical filtration (which btw are great canister filters), but didn't like the maintenance so I just rely on water changes and good skimming.

 

[vwmoneypit]

well that solves that I just was wondering if thier any benifits ohwell