will a sump help with brown algae growth?

[darklcd]

hey all

As the title says I have some algae issues right now and I just set up a "ghetto" sump in a 5 gal bucket. I plan on picking up some algae to go into it as well.

Anyone have any other thoughts about what I can do with this?

 

[ac7av]

No
A bucket will not help
Yes the algae can help but doesn’t need to be in the bucket to help.
Probably one of the usually suspects causing it
Too much nutrients in the water like too much food or poop
Too much light
Not enough flow in the tank, lots of dead spots
Lack of filtration or skimming
Water temp to high like over 85 degrees
And if its not any of the above then a water change couldn’t hurt.

 

[returnofsid]

Actually, YES, a bucket can help. Do some research into DIY Bucket Denitrator. Yes, it can also help, as a sump/refugium, depending on the volumn, flow and size of aquarium.

 

[ac7av]

Ya, what returnofsid said.
Denitrator and refugiums will help.
You can build them into your bucket.

 

[darklcd]

I don't plan on keeping just a bucket this is just something to get the tank cleaned out and help things along, I only have 1 fish in there right now and it gets fed once a day, I have 2 wave makers in the tank at 1400 ghp each and the return from the sump is an 850 after the head reduction prob about 450, I keep my t5 antics on about 12 hrs a day and the 150 watt MH for about 8 hours or so.

I have never herd of a denitrator but I will have to look into it

 

[ac7av]

You know if this is a new setup it could just be new tank syndrome. That will usually burn out in a month or less depending on your system. It takes time to get things to balance out especially if you use tap water like me.

I like tap water, it gives me something to complain about.

 

[darklcd]

lol I have had this going for about 6 months and my levels are good. I am using tap water but I have never had anything like this before.

I looked at the DIY Bucket Denitrator plans and I am not sure if that is what I am looking to do. I am really trying to set up a sump sort of set up. can I run both at the same time even though I have a skimmer running already

 

[mcoomer]

A 6 month old tank is still breaking in and maturing. Unless you're absolutely on top of your maintenance nuisance algae is a common occurrence in young tanks like yours. Compounding that issue is the fact that you're using tap water to fill the tank. You may not have had algae like this before but I'll bet that if you checked phosphates and silica and monitored it you would have seen it rise. New tank + phosphates + silicates = algae in the tank. Finally, what kind of fish do you have, what are you feeding it, and how much at each feeding?

What I recommend is this. Find some RO at you LFS, grocery store dispenser, fellow reefer, wherever you can get it. I don't know your total volume but use that water to do some frequent, smallish water changes. I would continue to run your bucket setup and add some algae in there. I would cut back on the food that you're putting into the tank. I put Nori in my tank pretty much everyday because my tangs would move out if I didn't but I usually feed every third day or so. Remember that any food that isn't eaten adds nutrients to the water column. All these things add up.

Good luck,
Mike

 

[darklcd]

Hey mike thanks for the advice. I know its a young tank but the amount of algae in my tank looks like its too much. i am going to pick up some live sand today and some algae I hope and I think that will help a little.

I am trying to get my hands on some RO water but I don`t know if I am going to get that lucky. I also have tap water treatment that I have started to use not sure if its going to make a big difference but its a start I hope.

 

[Skimmy]

lol I have had this going for about 6 months and my levels are good. I am using tap water but I have never had anything like this before.

I looked at the DIY Bucket Denitrator plans and I am not sure if that is what I am looking to do. I am really trying to set up a sump sort of set up. can I run both at the same time even though I have a skimmer running already

TAPWATER!!!!!!!!

NO!!!

yep, get yourself a ro/di


....and dont get me started on the "wonderbucket"

just get a rubbermaid container or glass tank and make a sump that will accomodate your skimmer, refugium, and media filter for GAC and GFO.

 

[ac7av]

Save your money on the live sand.

Unless you have no sand in your tank at all, or just want more sand what you have is most certainly live sand after 6 months.

 

[roblou]

+1 on no tap water! IME, you will be fighting a losing battle with algae as long as you're using tap water.

 

[darklcd]

its not even sand when it comes right down to it. I am using basic gravel

 

[TotalVapor]

From my personal experience anytime tap water has been used the brown algae comes out. Might be the first month might be the 6th month. The standards for drinking water are not the same as what we need for our reef tanks.

Most likely your Phosphates are high and should have your water tested to make sure. From there you can come up with a plan of attack. Saves a lot of guessing and stabbing at the issue.

 

[ac7av]

What ever you call it, it could be crushed glass and it will still be live sand, gravel, or what ever you want to call it. Not a thing wrong with using fish tank gravel. The benefits of it has more to do with the tank needs and the size of the pieces and the depth of the sand bed. Thinner stuff like sugar size will give you denitrator benefits with as little as 1 in deep, coarser stuff need to be deeper to do the same job. If you want sand for the looks, you just need a thin layer that you can clean easily. If you want it to be a part of the biological system of the tank then you need to carefully consider how deep you need it to be to benefit the tank.

 

[Beerosaur]

I recently fought an algae problem and won. I had my lights on a 12 hour cycle, water changes and a 6 hr cycle did the trick...now they're on an 8 hour cycle and that's where they're staying.

Been solid so far... I ebayed a 5gph ro/di unit that fits under my bathroom sink for like $65 bucks. Worth the money. I only need to make 10 gal or so a week, and it's plenty capable.

Try the light thing... for a couple of weeks.

-= Beer

PS... I just realized how old this thread was...LOL, anyway, I'll leave this here for the next person.

 

[darklcd]

I will have to see what I can do I have access to well water that might help a little over city water and the lighting I will have to try as well

 

[roblou]

Hmm, I doubt well water will be any better. City water is going to be treated, so there's some chemicals in there. But there are going to be a lot of minerals in well water, plus other "unknowns". I have a feeling that the minerals and such might actually be better food for the algae compared to city water, but that is just speculation on my part...

A TDS meter would help a little in determining which might be better, but would still leave a lot of unanswered questions as to what is actually in the water making up the Total Dissolved Solids...

The point of using RO/DI water is to start with completely pure water (0 TDS or as close as possible), thus limiting the amount of "unknowns" into your aquarium. In many many cases, the "unknowns" are responsible for unwanted algae growth and possibly worse, such as problems keeping fish and/or corals alive.

I went maybe 2 years on my first tank using tap water because I couldn't justify the cost of RO/DI setup (didn't want to waste my money on RO/DI when I could be spending it on cool corals . During that time I battled algae problems constantly. This might sound dumb, or obvious, but it wasn't until I realized that the water is like 99% of what I put into the aquarium that it finally made sense to me to invest in RO/DI.

I guess what I'm trying to say is you can try a lot of things to battle algae, but in the end if you can cut off its food supply then the battle will be won! First place to start in that regards is the water...

HTH,

Rob

 

[darklcd]

i am having a very hard time finding anyone in town that used an ro/di set up and I don't have the cash to invest in one at the moment. I am going to have to see what I can do. I moved my wave makers today to see if that will help a little but only time will tell

 

[reefreefer]

I get mine at Safeway when I am between filters.