NOOB Algae Question

Mikejr8686

Mikejr8686

Reefing newb
I have had my 30 gallon Saltwater tank for about a month now and my Algae problem continues to get worse. It is Green Algae not the hairy kind but the kind that is just in the water. I do 10% water changes every week or so and I try to leave the lights on for about 8 hours each day. The tank is stocked with 4 fish and a few crabs. What can I do to help cure the Green Algae? Should I be changing the filters more often than normal to help clear the algae out? I know most new tanks go through an Algae stage I just didn't think it was for this long or would get this bad. Any help would be great I am still learning so all info is helpful

Here is a pic of the tank with the algae problem.
IMGP1478.jpg
 
oh wow! thats bad. now i dont feel so bad about my problem. you didnt mention, what type of water are you using? you should always use RO (reverse osmosis) water from either the store, LFS (local fish store), or from a unit at home
 
also how often/much are you feeding your fish. I wouldnt feed more than they can eat in about 45 seconds, and only every day or 2. you should use frozen food not pellets or flake food. I know that the package may say something like feed as much as they can eat in 2-3 minutes, but i would only do 30 seconds to 1 min.
 
Wow, I thought I had problems! I'm a noob too, but seeing as you have no corals, shut off your lights completely for a couple days. Algae needs light to live, and you have alot of light there. Also get a product that gets rid of phosphates.....phosguard or phosban. Some might recommend chemi-clean, but I know little about it.
 
Holy sh!t!!!!!!!
Sorry dude but thats bad!!!

Like others mentioned already,use RO water if you aren't already.Tapwater contains phosphate which leads to algae blooms.Change out any floss or rinse it out once a week.If your using carbon replace that every two weeks.Try also to do a water change once a week,maybe 20%.Decrease the lighting to just a few hours a day and start feeding frozen fish food more often,Pellets and flakes lead to more water quality problems than frozen.Cutting down on how often you are feeding will help too.I recommend some Chemipure elite and lots of it,its a phosphate and nutrient removal media.

Good luck,its going to be a tough fight.
 
Yeah my biggest problem is probably the tap water I use when I do my water changes. Should I turn my lunar nigh light off as well or continue to use it? Any other chemicals i can add to help speed this fight up?
 
Mikejr8686 said:
Yeah my biggest problem is probably the tap water I use when I do my water changes.quote]
holy crap, yes. definately stop immediately. you can go to almost any grocery store and get ro/di water in a fill your own jug for like 30-40 cents a gallon. thats all you should use. water change and top off water. you can get an ro filter that hooks into your water line aswell. make sure 0 tap water gets in your system the slightest bit could be an algae bloom that could take months to get rid of.

one more suggestion while we are helping you out. Its hard to tell from the pics but it looks like you have very little liverock in that tank. I would reccomend at least 1 pound/gallon. it would be much better if you had something to the effect of 2pounds per gallon
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
My recommendation is the same as Red.

Definitely switch to RO/DI water either from the LFS or grocery store.Of course,you can buy your own purification unit too.

Get yourself two bags of Chemipure Elite,it works great.Its a carbon substitute and phosphate remover.It removes organic and inorganic waste too.

Its a good idea to increase your live rock.Live rock is the best biological filter.Aim for 1-2lbs per gallon.

One last thing,bottle up some of that green water and put it in the fridge.Some people use it as coral /invert food.Consider it free phytoplankton,some of that stuff cost over $20 for 20 ounces.
 
Thanks for the help guys... I believe i will be purchasing some more live rock as well as some Chemipure Elite to see if I can get this thing under control. One last question is I live right here on the Atlantic would it be worth it to do a large water change with Ocean water?

PS I have phytoplankton water for sale for $20 for 20 ounces if anyone wants some...LOL :)
 
hey My algae bloom was this bad in my 55 if you guys remember.

Do a Large water change. 40%
Using RO water. wait a week Do another 40% water change

After another week do a 20% then you should be able to do bi weekly water changes.

You may also wanna Try Marine SAT.
Carbon and Phos guard wouldnt hurt at all

As for the ocean water If you go fairly far off shore then yeah ,
Any water along the coast is like Skimmer water EEW!
 
Usually water at the shore is very polluted.You would have to go off shore for miles.

I'm serious,use some empty water bottles and save it.The stuff should be good for several months in the fridge.People really do culture green water to feed corals.I would check locally for some buyers.
 
Wow! Hi Mike. Welcome. That's ummmm...about the greenest water I've ever seen! Congrats! ;)

All good advice so far, stop using tap water, run some ChemiPure.

I would skip the ocean water. If you get it close to the shore, who knows what pollutants it contains.
 
Im fairly lucky so I am able to get water from offshore so should I try that for maybe a better result, or just go with the RO water instead? Thanks for all of the help guys I will let you guys know what is working...
 
you have quite a mess on your hands. I agree with much of what has been said to you thusfar. I want to add a few other pointers. ONLY RO water. avoid the ocean water. the seasalt mixes we buy are superior for what we want to acheive in our tanks. Shut your lights off for three or four days. make sure NO light gets into the tank at all. cover it with a blanket or something. algae needs very little light to thrive.

Yes do a 40% water change soon using RO water

Use a premium salt like kent, oceanic or reef crystals

I noticed you have a HOB (hang on the back) filter. the carbon pads or filter cartridges you can buy are TOTALLY worthless. It is best to squeeze in a media bag filled with carbon pellets into the place where the white filter bag sits in the filter. those things literally get used up in a few DAYS. the pellets will work for a month. I couldn't tell if you had 2 filters going. if you do, even better. use one for carbon and the other put in a bag of phosguard. do cut back on feedings and use frozen food. you will see a difference soon.

-Doc
 
Hang in there, too. We have all had our share of algae problems, and gotten through them. Hell, the title next to my name is "President, AFT Club". What do you think the AFT Club is? That's right... Algae Filled Tank Club. For real.
 
it was my pleasure to help. algae is a real pain in the butt. stay dilligent in following good husbandry pratices and you will get over it in a few weeks

-Doc
 
So today I added 15lbs of live rock, Chemi-Pure Elite, did a 50% water change with R/O water, and changed everything on both filters. I am hoping to see a change over the next week or two. I will post up some pics of how things are going. once again thanks for all of the advice.
 
That should help out a lot. Be patient -- it can take several weeks for algae to clear up. Weird, considering it seems to show up in our tanks overnight.
 

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