quick algea question....

JBReef

JBReef

Reefing newb
nitrate -0
nitrite -0
alk -240
Ph -8.0
Ammonia -0
kh -8 (not really sure what kh is soposed to be at)
salinity -1.026

Tanks is a 20 gallon with a 10 gallon sump and a seaclone 100 HOB skimmer. It has been up and running great for about 8 months, I have about 5 snails and I'm down to about 3 hermits, a dimond goby, a serpent star, a blue damsel, a leather some small polyps, and just recently purched a RBTA.

I feed the damsel a small amount of flakes about 3 times a week, I feed my leather about 3 times a week with phyto feast and my RBTA with a small chunk of squid about 2 times a week.

I'm not sure if it's from me over feeding or not but I recently noticed alot more algea on my sand, which didn't really concern me untill latly there has been alot of tiny strans of the pink and brown algea growing off of everything.

I don't really have any pictures of it because It's hard to see in all the pictures I take. But also on the top of my spung to my skimmer (which is in the main tank) has a thick coat of red/pink and brown algea.

I'm prity sure I gave everything but a picture. if any more info is needed just let me know.

If it is just the feeding, will a few water changes and a few more snails and hermits help?
Thanks
 
It probably has to do with you feeding flake food instead of frozen food, which is putting phosphates in your system.

If your doing water changes with tap instead of ro or rodi you most likely are putting more phosphates in your system.

Lastly if the tank hasnt been set up long (im guessing a couple months or so) it still has its different algae stages to go through..
 
Thats what I forgot to put in. I only use RO water from the shop I go to.

and from what I'v read up on I'v gone throught all the other stages of algae and the tank has been running top notch for about 6 months.
 
Cgoodmans covered it pretty good.But heres another thought.
Your anemone produces as much waste (if not more)waste as a fish.So you got a little more bio-load.
Also check the TDS of water your using.RO filters can and do become ineffective over time.Allowing for phosphates and other crap to come through.
Then look at your lights.How long are they on and how old are the bulbs?
As the bulbs age,they start loosing specrtium.Which can lead to algae.
 
I would switch to frozen food. Also are you using anything for phoshates? If not I would go ahead and get something.
 
I dont know about freeze dryed foods and phosphates.But I've noticed that my fish will scarf down frozen faster than freeze dryed.But that could be becasue their just to dang picky.
 
Funny, mine go nuts over the freeze dried, but they haven't had the frozen so they may not know what they are missing.
 
Like Yote said,check your RO water with a TDS meter.Maybe the membrane needs to be changed.Avoid using tapwater at all,if you're using it.Sure,increasing water changes will help also.

Switching to frozen will help and stop dosing phyto,the leather really doesn't need it.I'm not an anemone expert so I'm not sure if feeding an RBTA twice a week is excessive.Perhaps just once a week might be a better option,let the anemone experts answer that.Krill jerky(freeze dried) is just as good as frozen but damn that stuff won't sink.

As a last resort consider a phosphate reactor.Most are pretty cheap...about $50 with a pump plus media.
 
Yeah, the phyto you are adding is probably contributing as is the flake foods. No need to dose phyto for the leather. And frozen food does not contain phosphates like flakes do. Oh, but you've heard that already :).
 
well, went to the store with a pic today and I was told the stuff on my sand and spung is red slime, so I'm treating for that with "red slime treatment".

I got more water so I can do some small water changes this week, picked up 6 snails and 6 hermits. and I'll see how it goes from there.

Thanks for the help and I'll be switching to frozen food, I'm sticking with frozen squid for the RBTA and was woundering how silversides were and where people get them?
also, how do you feed silversides? do I have to chop them up or do they come shreded like other frozen foods?
 
I feed my GBTA either a whole table shrimp,clam,piece of squid,or what ever about every 3 or 4 days.Thier like fish,they need variety in their diet.
Silversides are just a little thin fish about 3 or 4 inches long.Just break off what you want to use and thaw it.Their frozen whole.
 
OK a new question has arose, I put in the "red slime" treatment and it worked wounders, but now at the bottom of my sump I have what looked like sand untill I tutched it, it feels like powder.

Is that the after math of the treatment? should I syphon it out?
 
yote said:
If you have enough light over the sump.
Click to expand...

Lighting your sump is super easy. I just went to OSH (A california hardware store) and picked up a water resistant socket/waterproof wiring and wired it all up myself. Works really well. :)

I would definetly reccommend some sort of macro algae in any system though. You dont even need a fuge to have it. Mine just moves around above my return pump. :mrgreen: I ended up making a nifty cage out of eggcrate zipties and enkamat for the pump though.
Zipties are sooo the new duct tape.
 

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