Algae.......???????

[Captain Nemo]

OK so I am getting pretty perturbed ( MAD) with my algae problem. It grows on my sand and varies in color from purplish color to light brownish... I CANT FIGURE OUT WHY!!! All params are in order, I have cut back the light cycle to 6 hours on my halide. And still it persists. Have nassarius snails and turbo snails and lots of crabs. IDEAS??? even switched the food I was feeding to a no ash food. :beat_brick:

 

[thewackyreefer]

How old is the setup?

My 60g has been running for about 6 months now I finally just got rid of the daily nuisance algae.

 

[Captain Nemo]

almost a year. It goes and comes back and I cant figure out why???I will beat it down and it will stay gone for about 2 weeks and comes bcak more vindictative than before.... GRRRRRRRR

 

[thewackyreefer]

I'm assuming you've already checked and addressed the usual culprits (RO/DI, Phosphates, overfeeding, not rinsing food, etc.)?

Are you running PhosBan or any GFO?

 

[Captain Nemo]

I do run the GFO and I can tell when it starts to reach its end(ie now), I use only RO/DI water and I feed everyother day, wife thinks I starve the fish. but I am afraid to feed more as the algae comes back!

 

[beaslbob]

kill your lights untill it dies off. Then resume with less lights.

the algae nutrients comes overwhelming from your bioload not things like your salt mix or input water.

Kill the lights let it die off then adjust lighting so you algae, corals, and things you like keep it away.

Do that by adjusting lights to where the algae stays away but other thing thrive.

 

[Captain Nemo]

ok, my lights have been off all day today, I will see how that does. Maybe another blackout tomorrow. Also my bioload isnt high, it med. I think

 

[Speg]

Do you change bulbs as needed?

Also, what size tank and how many/what fish in there?

 

[Captain Nemo]

My bulbs are less than 9 months old. 80 gal total volume with 70 tall tank and 10g sump. protein skimmer= reef octopus. Light= 250 MH Phoenix, with dual actinic support. Mag 7 return pump. About 50 lbs LR, lots of coraline, I have a med yellow tang, a med regal, 2 sm oce clowns, 3 sm chromis, and 2 blue azure damsels sm also. LOTS of crabs and some nassarius snails, and turbo snails. That is it for livestock. Various corals.

 

[Speg]

Ok, so a total of 80 gallons is the 70 gallon tank + the 10 gallon sup included? So you're saying you have 80 gallons of "space", correct?

That's your issue. Over stocked 9 fish in that tank are most likely causing an issue... my opinion..others will chime in!

 

[Captain Nemo]

yep, 80 gal total. The tank still looks empty compared to others I have seen. Thanks for the input though.:cry:

 

[Captain Nemo]

So my next question is what constitutes a light/med/heavy bio load?? I have maybe 20 inches of fish total. I know freshwater was 1 in per gallon and I am well below that, but this is SW. So Any one know what constitues the bio-load??Also do I need more snails and crabs??Suggestions to get rid of this crap??

 

[Speg]

The inch per rule is realistically just a helpful guideline but really shouldn't be taken as gospel. A 1 inch fish in a 1 gallon tank is too much... a 1 inch fish in a 2 gallon tank is too much....

It's really difficult to say what your limit is...if you're having an issue with ammonia/nitries/phosphates...it may be because of an overactive bioload.

I have 2 clowns in my 12 gallon nano cube and I think that's too many fish for that tank. I have a 46 bowfront with a dwarf fuzzy lion and a convict goby...I personally think that I've got room for one more small fish in there.

So, to answer your question.....there is no real way of telling that you've gone too far unless you're having issues.