green algae wont go away

[funkshun23]

hey can you guys help? Ive got a 55 gallon with powercompact act03 and 10000K bulbs. my problem is that no matter what i do i still keep getting green algae covering everything. I turned down the lights to 6 hours a day, only put in distilled water. the algae used to be red and now it only comes as green slimy algae thart likes to cover everything. any suggestions? i also used chem clean in the past but it keep coming back thanks

[zhenya]

Hi funkshun23 and WELCOME to Reefland.
I like to ask couple of questions, if you don't mind.
How old is your tank?
What are the water parameters,if you test them?
What type of filtration do you have?
And lastly, what type of clean up animals do you have?

PS. I'm not trying to be nosy,just need to now a few things before trying to figure out what the problem might be.
FWIW, I don't believe the lights alone can cause this sort of problem for you but too much nutrients in the water column sure can. If the tank is new,then it could be just the algal progression and should correct itself with proper nutrient export mechanism.

[funkshun23]

How old is your tank? tanks been up for 3+ years
What are the water parameters,if you test them? all perfect except ph was a bit down today. added PHUP and should be fine
What type of filtration do you have? i have a Sealife wetdry
And lastly, what type of clean up animals do you have? actually no fish in it right now just a few mushroom and things like that all my fish died over time and just today is when im deciding to buy new fish. but as far as the water is concerned, i haved tried to keep it perfect since day one

[zhenya]

Well,
I'm sorry but could you give me some more less definitive numbers,like lets say
the NO3 is 0 or 10 or whatever. Perfect water is a bit hard to imagine for me,especially with the algae problems.Even if the water tests 0 for NO3, in the presence of algae it could be giving false sence of security becouse the algae is taking it up fast. The reason I said this is becouse you mention the wetdry filter,they are known to be huge nitrate factories, unless the bioballs are removed ofcourse. Just a thought. Also, the silicates and presence of phosphates in the water can fuel algal growth as well.
If you tested for those,what are the reading that you got? I did not mean just fish for the clean up animals,I actually was talking more in terms of snails, worms or maybe even hermits,if you keep those.
if you have access to a digital camera,maybe you can post a pic of this algae and we could figure out collectively what it is. Just an idea.

[funkshun23]

ph 7.8 or so
ammonia 0
nitrite 0
nitrate 0

some turbo snails and a couple of the larger snails

are you suggesting i remove the BIO BALLS? i thought they where good for the tank? thanks

[funkshun23]

says the picture is too big? how do i size it?

[funkshun23]

i resized but it puts it with an extion not permited on this forum and when i try to change to jpeg or jpg it says not allowed by my computer. i will keep trying but it is basically that green slime algae the the red cyanno but green thasnks

[zhenya]

Originally posted by funkshun23
ph 7.8 or so
ammonia 0
nitrite 0
nitrate 0

some turbo snails and a couple of the larger snails

are you suggesting i remove the BIO BALLS? i thought they where good for the tank? thanks

From this readings the only thing is off is the ph. I totaly forgot to ask about salinity but I'm guessing it is OK.
The bio balls is removed when you have live rock and sand bed to eliminate production of NO3 by the wet dry as this type of filters is so darn efficient in converting NO2 to NO3. Although you show no NO3 present, I would look into dissolved organic nutrients in the water.
What type of software you are using to edit your pics?When you finished with editing is there an option like "save as"? You can email me the pic and I'll post it for you if you like at mal4es@netscape.net
Cyanobacteria is a problem that indicates some nutrients accumulation and usually shows up during the lights on period. What is your water flow like in the tank,age of the bulbs?
I'm sorry for so many questions but I'm trying to help by eliminating possible contributors for the cyano. Even in a well kept tanks cyanobacterial blooms are possible,just to go away later if the excess nutrients are exported properly(skimming,refugium,etc)
Does this algae comes off easily if you try to blow it off with something like a turkey baster? If it does,I would try to syphon as much as I could during the water changes.
Some species of snail such as Strombus alatus ,known to eat cyanobacteria. They do require alot of open sand though to survive long term.
I hope someone else will chime with some other options...Ninong?

[funkshun23]

yea the is at about 1.022 and yes the algae come right off the bulbs are prob 1 year old and
i sent the pic. this is after ive tried to clean most of it off today

[zhenya]

Here's your pic

[zhenya]

FWIW, the salinity is on the low side a bit,I would recommend to raise it to 1.026 over a few days period not to stress tank inhabitants. Yes, the algae in the pic does look like cyano somewhat,although its hard to tell fron the pic alone. I still think that the problem might be nutrients related. You have mentioned that your fish had died,can you tell me what happened and how it came about? Also,how long ago was that?

PS. I also noticed luck of coralline growth on the rocks,what is your alkalinity and calcium like? You know, the rock looks like it's cycling from the pic
What brand of the test kits you using?
Sometimes they could be off by alot and you don't know what is actual parameters are sometimes,thus fooling you into believing that all is fine. Just a thought as well.

[funkshun23]

they died over a period of time (about 2 months) i would say the last one in january and never added another yet . i guess i will increase the salt

[funkshun23]

saltwater master kit is the name

[Tervill]

Hi guys,

I've had a few problems in the past with green algae, but I've overcome them with the following methods:

1. Check to see if you have the correct calcium levels in your tank. The coraline algae that grows on your live rock should overtake the green algae if the proper amount of calcium is present. Even adding a slightly higher amount of calcium at first to get the coraline algae cycle started is a good idea.

2. Make sure that your protein skimmer is working (if you have one). It is amazing how how much crap protein skimmers take out of the water. Algae thrive on DOC's (disolved organic compounds) that accumulate in the water.

3. Take a turkey baster and blow off the algae from the rock. Then, grab a medium size net and and collect the algae by moving the net back and forth throughout the tank. This works a lot better than tyrying to suck the algae up into the turkey baster.

4. Your local saltwater fish store should have a product called Phosguard or Sea Gel. This stuff helps take out phosphates and silicates in your water, which are two of the main causes for algae.

5. Regularly clean your filter. Algae will never go away if your filter is full of the stuff.

I followed all these steps, and within 2 weeks my algae problems diminished by about 90 percent. Good luck!!

Terry

[funkshun23]

thanks to everyone i will try all of the recommendations. now i did hear that the salt should be at about 1.22 or so and not much higher to avoid parasites is this true? also what temp should the water be if i keep tangs and clowns etc in the tank? thanks again

[funkshun23]

i cant figure this out and now i'm getting pisse. off. what the heck can i do? i got the skimmer working great and all the water levels check out good. i even got my huge ( i the name slips my mind but its a huge white tube with a bulb inside that kills ick and what i thought algae etc as the water passes it. it is rated for like a 300 gallon tank and still nothing) anyway. hopefully Zhenya can post the new pics i took of it. thanks for your help. John

[zhenya]

i cant figure this out and now i'm getting pisse. off. what the heck can i do? i got the skimmer working great and all the water levels check out good. i even got my huge ( i the name slips my mind but its a huge white tube with a bulb inside that kills ick and what i thought algae etc as the water passes it. it is rated for like a 300 gallon tank and still nothing) anyway. hopefully Zhenya can post the new pics i took of it. thanks for your help. John

I believe that you mean UV sterilizer? I do not believe it will help with the algae as it mainly will kill bacteria in the water,perhaps some protozans,but not algae cells. Atleast this is my understanding of its design. It may also kill off some beneficial bacteria in your water as well. Please email me the pics and I'll try to post them for you ASAP.
FWIW, dealing with algae is never a piece of cake and takes a long time and hard work,aka staying on top with the water changes,making sure your make up water is either RO/DI or similar, skimming or utilizing refugium for growing macroalgae and harvesting it to remove exess nutrients. All this might help but never a bullet proof.Some excess PO4 if it was introduced in a tank can be absorbed by the live rock or sink in the sand bed just to be released slowly later. I'm not sure what exactly your situation is and its hard to say from afar, but I would try to improve netrients export and keep up with water changes as well,perhaps using something like phosguard is not a bad idea either.
Sorry for the longwinded post.

[funkshun23]

yes uv sterilizer thats it. and i do use a skimmer and phosguard. what do you recommend i do with water changes. thants one thing i nevber ever do. maybe this is the problem

[zhenya]

yes uv sterilizer thats it. and i do use a skimmer and phosguard. what do you recommend i do with water changes. thants one thing i nevber ever do. maybe this is the problem

Perhaps you should start by doing 20% water change Mix up a batch of saltwater using a RO/DI water and a good brand of synthetic salt mix like IO or any other barand that you prefer.Make sure that you mix it well and aerate it using power head for atleast 48 hours before doing the water change. It is the simplest method of correcting any imbalances in your tank,like calcium and alkalinity.
In your case, I would do back to back 20% exchanges with 4-5 days intervals and see what happens. I usually check new water for calcium and correct as I see fit becouse I keep my calcium at about 450 ppm in my tank and newly mixed water is about 320 or so. Alkalinity as well...
Here is your pics that you wanted me to post

[funkshun23]

oh cool its up thanks. i will try the water change and others and see what happens. thanks again John