Huge alge problem

[new2salt2]

i havea 50 gal tank with 50 lbs of live rock and crushed coral substrate. my tank is not in direct sunlight and uses a fluval 404 canister filter and a seaclone skimmer. i have been scraping alge off the glass about once a week now since i started the tank, but recently i got hit witha dark green or brown alge and could not keep up with it. it has now taken over the back glass of my tank. i checked all my levels of nitrate/nitrite/amonia/ph etc and all is fine. what can i do to rid my tank of this ugly alge and have a beautiful fish tank like i see here so often?

[zhenya]

i havea 50 gal tank with 50 lbs of live rock and crushed coral substrate. my tank is not in direct sunlight and uses a fluval 404 canister filter and a seaclone skimmer. i have been scraping alge off the glass about once a week now since i started the tank, but recently i got hit witha dark green or brown alge and could not keep up with it. it has now taken over the back glass of my tank. i checked all my levels of nitrate/nitrite/amonia/ph etc and all is fine. what can i do to rid my tank of this ugly alge and have a beautiful fish tank like i see here so often?

May I ask how old your tank is? I'm almost tempted to say that it is probably diatom type algae but I can't be sure without a picture.
Also, when you say that your water parameters are fine,could you provide a bit more detailed information? I'm not sure,but I thought that if you have live rock the use of canister filter would just make your NO3 levels clime over time.
I would keep it but with media removed. Do you have any herbivore clean up crew like snails? In short,we'd need a bit more info about your tank to try to narrow down what the problem might be.

[new2salt2]

well tank is about 8months old. Only have a few snails and hermit crabs maybe 4 of each. canister filter has media like carbon and the filter sponge thing. I guess i am a little confused tho .. what is the purpose of a sump pump? doesnt it use filter media too? just thought i would use the canitster to save space and such. as far as my levels for water it is the color test and everything falls at 0.0 color. amonia i thing was just a tad high, but on the low side.

[Bughead]

...ammonia was just a tad high, but on the low side.

The low side of a tad high? Sorry, I'm just giving you a hard time. That is typical of the way I discribe things and nobody lets me get away with it.

[zhenya]

just thought i would use the canitster to save space and such. as far as my levels for water it is the color test and everything falls at 0.0 color. amonia i thing was just a tad high, but on the low side.

Using canister filter is not a bad thing if you would remove sponges and such,carbon is a fine thing to have in it but needs to be replaced periodically becouse bacteria will colonize it in time and it will turn into nitrate producing machine just like the bio-balls in the wet/dry filters.
Can you be more specific on the ammonia test? Also, which test kits are using,how old are they? Some test kits can give inacurate and misleading results and I'd atleast reconfirm results either with LFS(if they are capable) or a different and reputable test kits. Just to eliminate possibilities and make sure that your test kits are correct.
Tank being an 8 month old should have itds cycle complete by now and ammonia readings should not be detectable for one and another thing is that perhaps your nutient export mechanism in your system is either not properly set up or is not functioning for some reason.
Do you feed your tank and how much, what other inhabitants you have in there besides 4 snails and hermits?

I guess i am a little confused tho .. what is the purpose of a sump pump? doesnt it use filter media too?

Well, I'm not sure I understand your question correctly.If you are asking about difference between canister filter and a sump,sump is not a filtration device but rather additional reservoir of water where water is drained from the tank and returned back with the pump. There is no media in it unless you have a sump large enough to have refugium in it.I suppose this could be considered as a filtration media but not a mechanical filtration device like canister filter. I have a sump but I do not have any sponges in it that I would have to clean everyday,all it has is return pump,pump for my skimmer and some probes.

[Poseidon]

GET MORE SNAILS!!!


That will help alot... Gene is right about the canister filter it can be trouble if you do not replace the carbon once a month or so. I would just load up on Snails get a variety of Astrea Nassarius Cerith and maybe Nerite... They are all available from www.reeftopia.com great site to buy from. I have a 135 and I have close to 200 snails. For your 55 I would get at least 60-70 total to start.

Mike

[new2salt2]

great guys. thanks.. il prolly buy more snails then. What is the purpose of a sump tank then if it is just another tank? if i got rid of the canister filter what do you suggest? a hang on ?

[zhenya]

What is the purpose of a sump tank then if it is just another tank? if i got rid of the canister filter what do you suggest? a hang on ?

Well, the purpose of a sump in my case is first a convinient place to have pumps and such and secondly it increases your overall water volume. Yes, it is just anothet tank but it has many applications, you can put your skimmer in there,you can modify it to have a refugium if it's large enough. I'd do a thorough search of filtration and basic equipment forum to see what other people have done with sumps. You can still keep your canister filter to use for additional waterflow and to house your bag of carbon. Is your tank drilled or not?
Anyhow, could you post a pic of your setup if possibile,of course? This way we could see exactly what you are trying to describe and perhaps offer some advice or suggestion. Picture is worth a thousand words the say ;)
Getting more herbivores should help as well.

PS.Forgot that link to the forum
http://www.reefland.com/forum/tanks-filtration-basic-equipment/

[BLUEMANDJ]

Are you running a protein skimmer? What kind of water are you useing? AND get lots of snails!

[chet-tonja]

Try to use at least RO water...possibly RODI, get more snails and upgrade your skimmer whenever money permits. I know in the beginning you are trying to save as much money as possible, but you really need an upgrade in the skimmer department. I did the same thing in the beginning and fought hair algae very bad until I upgraded my skimmer to a Remora I believe...been a few years. Did anyone mention more snails? LOL

[new2salt2]

i guess i misunderstood in the begining then. soo. what is the best type of filtration system to have? i thoguth an actual filter (canister or hang on) was vital? is it not? why use a sump for more volume if it does not filter? is live rock and a skimmer along with snails all that is needed?

[Poseidon]

The live rock IS THE FILTER!!!

In my tank I have a skimmer and live rock and thats it... I do have a Sump/ refugium and it contians 3-4 different types of Macro algae for nutrient export, but I have no filter pads or blocks of any kind... Sometimes when I scrape the glass I will put in a "quick filter" its made by Hagen and attaches to a power head for polishing the water, removes all the floating algae pretty quickly...

Hope this helps... Mike

[new2salt2]

well il guess i missed that advice. Even my pet store said to have at least a canister filter.
so how much live rock is enough for a 50 gal tank? i think i am about 35-40lbs now.. is it possible tohave too much live rock? should i keep the filter running until i can rid tank of the sea clone skimmer and upgrade to better one?

[Dave e]

One more thing,how deep is your DSB? I have a 75gl with built in trickle that uses bio-balls (bad mistake)Iam in the process of removing them to stop alg.blooms. I started out as a fowlr and converted to reef.If you have plenty of LR,DSB and a good protein skimmer you should not need anything else.Also how is your water movement? Are you using extra pumps to move the water.

[new2salt2]

not sure what you mean by DSB.?? dont know the term. I have a canister filter with bio in it that i will be removing.. take is only 50 gal and only have about 40-50 lbs of LR so ill be getting about 50 more pounds.. i only have one powerhead now over the LR because my filter puts a good amount of water movement in tank as well as the proten skimmer. BTW i have a El Cheapo skimmer its a Sea Clone. ALl i could afford besides the ones that use the air stone and sit inside the tank.. let me know if you have any ideas for changes

[Poseidon]

DSB means Deep Sand Bed

it is an alternative method of filtration, the idea is "critters" live in the sand and feed on the fish waste and the Bacteria feed on the critters waste etc etc... I don't have the full blown Scientific details myself other then I know it works... I have about 4-6 inches of sand in my tank to go with the algae in the sump and the skimmer.

You can keep the Cannister filter going for circulation they are excellent at that also when you scrape the glass a cannister filter can remove all the floating algae quickly. Just make sure you clean it right after!!

Mike

[Dave e]

one more thing, have not seen what kind of water u use.(RO,RODI)

[new2salt2]

well i think i have been misinformed by my pet shop. maybe it is because their tank does not host the livestock long before sale, but they told me not to use sand becasue it "skunks" up the tank. said it get stirred up too easy and make a mess and it always hard to get water clean. Also said that it packs to hard and the fish that forrage wont beable to get throgh it so i bought crushed coral for the bed. Now is that wrong? if so do i have to remove it all and put in sand now?

Water was the next question you mentioned. I use regular tap water. My pet shop said i would be fine becasue i dont have any sensitve corals. Would be fine if i let it sit over night. Also told me that a filter is a must, but to stay away froma sump because it just floods if power goes out.

[new2salt2]

BTW. if i went with a sand bed.. how do you cycle water? wont the syphon suck out the sand?