[Reefer769]

wow, i never thought it would ever get to this point. But my tank is just sick. The rocks are literally COVERED with this dark brown/green algae, along with SO many of these silvery bubbles that stick to the rock, and there are millions of these in my tank. The overflow box was covered in agae, so as im writing this post, my dads outside cleaning it. Im also going to replace the tubes that are transferring water from the sump to the display. I have now switched my water changes to every 2 weeks, 4 gallons. how can i get rid of all this cr*p!? i really need some serious help with this tank, becuase its just spun out of my control.

[sihaya]

How old is your tank?

[BubbaWPB]

Try phosban/phosban reactor or similar iron-based phosphate sponge for about 6 weeks... and when changing the water, suck as much of the crap out as you can... you need to starve the crap out.

[Reefer769]

what if i took as much algae as i could off of the rock, and then flip all the rocks that have the algae so the bottom of the rocks will now be on the top. would this maybe kill off the algae, becuase it would be in darkness, and not directly under the light...?

[Samper]

This idea will not work. You may kill some of the algae but the die off will fuel more growth. You need to get more serious about your water changes, get a good cleanup crew, clean your skimmer more often and possibly might need change your bulb...oh and don't over feed. You could also add a refugium and run carbon. Oh yeah your RO/DI may need a filter change...if you run one.

[Reefer769]

how long can the tfc filter stay in the ro/di filter for? because i changed all of the other catridges, but not the tfc. could this be a cause to all the algae?

[Samper]

I dont have a clue...what are your tds readings? Do you flush your unit periodically?

[Saltie]

I have a similar problem as Reefer..... what would a good cleanup crew consist of???

[BubbaWPB]

Many of our sponsors offer "clean up crews" - usually crabs and snails that either eat algae or eat algae fertilizer (excess food and fish poo). Tangs also eat algae if your tank is big enough to handle one.

However, the only way to deal with algae in the long term is to starve it into oblivion by making sure you keep low nitrates and phospates - don't overfeed, make sure your top off water is not a source of the phosphates and nitrates, don't overfeed, change water frequently, and don't overfeed.

Meanwhile, to get the algae under control, if you're already using RO/DI water, do more frequent water changes and don't overfeed. Pick/suck algae out during water changes. You can also use nitrate and phosphate sponges in the short term to get it under control (it may take a few weeks of treatment if the algae growth is heavy) - but that is only a temporary fix if you continue to overfeed.

[Samper]

I don't know if bubba mentioned this or not but Don't over feed.

[Reefer769]

hah thanks for all the advice. Ive made myself a list of things to buy.

-poly filter
-phosphate sponge
-new tfc membrane
-new 150w 20000k mh ushio bulb

all that along with many water changes, and maybe a few more snails is basically my plan to get rid of all the nasty in my tank, and make it look nice again. i think overfeeding was a bid issue becuase my dad was the one feeding the fish, so i think he was feeding 3 fish in a 30gal cube 1 full cube of prime reef every other day.

[Unresistible Blue]

[quote=Reefer769]hah thanks for all the advice. Ive made myself a list of things to buy.

-poly filter
-phosphate sponge
-new tfc membrane
-new 150w 20000k mh ushio bulb

QUOTE]

Are you sure you need a new membrane?