Tank too Hot. algae blooms. Help

[thomasR]

Hi i have a 45 gal tank. i have recently got my tank established to put things in. I noticed in the last couple days however my temp is climbing to 80 degrees by the time the lights turn off. Im running about 12 hours of light. from what i understand this is too hot and i dont know how too cool it down a few degrees. my light is already about an inch and a half off the hood. how can i cool it down. Also i had a red algae bloom vacuumed it and its gone now i have green grassy algae taking over. do i just keep knocking it off my tank and let it burn excess nutrients or is action required?

Thanks ThomasR

[TimH07]

i run my tank at 82-84 in the summer with no problems its 80 through the winter.

[CutthroatKid]

How long has your tank been running?

[Ninong]

Hi Thomas,

...my temp is climbing to 80 degrees...

My preferred range is 81-83 F; however, anything between 76-84 F will work just fine. I don't care for temps below 80 F myself but some people do run very nice reef tanks in the 76-80 F range. You will get faster growth at temps above 80 F and that's a much more natural range.

I have only experienced problems when the temperature rose above 87 F but I don't recommend letting it get above 84 F. That's why I prefer 81-83 F just to be on the safe side.

Also i had a red algae bloom vacuumed it and its gone now i have green grassy algae taking over. do i just keep knocking it off my tank and let it burn excess nutrients or is action required?

I will assume that "red algae" refers to cyanobacteria and not actually red algae. If so, cyanobacteria is a normal part of the cycle in newly set up aquariums and nothing to get all worked up over. We have discussed cyanobacteria many times before so if you're interested, just run a search on the board using cyanobacteria as your search term.

Scott (Reefland) wrote a few articles on nuisance algae a few years ago:
Nuisance Algae in the Reef Aquarium - Part I
Nuisance Algae in the Reef Aquarium - Part II
Nuisance Algae in the Reef Aquarium - Part III

[thomasR]

ok so the temp is not an issue. The cynobacteria is gone and is replaced by a green grassy algae is that a problem or do i just let it be?

[Ninong]

ok so the temp is not an issue. The cynobacteria is gone and is replaced by a green grassy algae is that a problem or do i just let it be?

Well, it can certainly be a problem if it starts taking over your entire tank. Read the three articles that Scott wrote that I linked above and that may give you some insight. Also, there are numerous threads on Reefland dealing with nuisance algae.

[TimH07]

also make sure you are using RO/DI water

[thomasR]

dont know what RO/DI water is im a total newbie

[gregr]

RO stands for "reverse osmosis" and DI stands for "dionized". People describe water purity in terms of parts per million of dissolved solids (dissolved solids are bad). With an ro/di system you will get zero ppm and your corals will be happy. Dirty water results in unhappy corals and algae problems. Oh yeah- you can get TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) meters for about $20- handy to have so you know when your ro/di filters need changing.
This is an example of an ro/di system. Basically, if you have reef tank you need to be adding very clean water to replace what evaporates. And when you do water changes you need to be using very clean water. Some people just buy ro (or ro/di water) at their local fish store or somewhere similar. That gets old after a while, or after a very short time and people usually end up buying their own water filtration system. Good news is they're easy to install and not horribly expensive.

[thomasR]

ok great thanks for the detailed info. next question, im not doing corals yet so do i need one? got some snails and crabs that are eliminating the algae. Since i would rather just not spend that much money can i just wait until i get corals. or will that cause problems? also for my 45 gal tank which system on the page you linked would do the trick. and how do these work do you hook them up to your tap and pump water thru or does it draw tap water from a container and deposit into a new container.

Thanks for the help
TR

[gregr]

>> im not doing corals yet so do i need one?

You'll have to decide for yourself how much of a hassle it is buying water. I suppose you could treat your water with something like this but I'm not sure if that is sufficient to really make the water safe. Hopefully someone else will chime in about that. Generally speaking, people that have reef systems have their own ro/di systems too.
This unit here is a better example of what you would be looking for. Better because it has that holding tank. If you just want the ro/di water for your aquarium (no drinking water) then the first one I linked to would be ok because you wouldn't necessarily need a holding tank. You could have the ro/di water connected directly to an auto top-off system that is full automated. You could put a "T" on the water line with a ball valve so you can use the same line to make water change water.
Forgot to answer your question about which unit would be good for you. With a small tank like yours you don't need anything more than 50g per day for sure and less than that would be fine. If you plan on getting a bigger tank in the future then you might consider a 75 or 100gpd unit.
The way I've got mine set up is the ro/di unit is under the sink and the ro water goes to a faucet on the sink for drinking water and the di water goes to my aquarium in the next room. That's a real simplified explanation. If you want a lot more info on the subject of ro/di systems check this page out.

[thomasR]

ok that makes sense but right now im in an apartment i cant modify so no water lines from the sink.And im not worried about drinking water. Im going to be doing my own top offs manually which i dont mind. im buying a protein skimmer to help whats already in the tank. I have been using a product to make tap water safe similar to the one you linked me. shrimp, crabs, various polyps are all doing fine. so for my setup am i best just running a skimmer and treating water. Or do i use the first pump u linked me to treat a few gallons at a time for changes and top offs. That seems a little overboard to me but maybe not. what do you thingk?

[gregr]

Protein skimmer should be number one on your list. The ro/di thing is seriously important for a reef tank but for a fish only not as much.

>>Or do i use the first pump u linked me to treat a few gallons at a time for changes and top offs.

Are you talking about that ro/di unit that doesn't come with a holding tank? If so, I don't think it would be overkill because ultimately it will make your life a lot easier, but it's far from a necessity. If you're ok with just treating your tap water for top-off and water change water then go with that. If you have algae issues once the tank matures a bit then you will want to look into an ro/di unit.
Even though you learned at the beginning of the thread that your temps are fine where they are-- adding a clip-on fan so that it blows on the surface of the water will drop the temp a couple degrees. Your evaporation will increase dramatically too. Might come in handy over the summer.