Algae Like Crazy

[harleymike]

Ok new tank. Ammonia, and nitrite and nitrate is zero.
Tank is 3 weeks old. But have a huge algae problem. Green algae and hair algae.
Used rock that came from another tank, and had been dry for about 3 or 4 weeks.

Wondering if GFO would help. I have used it before in a reactor.
Which one do you guys recommend these days.

Thanks

 

[Quartapound]

I've had a huge success with chaeto. It's growing like crazy for me right now, I have some algae on the new rocks which is inevitable, but I think this really helps. Intense light is needed. BRS did a great video on it

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[TORX]

First you need a good phosphate tester from RedSea or NYOS that can test low phosphates. That number will help a lot more.

I use HC GFO (high capacity granular ferric oxide) from #sustainablemarinecanada in a TLF150 and a MJ1200 feeding the reactor. Works like a charm at keeping my phosphates below 0.08ppm.

Also look into your lighting schedule. What are your lights? Intensity? Timing? Any direct sunlight?

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[harleymike]

First you need a good phosphate tester from RedSea or NYOS that can test low phosphates. That number will help a lot more.

I use HC GFO (high capacity granular ferric oxide) from #sustainablemarinecanada in a TLF150 and a MJ1200 feeding the reactor. Works like a charm at keeping my phosphates below 0.08ppm.
Also look into your lighting schedule. What are your lights? Intensity? Timing? Any direct sunlight?

Ya, need to test it. I am going to order a tester. Was going to bring a sample into work today and test but forgot.
I;m looking at ordering the dual reactor with mj1200 pump from bulk reef supplies.
Lights are 6 t5 with ati bulbs, and two reefbrite actinic led (the lite series) On for 8 hours a day.
No direct sunlight. I also have a sea hare in there chomping away.

 

[TORX]

Is this over your frag tank? What are the tank dimensions and how high are the lights? Assuming that there are new bulbs in the fixture.

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[harleymike]

tank is 48x36x8 inch's deep. Lights are brand new. They site apppr. 18 inches over tank.

 

[TORX]

tank is 48x36x8 inch's deep. Lights are brand new. They site apppr. 18 inches over tank.

Raise the roof on that for sure. You can probably got to 3'. That light would be perfect for a 24" deep tank at 9-12" over the water. Light dissipates a lot quicker in water the air. 18" above the tank is still pretty strong for corals <8" below the surface. By raising the light, you will also reduce the intensity focused on the algae. Right now algae is in heaven with that much light so close to where it is growing.

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[harleymike]

Raise the roof on that for sure. You can probably got to 3'. That light would be perfect for a 24" deep tank at 9-12" over the water. Light dissipates a lot quicker in water the air. 18" above the tank is still pretty strong for corals <8" below the surface. By raising the light, you will also reduce the intensity focused on the algae. Right now algae is in heaven with that much light so close to where it is growing

OK, I will give that a try. That should help with the temp swing also.
I think I will order that dual reactor and start running it. Thanks

 

[TORX]

OK, I will give that a try. That should help with the temp swing also.
I think I will order that dual reactor and start running it. Thanks

It sure will. Again, normally the light has a lot more water and depth to work with. It will definitely help with temp swings.

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[harleymike]

So ordered a reactor and GFO last night. Took water sample into work today. Got PO4 at .02 and Total Phosphorus at .01
I expected more than that with the amount of algae I am seeing.

 

[Josh]

Phos can be tricky. Reading low levels does not necessarily mean they aren't there. The algae problem is what is lowering your phosphates because they are consuming them to grow. Remove all the algae and you will see a true reading.

 

[Salty Cracker]

My guess would be high PO4 concentrations in the rock. Used rock is usually used rock for a reason. When I stated my new tank I had half rock from my old tank (ULN setup), and other half was from an "unknown" tank. unknown rocks were thick with HA, my rocks were bare white. I just ran the GFO until the HA disappeared, I think it was about 3-4 weeks or so, all been good since then (GFO run 24x7)