algae problems

[Krazykarl]

ok so in brief, ive had my supply water tested at my local store (innopure). I currently have a 4 stage ro system that i use for top ups and changes. my ppm according to her thingymadoo was next to 0. so ok. that eliminates the water giving me my problems. next is the food. i use veggie flake and brine shrimp for feeding. mainly flake and brine about every other day if not once a week. i have a skimmer, sump, etc...tons of cheato in sump, everything is great except i keep getting hard lime green on the glass and im getting brownish green hair algae on the glass at the back as well as on the powerheads. My theory is now the lights. Soooooooooooo, im thinking the bulbs are ready for a change. if anyone can chime in here and provide me with the BEST possible light bulb configuration either by personal experience or just gen. knowledge id appreciate it. i am currently running 4 t5 bulbs. 2 48" bulbs and 2 36" bulbs. 2 10k 1 actinic 1 75.25. the 75.25 bulb is about 3 months old or less but the others are due.

right now i have from front to back

10k,actinic,10k, 75.25...

obviously going to keep the last bulb as it is new. but i need ideas. i read alot about aqua blue special and blue plus? i wanna achieve a rather blueish purple hue to the water but still maintain proper coral growth.

help me out. tks

 

[iantower]

That can be a lot of things other then llights I hate to say. I have the same and all my lights are brand new. Mine is due to hi nutrient levels (Nitrate and Phosphates) and have just started dosing vodka today actually.
So if your T5's are 10-12months old then go ahead change them out but if not look in a few other spots other then just your water Id say... make sure all those specks are right. If you dose iodine then that can also give you a lot of that neon green and brown diatoms that your seeing if your overdosing.
Sorry for the frustration buddy.
As for lights with three bulbs I'd probably do 2 ATI 12000K's 1 ATI Blue Plus and 1 fiji purple.
Cheers!

 

[lewis844]

what do you have for a clean up crew?? what type of fish? do you have a large bio load??

 

[Krazykarl]

Prob is I don't have much of a clean up crew! I need some... Anywhere anyone knows of cheap let me know

 

[Cal_stir]

Krazykarl
your tank is still young and maturing, you will never eliminate algae, it's a vital component of a reef system.
every time you add something or change something your tank has to adjust, the bacteria, bio-load, nutrient levels, etc., have to get balanced, when things are unbalanced you will see more algae. be patient, the only thing that happens fast in a reef tank is a crash.
every tank goes thru numerous algae blooms while maturing, our tank is 20 months old and we have to clean the glass 2 to 3 times a week, it's free food for the fish and corals.

 

[Krazykarl]

so all the lime green hard stain looking stuff on the glass that i scrape away a few times a week is good? its unsightly!!!! and it makes the tank look nasty! However, i seem to notice alot of POOP floating around on the sand. I have a few crabs, and a serpent star, they do a good job at keeping the sand under control sorta but id like to over kill it and blast the tank with some reef janitors that won't eat my corals. I like the look of white sand, not green and brown with poop lol. Any ideas what i should do?

 

[Cal_stir]

hermit crabs are great janitors but you have to add shells for them to move into as they grow or they will kill your snails and take their shells.
nausarius snails are great too, they move around in the sand and clean up uneaten food.
stomatella snails are excellent herbavores, you usually only get them as hitchhikers on live rock.
and of course turbo snails.
we have lots of these janitors but we still have to clean the glass and vacuum the sand.