Algae

[oakleyanni]

I've had this rust looking algae appearing everywhere in my tank. I have a 30 gallon saltwater with 22 lbs of live rock. It's been up and running for about six weeks. I live in the country and have well water that has been just fine for my freshwater tanks but I'm thinking this is the cause of my problem.....I've done water changes, I have a clean up crew and it's still there. I figure I need to get a water purifier but have no clue where to start......can someone please give me a little advice and point me in the right direction
Thanks

 

[parker313]

If you have a high level of phosphates in your well water, that's almost definitely the cause of your algae and it's going to be hard to combat. You should look into R/O (reverse osmosis) water. You can get R/O systems to do it yourself at home, or you can get R/O water at a grocery store or lfs near you. I get pre-mixed saltwater from my lfs for $1/gallon - their regular R/O water is $.50/gallon.

 

[J-Money]

I got that when my tank was cycling. I got a sizeable cleanup crew and it was all gone in a couple of days...good luck.

 

[RamJet]

If your going to buy an RO system the LFS sells them for about $300.00, Home Depot sells them for half that cost.

 

[Navarre]

The others are definately no the right track with their suggestions, however i would like to point out that you should not use well water for a marine tank as this water is not treated in any way (which is sometimes a good thing i grant you) and this means it will carry minerals in the water and its these minerals that could spell disaster for your tank in the months ahead. If it carrie copper (most dangerous)then it wil wipe out all inverts in your tan.. shrimps, crabs, pods, sponges, corals... everything... any other mineral in high enough measures will cause all sorts of unbalances in the water.

My advise is to get a copper test kit immediately and test for copper. The next would be to switch to RO water.. the problem i now see you having is thus... Do you have running water through a tap? or are you just using the well water? IF you have no tap water then fitting an RO unit will be a problem as it needs very high pressure (I.E. through a tap) to force the water through the filter membranes.

If this is not possible then i would purchase your RO from your local shop as this can be done very chealp usually.

Hope this helps a little.

As to the Diatom bloom you are having, well to be honest its a totally natural part of the water cycle in a new tank so its appearance is nothing to worry about, diatoms use up sicia in the water and soon dissapear over a couple of weeks or so. Keep feeding low and regualr water changes and you should find it keeps at bay (as long as the water carries no nutrients or mineral for it to feed on)

 

[oakleyanni]

Just to let ya know.......I performed regular water changes and my tank is fine. It's all clear and everyone is happy.....thanks for the advice