Alternating Algae Problems

[spadge]

Hey guys, i havent asked any silly questions recently so i thought id give it ago tonight lol. can the salinity of the water increase algae growth?

I ask because i am having problems with diatoms and green slimy algae on the glass (live rocks are fine though), they alternate every 2 weeks or so, my phosphates are 0 my nitrates are 5 ppm or less,ph approx 8.1 and i have an external filter and 9w uv and a proteim skimmer well over rated for my tank, i have activated carbon and use no3 p04 - x for phosphates as well as adding trace elements weekly for corals( last 3 weeks), im running halides at 6 hours a day and blue leds at night for 6 hrs.

Now the reason for the salinity question, i had a strange rise in salintiy from 1.026 to 1.034 in approx 2/3 days with no change in system, i had done a water change 3 days prior and buy salted RO (which i didnt check) would this affect it after 3 days? and would this increase the algae growth as my LFS said this would problem would of been increasing gradually over a long period and could be the cause ( althought i check weekly and know it wasnt that high 3 days prior!)

Any help would be appreciated because this algae is a real bummer, and kinda getting me think is it worth all this (who said reefing was easy i hear ya say lol)

Thanks

 

[Donya]

Hey guys, i havent asked any silly questions recently so i thought id give it ago tonight lol. can the salinity of the water increase algae growth?

Usually only if you're taking it from a range it's unhappy with (which would usually make livestock unhappy too) into a reasonable range. However, if there's more of some nutrient in the salt and there's more of the salt mix in the RO...it could be getting more to eat I guess with water changes if the sg of the water in is higher. Would have to be a lot of unwatned stuff in the salt though for that to be the case.

i have activated carbon and use no3 p04 - x

Also, this stuff is removing nitrates as well as phosphates? If so, is there a reason why you're using that instead of letting it be handled biologically? Unsteady nitrate removal leading to nitrate swings could easily be contributing to boom/bust scenario for the algaes. Phosphate removers might be doing the same or helping further the trend if the two nutrients are going up and down together.

Now the reason for the salinity question, i had a strange rise in salintiy from 1.026 to 1.034 in approx 2/3 days with no change in system

Yikes, sounds like RO topoffs need to be stepped up to handle evaporation or the sg of the new water in is way too high. Are these measurements using a refractometer?

 

[spadge]

hey thanks for the reply, yeah i had a problem with high levels of phosphates initially, regardless of my RO supply it seemed to creep up staedily so i was advised to use these? is that not right, is there a better way to biologically controll them? i had readings of nitrate 10-20ppm and phosphates of 0.25 now they are massively reduced. i top up daily wiht plain RO and water change normally every weekend so the sudden rise in 3 days was very unexpected. the LFS used a refractometer to give me the reading yes but my only guess would be high SG of my last water change, 3 days after water change though my hydrometer read 1.026 (hydrometer has approx error of -2 so i get a farily accurate gauge) then 3 days later 1.034 with refractometer, luckily all but my cabbage leather coral seems fine (so far) ive dropped it down to 1.028 and will change another 10l of plain RO tomorrow which should approx bring me back to 1.025 ish. my fish are fine and so are my inverts and corals ....almost, im just confused at the jump in SG and the algae even though my levels are good.

Thanks again for your reply

Oh meant to add my LFS use red sea reef mix for their salted RO i only know because i chat to the owner whilst hes making his mix up now and then.

 

[Donya]

You should be able to get rid of nitrates biologically unless the system is overstocked for LR's filtering capacity, since the LR will help out with the nitrates (and the DSB too if there is one). Refugiums and macroalgae are better and more stable solutions than nitrate removers to go beyond what the LR can offer, since they provide a constant sink rather than one that absorbs a lot initially and then gradually stops after a while. Phosphates are a little trickier since even macroalgaes might not use them up at the rate they're added if there's really an awful lot going in. Running phosphate remover long-term is pretty common, but running nitrate remover is usually only a temporary fix.

If you're using a hydrometer, you need to adjust for temperature and possibly get it checked against a solution of known sg to see if it's out of whack. While I used a hydrometer for years and am a fan of them, you really have to keep on top if cleaning and calibrating if you want accurate results. It's useful to bottle up some water where the sg is known and check the hydrometer with it periodically. If everything in the tank is ok then don't rush the sg change until you know for sure that your readings are right.

EDIT: in addition to the biological nutrient exports I forgot to add skimmers are the other go-to solution to boost the bioload supported by a system. Are you running one currently?

 

[spadge]

sorry its been a while, yeah currently running a v2500 compact skimmer rated way above my tank size plus a 1400l/h external filter with 9w uv light, i have lots of LR but not enough, lol lots more to come yet. m nitrates tend to be ok just the phosphates really, i tested against a refractometer and it was definately that high, im going to be purchasing one as soon as i can afford it. My sand bed is 2/3 inches deep and i also have a sump wiht lots of cheeto, although the lighting under there isnt great due to the limited space i have. i dont think im over stocked either, in fact i have given several fish away recently too.

Now i must admit im still using the no3 p04 - x but will be stopping next week, touch wood i have had no diatoms, cyano or green algaes this week so fingers crossed. i have changed all my media in my filters and baffles, pumps, cleaned skimmers, dismantled lighting to scrub all hair algae from over flow chamber ( strangely the only place it grows?) and done a 50% water change a little each day over about 10 days, hoovered sand, blasted LR with power heads, added 10 turbos 10 ceriths and 10 astrea as well as a few hermits to my existing cuc, even scrubbed and drained sump (almost) and hovered its sand base - FINGERS crossed that will keep it at bay for like a few more days at least

 

[woody88]

You can't beat a good CUC when it comes to getting rid of algae.

I think your lfs need to learn how much salt to mix in with their plain RO!

At least you've give everything a good clean and changed all the media, hopefully that should be the end of your problem.

It took me 2 months to finally get shot of my green hairy algae problems from pretty much the same steps you've taken above.


p.s - Why not get a photo journel up and running of your tank so you and everyone else can see the progress of the tank since it was setup!

 

[spadge]

Id love tp woody but i have literally got no time to do it at the minute, got uni hand ins and full time work so really busy, yeah forgot about your problem, how is the green hair algae now? im just struggling with diatoms really, my short spined urchin takes care of EVERYTHING it is by far the best thing i have for algae in the tank, beats ny tang and snails hands down, i regularly move him to a new peice of LR and he clears it in hours!!!

LOL yeah i thought the same about the RO lol we had a discussion at the LFS needless to say problem solved now, although i should have checked it too!

I was looking at an RO unit but with the amount of waste water produced, compared to RO water and the plumbing it in, i just dont have the time or patience for it at the minute.

 

[woody88]

Hi mate I have diatoms at the mo which my sand sifter kindly buries for me but it's still there the following morning. As for my algae it think it's trying to make a come back.
better replace the rowaphos I think!

I shouldn't be getting things like this as I do 20% water change every week.

That's nano's for ya!

 

[spadge]

Yeah there a pain, i do 20% changes too, but last week did 50 % and the dreaded algae is back, it was at bay un til i got rid of my blue cheek goby (DUMPS sand EVERYWHERE!) now my sand sifter has no chance lol i have a short spined urchin and it strips any sign of ANY algae off my rocks, i dont know if this is common but it is ACE, in fact im buying a multicolour short spine for my overflow chamber too, it fills with allsorts of algae and is a pain to clean so i thought the urchins can do it for me.

Yeah nanos are unforgiving things, a little change is huge in those, my dad has just bought one fully setup so he hasnt had the fortune of algae YET! lol