Super Amounts Of Algae... Wtf?

[unisonsports]

Ok so as u may know, im a nub when it comes to marine tanks, however my tank is fully cycled and ready to go so let me ask you guys this:

Why is my tank being overrun by algae? Its all over the bottom, on the glass, on the filter, and on the heater. This algea is getting out of controll, and the algea i whipe off the glass grows back in like 6 hours. I know lighting has to do with it, i have very bright lights, meant for reef tanks, but i know there has to be a way to run lights and have no algea break outs... So i bought a Lawnmower Blenny, cause i know they like to eat algea... he's having a blast in the tank but he can only eat so much as you can understand...

So what should i do? get some starfish or something? keep in midd there is tons of algea...

 

[Mr Miagi]

Are you using RO water? Using tap water or natural sea water can increase dissolved organics, leading to algae outbreaks. Using Ro water can increase visibility and slow down algae growth.

Water volume is the tank?

 

[Fish Fingers]

Do you have a skimmer on the tank? Sounds like you've got some excess nutrients which is coming from either the saltwater or your tap water (which may be the same thing).

 

[unisonsports]

Ok so as u may know, im a nub when it comes to marine tanks, however my tank is fully cycled and ready to go so let me ask you guys this:

Why is my tank being overrun by algae? Its all over the bottom, on the glass, on the filter, and on the heater. This algea is getting out of controll, and the algea i whipe off the glass grows back in like 6 hours. I know lighting has to do with it, i have very bright lights, meant for reef tanks, but i know there has to be a way to run lights and have no algea break outs... So i bought a Lawnmower Blenny, cause i know they like to eat algea... he's having a blast in the tank but he can only eat so much as you can understand...

So what should i do? get some starfish or something? keep in midd there is tons of algea...

30gal tank, not using Ro water, i dont now wat Ro water is... The water i have is just tap water with the chlorine remover stuff added to it. If i want to switch to Ro water do i need to re-cycle my tank???

Ok so as u may know, im a nub when it comes to marine tanks, however my tank is fully cycled and ready to go so let me ask you guys this:

Why is my tank being overrun by algae? Its all over the bottom, on the glass, on the filter, and on the heater. This algea is getting out of controll, and the algea i whipe off the glass grows back in like 6 hours. I know lighting has to do with it, i have very bright lights, meant for reef tanks, but i know there has to be a way to run lights and have no algea break outs... So i bought a Lawnmower Blenny, cause i know they like to eat algea... he's having a blast in the tank but he can only eat so much as you can understand...

So what should i do? get some starfish or something? keep in midd there is tons of algea...

30gal tank, not using Ro water, i dont now wat Ro water is... The water i have is just tap water with the chlorine remover stuff added to it. If i want to switch to Ro water do i need to re-cycle my tank???

NO skimmer, the guy said i really dont need one for 30gal...

 

[Fish Fingers]

You don't really need a skimmer on a tank that size...but I would probably put one on just to help with water quality. RO water is pure water. Your tap water would contain metals, minerals, chemicals, etc and an RO filter gets rid of all this junk. You don't need to recycle your tank if you put it in, you just replace your tapp water with it when your topping up.

 

[Chac]

Sorry to be rude but one of thing you cant skimp on with marine keeping is Reasearch & IMO that is exactly what you have done.

I do believe that a descent sized skimmer would do your tank the world of good as would using RO Water

Do you have any clean up crew??

 

[unisonsports]

Look, just tell me wats up with the algae ok?

 

[Chac]

Read the posts you have your answer

A bit of reasearch won't kill you but a lack of it will kill your livestock




I am more than willing to help anyone, so long as they are willing to put a bit of effort in themselves & not just demand answers, the tank is yours & so is the need for reaseach, everyone on the board is here to help & be helped when it is needed, but to me you simply want quick fix answers without the hassle of learning them yourself

its a 2 way street

 

[Navarre]

OK the algae is growing because the tank is not mature (cycled yes but not mature) This means there are all sorts of i mbalances occuring in the water and this can take time to sort itself out. The fastest way to achieve this is by following a few simple rules.

RO Water: Use RO water wherever and whenever you can. It is simply pure water whereas tap water is probably dumping large amounts of phosphates and nitrates into your tank... Algae needs one of these 2 substances as a food source to grow.

Cleanup crew. Often overlooked but critically important. 1 cleanup crew per gallon of tank is recomended. sounds alot but it is really necessary.

Test kits. Check your water daily at this early stage, this is because the tank still yet has no large quantities of living organism to deal with stabalising conditions.

Liverock. You made no mention of liverock in your tank but this is vital for a keeping nitrates low. 1kg per 2 gallons of tank is needed as a minimum filtration tool in a tank.


Algae doesnt feed off bright lights alone, if it did then the 700w combination of halides over my system would create a green jungle in my tank Algae needs 2 things to survive, food and light, take away the light and it will find it hard to photosynthesis and thus no energy to break down the food it has absorbed. It will still grow but very slowly. Nitrates and phosphates are the very food sources it loves to eat. Look at sewer outlet that are rich in such food sources, they are usually encrusted with all sorts of algaes etc. Stagnant pools where its protien rich usually has large quantities of algae too. So making sure your water is clear of nitrates and phosphate is critical. If you are using tap water then this is hard because with each water change you are adding even more food for the algae to live upon. Invest in an RO unit or simply purchase RO water from your lfs if they sell it.

 

[unisonsports]

I used tap water the first day i setup my tank, but every time i do a waterchange i use Distilled water, i'm not sure if its the same as RO water but i think it is... As for cleanup crew, i assume u mean small shrimp and crabs and such so i'll go to the lfs and ask the guy about them. I test my water everyday and the Nitrates read at almost 0... i'm assuming the algae is eating them all because before the algae started to grow the nitrates read very high. I have about 15lbs of liverock, its a 30gal tank so i know i need to get mroe but i'm low on cash atm.

ty for your help

 

[Navarre]

OK this is a good start. The algae is almost certainly feeding upon the nitrates as the readings are now much lower and the algae is much larger. (Many people use algae in their sumps to deal with unwanted nitrates and phophates(.

Cleanup crew are snails and hermits. Shrimps are ok and good scavengers but snails and hermits are hte main body of the workforce.

 

[unisonsports]

Do starfish count? And as for snails and hermets, are they expensive? i got 30 gal so i'll need 30 of the little guys

 

[unisonsports]

Oh, watabout those sandcrabs i can catch at the beach... will those work? will those even live in my tank? i understand they like pretty cold water... my tank is at about 75-79f

 

[Navarre]

Dont add crabs from local shores. There is no telling what damage they might do. they are probably predatory so your fish will be at risk. just keep with snails and hermits. The cost really depends on the shop you buy them from, i have seen snails and hermits from as little as £1 each to £5 each.

 

[fish_keeper2]

snails
crabs
shrimp


these give you an idea of what you can have for a cleaning crew. theres others to but these are the hardiest and easest to keep.

btw starfish arent really for bigginers and need a very mature and stable tank or they can/will die and crash your tank. and yes a starfish can be part of the cleaning crew.

as chac had said research is the key. with out it there really is now hope of having a successfull marine tank. chac is full of info and will gladly help and so are nav, SH and many of the rest of us.