0 nitrates and .02 phosphates but tank overwhelmed by Green hair algae

[JustAnt]

Test kits used: api nitrate test kit and Hanna phosphate checker.

Source water: tap water run through a 6 stage BRS RODI filter. Zero TDS

Tank: Reefer 250 so with sump it’s about 65 gallons. Run a skimmer (nyos) a bag of carbon in sump and filter floss. Tank is mature; about 4 years old.

I run a mixed reef with 5 fish 10+ corals. I feed about 2 cubes of mysis a week for the past 6 months to try to reduce algae (didn’t work)

I have 2 HD primes by AI on the tank. I reduced the photo period from 10 hrs to about 8 hours to try to reduce algae growth- didn’t work.

I have read up on this issue and it appears many reef keepers have run into the problem I’m having. It was even described in a BRS video. The reason why the nitrates and phosphates are low AND I have GHA is likely that the large amount of GHA is consuming the nitrates and phosphates giving a reading of zero. I believe this is what I’m experiencing. Problem is I don’t know how to fix it.

Today I manually removed as much algae as possible. Other than manually pulling out the hair algae the only other step I took was to start dosing 2ml of nopox.

Any recommendations to solve the problem? Thanks in advance.

 

[AJsReef]

The problem with GHA is once it’s established it’s very efficient at pulling the nutrients it needs out of the system. Do you have any pictures of your algae? Knowing the specific king is beneficial for an action plan.

I have had success with Reef Flux (Fluconazole) and Vibrant in the past. Although, it’s a slow journey to irradiation

 

[JustAnt]

The problem with GHA is once it’s established it’s very efficient at pulling the nutrients it needs out of the system. Do you have any pictures of your algae? Knowing the specific king is beneficial for an action plan.

I have had success with Reef Flux (Fluconazole) and Vibrant in the past. Although, it’s a slow journey to irradiation

I didn’t take a picture of the GHA. Never heard of reef flux or vibrant. Are those products used to kill off hair algae?

 

[AJsReef]

They are, Reef Flux is particularly successful in killing bryopsis but I’ve had success against GHA. Vibrant has worked wonders for GHA as well. I believe BRS has some videos on both products

They key is when you start to notice die off it’s important to maintain low nutrient levels usually with increased WCs and GFO as they will release stored nutrients back into the water

 

[JustAnt]

Ok just read on BRS that reef flux doesn’t work on hair/ turf algae. So def not going that route. I’ll look up vibrant. Thanks for advice

 

[robbyg]

I noticed you don't mention water changes. Also when last have you cleaned the substrate in the tank and sump. There will often time be tons of detritus in the sand and under the rock work. That may be feeding the GHA. I would give the tank a good clean down and remove as much GHA as possible and then do a 20% water change after each session. Repeat this for three to four weeks and it should start to look better.

I am not a fan of chemicals. They may or may not help but they are typically not the real solution.

 

[fish farmer]

Manual removal while doing water changes, siphon as much as you can. Add an area in your sump to grow chaeto.

Do you have any snails or other algae eating critters? An urchin or turbos would be a good fit for your size tank.

 

[JustAnt]

Manual removal while doing water changes, siphon as much as you can. Add an area in your sump to grow chaeto.

Do you have any snails or other algae eating critters? An urchin or turbos would be a good fit for your size tank.

I tried growing sea lettuce in a small area of sump with an AI refugium light. It grew for some months then just died. I do have about 3 large trochus snails(I think). They r the kind that can flip themselves over. Also about 8 narrisus (sp) snails. all my hermits killed each other but I never saw them eat GHA.

 

[JustAnt]

I noticed you don't mention water changes. Also when last have you cleaned the substrate in the tank and sump. There will often time be tons of detritus in the sand and under the rock work. That may be feeding the GHA. I would give the tank a good clean down and remove as much GHA as possible and then do a 20% water change after each session. Repeat this for three to four weeks and it should start to look better.

I am not a fan of chemicals. They may or may not help but they are typically not the real solution.

You r correct. I don’t do water changes. Haven’t in 2 years but the GHA only became a problem the last 6 months or so. I’m sure a few water changes can help. I’ll get on that. I’m not a fan of cleaning sand bed. When I’ve done in the past the sand gets diatoms. Also once I cleaned too much of sand bed and destroyed the bio system of the tank.

 

[JustAnt]

Anyone have any thought on the use of nopox in my situation

 

[AJsReef]

It is very likely a build up of detritus in your sand bed overtime is what caused the GHA. Sand bend maintenance is a critical piece of up keep long term unless you’re running a true deep sand bed.

It would be beneficial to sand shift using a gravel vac during your water changes. Albeit, I would only do 10-15% of the sand every water change.

 

[JustAnt]

Corals r all closed bc I was in there for hours pulling GHA

 

[AJsReef]

Series of 10-20% water changes, while gravel vaccing the sand combined with manual removal should get you moving in the right direction. I can’t speak highly enough of my experiences with Vibrant helping though. It speeds up the process IME

 

[JustAnt]

It is very likely a build up of detritus in your sand bed overtime is what caused the GHA. Sand bend maintenance is a critical piece of up keep long term unless you’re running a true deep sand bed.

It would be beneficial to sand shift using a gravel vac during your water changes. Albeit, I would only do 10-15% of the sand every water change.

Ok thanks. I do have those snails that live under the sand in order to keep the sand bed mixed

 

[robbyg]

You r correct. I don’t do water changes. Haven’t in 2 years but the GHA only became a problem the last 6 months or so. I’m sure a few water changes can help. I’ll get on that. I’m not a fan of cleaning sand bed. When I’ve done in the past the sand gets diatoms. Also once I cleaned too much of sand bed and destroyed the bio system of the tank.

Another person just like myself that has tried the no water change route
Yep I got to a little over two years just like you. Everything was great until it wasn't !!
Yep same problem, I had GHA then Diatoms then GHA again. From experience I knew not to go the chemical route. I suspect if you do your going to make the problem ten times worst than it is. I also got advice from a friend to do some major work and clean up the tank. I ignored it and did small stuff like a single big water change, pull out the algae, lights out for 3-4 days. None of these helped and the tank just suddenly went off the rails and I had heavy losses.

I can't stress to you enough how important it is that you now take on this problem with a lot of manual labor and clean the tank down, change water and keep on repeating the process until you start to win the war. This may take two months of your Saturdays or Sundays to fix but it can be done.

In about 80% of the cases I have seen like this, it is Apathy that sets in and the owner looks for a quick magic potient. In the end the tank often crashes hard and they either give up or spend years and years trying to get back what they once had. I am honestly trying to save you from this mistake. I did it and it took me three years to get back to where I was before.

 

[JustAnt]

Another person just like myself that has tried the no water change route
Yep I got to a little over two years just like you. Everything was great until it wasn't !!
Yep same problem, I had GHA then Diatoms then GHA again. From experience I knew not to go the chemical route. I suspect if you do your going to make the problem ten times worst than it is. I also got advice from a friend to do some major work and clean up the tank. I ignored it and did small stuff like a single big water change, pull out the algae, lights out for 3-4 days. None of these helped and the tank just suddenly went off the rails and I had heavy losses.

I can't stress to you enough how important it is that you now take on this problem with a lot of manual labor and clean the tank down, change water and keep on repeating the process until you start to win the war. This may take two months of your Saturdays or Sundays to fix but it can be done.

In about 80% of the cases I have seen like this, it is Apathy that sets in and the owner looks for a quick magic potient. In the end the tank often crashes hard and they either give up or spend years and years trying to get back what they once had. I am honestly trying to save you from this mistake. I did it and it took me three years to get back to where I was before.

Thank you for the time u spent with a detailed reply.

water changes are not easy for me. in short it involves 5 gallon buckets and 2 flights of stairs. I’d rather spend my time on other things than WC. I found the hobby enjoyable when I didn’t have to do water changes. I’ve automated dosing with a doser and auto top off, but can’t automate WC. Honestly if i now have to once again begin water changes I’ll probably get out of the hobby. Or I guess I can give the Triton method a try. I don’t think water changes are needed using Triton method.

 

[NS Mike D]

calling @brandon429

Brandon has done enough rip cleans that the idea 100% water changes and sand rinsing doesn't throw the biological filtration off (if done properly).

Sounds like you may need a rip clean. The idea is that you remove your rock, rasp all the GHA off with H202 and rinse. Total rinse of the sand bed as well.

I just saw him exchange with a reefer with a 14k g tank where a rip clean wasn't possible but a long term plan of, I think, fluconazole and vibrant worked. Don't quote me, I'll let him speak with. you

Chemicals can work in the short terms, but if the underlying issues are not resolved the problems quickly return

Also, remediation is more difficult than prevention. Best if you can physically remove as much algae from the tank as possible. Killing algae in the tank releases the compounds back into the water and scrubbing it off in the tank just helps it spread (thus the remove and clean).

Detritus is often a problem, thus the sand rinse (and this becomes a preventative measure).

While the rip clean is very effective, in some cases the chemicals are needed to finish the job. Rip cleaning first gives the bottle solutions a huge head start


That's the gist. Hopefully Brandon will arrive and explain technique

 

[robbyg]

Thank you for the time u spent with a detailed reply.

water changes are not easy for me. in short it involves 5 gallon buckets and 2 flights of stairs. I’d rather spend my time on other things than WC. I found the hobby enjoyable when I didn’t have to do water changes. I’ve automated dosing with a doser and auto top off, but can’t automate WC. Honestly if i now have to once again begin water changes I’ll probably get out of the hobby. Or I guess I can give the Triton method a try. I don’t think water changes are needed using Triton method.

Thanks. I fully understand your position.
Maybe you can look at ways of making water changes easier. I don't know if this is a two story house or an apartment. If it's your own house you can run Ro lines to downstairs and have a mixing station in your garage. Maybe investing in an easy water changing system is the first step you need to take.

 

[JustAnt]

calling @brandon429

Brandon has done enough rip cleans that the idea 100% water changes and sand rinsing doesn't throw the biological filtration off (if done properly).

Sounds like you may need a rip clean. The idea is that you remove your rock, rasp all the GHA off with H202 and rinse. Total rinse of the sand bed as well.

I just saw him exchange with a reefer with a 14k g tank where a rip clean wasn't possible but a long term plan of, I think, fluconazole and vibrant worked. Don't quote me, I'll let him speak with. you

Chemicals can work in the short terms, but if the underlying issues are not resolved the problems quickly return

Also, remediation is more difficult than prevention. Best if you can physically remove as much algae from the tank as possible. Killing algae in the tank releases the compounds back into the water and scrubbing it off in the tank just helps it spread (thus the remove and clean).

Detritus is often a problem, thus the sand rinse (and this becomes a preventative measure).

While the rip clean is very effective, in some cases the chemicals are needed to finish the job. Rip cleaning first gives the bottle solutions a huge head start


That's the gist. Hopefully Brandon will arrive and explain technique

Sounds like a crap ton of work I’m not prepared to do. Mayb it’s time for me to move on.. IDK

 

[JustAnt]

Too bad I don’t have a local fish store. I would pay them for a few months of water changes.