Algae chaos

at11ok · Oct 14, 2021

Alright so I’m having an algae problem. I have no idea what to do. I’ve added snails and a blenny but I can’t keep it under control and I have to take my live rock out to scrub all the algae off. Imma nitrates and nitrites are still 0 as per the tests so I have no clue why it keeps going out of control. Today I decided to do a deep clean on everything in my tank to I took everything out and scrubbed all of the algae off then scrubbed the glass of my tank and now there’s algae floating everywhere that I’m trying to take out with a fish net which seems to be working but I feel that it well get worse with the algae bloom everywhere. There’s also a rock with my coral on it that i don’t want to take out to scrub the algae off cuz i don’t want to damage the Kenya. Any ideas of what I can do to control the algae? I have a skimmer running all the time too. This is mid water change.
Is it supposed to be this foggy when doing water changes?

RC51 · Oct 14, 2021

at11ok said:
Alright so I’m having an algae problem. I have no idea what to do. I’ve added snails and a blenny but I can’t keep it under control and I have to take my live rock out to scrub all the algae off. Imma nitrates and nitrites are still 0 as per the tests so I have no clue why it keeps going out of control. Today I decided to do a deep clean on everything in my tank to I took everything out and scrubbed all of the algae off then scrubbed the glass of my tank and now there’s algae floating everywhere that I’m trying to take out with a fish net which seems to be working but I feel that it well get worse with the algae bloom everywhere. There’s also a rock with my coral on it that i don’t want to take out to scrub the algae off cuz i don’t want to damage the Kenya. Any ideas of what I can do to control the algae? I have a skimmer running all the time too. This is mid water change.
Is it supposed to be this foggy when doing water changes?

Get a cheap UV sterilizer and scrub the algae off the rocks. It worked on my nano and all my other freshwater tanks whenever I have a uncontrollable algae outbreak

Dom · Oct 14, 2021

The foggy appearance in your water column appears to be a bacterial bloom. Algae blooms and bacterial blooms are two different things. And based on the photos, it would appear that you have both.

We need to know more about your tank. What is the latest water test results and when did you do the test?

You are using a hang on filter. And this type of filter uses sponges that become a great place for bacteria to feast and multiply. Clean the sponge and other media in that filter regularly. In fact, I'd suggest that you rinse it in old tank water when doing your water changes. Regular cleaning of your hang on filter and water changes should clear up the bacterial bloom. Also, a UV sterilizer will help.

As for the algae, you have to remove the source of nutrition. When you have algae, you usually have high, sustained levels of NO3 (Nitrates) and P04 (Phosphates).

Again REGULAR, FAITHFUL, WEEKLY water changes will help to eliminate algae. But for water changes to be effective, they need to be large enough. Each of my tanks get 20% water changes on a weekly basis. So if your tank is 100 gallons, you need to swap out 20 gallons per week.

Until you bring down your nutrient levels, manual removal is all you can do to remove algae. I would suggest that you do manual removal right before your water change so that you siphon out any free floating algae from the water.

Dom