Algea in new tank. Take action?

[Kial]

Hey

Starting to get some proper algea in the tank now after about 4 months. Cyano and some short fuzzy GHA over most of the rocks. It's still to short to pluck out though. Before this I only really had diatoms come and go.

Now what is the best action I should take here? Being a new tank, should I just simply let it run its course and keep up with my water changes, hoping it passes?

I'm more concerned about the GHA going crazy. I do have a scopas tang, snails and some hermits.

 

[Kial]

Will be doing my water testing this afternoon so will post those soon

 

[laezur]

CuC and manual removal of GHA and cyano, chemicals will make things worse at this stage imo. Got to get through it

 

[BanjoBandito]

A toothbrush and some elbow grease can clean your rocks. It’s an uphill battle at first but it’ll die down soon enough. The cyano can be sucked out and check your flow, you might not be getting enough.

 

[BanjoBandito]

As I’ve been told many many many times when I gripe about algae problems - YOU ARE THE BEST AND MOST EFFECTIVE CUC.

 

[Kial]

A toothbrush and some elbow grease can clean your rocks. It’s an uphill battle at first but it’ll die down soon enough. The cyano can be sucked out and check your flow, you might not be getting enough.

Yeah definitely need some more flow when I can afford to get some more pumps.

When scrubbing with toothbrush. Can this make or spread if I miss some when siphoning it out?

 

[vetteguy53081]

This is cyano algae and no panic as of yet. It is actually a combo of algae and bacteria giving it - its name. Cyano is a common photosynthetic organismfound in an array of colors such as green, purple and black. Like us human when we consume high levels of sugar, oyur waste begins to bloom - same happens in your tank when concentrations of phosphate, nitrate and other organic compounds are too high.
So as for cause, some typical items are :

- Not Enough Air Bubbles: Typically, a protein skimmer fills water with tiny air bubbles. As bubbles form from the reaction chamber, dissolved organic compound molecules stick to them. Foam forms at the surface of the water and is then transferred to a collection cup, where it rests as skimmate
- Too Much Reef Food: Overstocking / overfeeding your aquarium with nutrients is often the culprit of a cyano bloom
- Premature Live Rocks :Adding live rock that isn’t completely cured which becomes a breeding ground for red slime algae
- Infrequent Water Changes: If you don’t change your water with enough frequency, you’ll soon have a brightly colored red slime algae bloom. Regular water changes will dilute nutrients that feed cyanobacteria and keeps your tank clear
- Poor water Source: Using water source which contains nitrates or phosphates is like rolling out a welcome mat for cyano
- Slow running water will run Red: Inadequate water flow is one leading cause of cyano bloomsas slow moving water combined with excess dissolved nutrients is a recipe for red slime algae development

Once you identify the cause, keep it simple. . . . . I recommend to reduce white light intensity or even turn them off for 5-7 days. Add liquid bacteria daily for a week during the day at 1.5ml per 10 gallons. Add Hydrogen peroxide at night at 1ml per 10 gallons. Add a pouch of chemipure Elite which will balance phos and nitrate and keep them in check.

After the week, add a few snails such as cerith, margarita, astrea and nassarius plus 6-8 blue leg hermits to take control.

 

[BanjoBandito]

Yeah definitely need some more flow when I can afford to get some more pumps.

When scrubbing with toothbrush. Can this make or spread if I miss some when siphoning it out?

Nah it shouldn’t. I usually just scrub it free then do a water change to get most of it out. Your scopas tang might pick of a couple fluffs if they are in the water column. It’s just one of those things, we all have algae in our tanks but the people that don’t keep up on it will post the “GHA TAKING OVER HELP” threads. Take care of it when it’s small and manageable! And yes, don’t try a quick fix chemical product! Reef tanks are like a garden, sometimes you gotta weed and water and do all the not so fun stuff. A little patience and a little elbow grease go a long way! I try and pull tufts of GHA off my rocks when I’m doing water changes weekly. My routine is usually only 15-20 min a week (minus time to make water).

 

[Kial]

Thanks for the responses all.

So here's my current parameters:

Alk 7.6
Calc 400
Mag 1440
Phosphate 0.03
Nitrate 5
Salinity 1.026
Temp 25

Feel the nitrate and phos is most likely higher though as gha must be using some of that right?

Just from these readings I probably shouldn't be adding any phos remover etc. Or should I add some anyway to help.

 

[gbroadbridge]

Hey

Starting to get some proper algea in the tank now after about 4 months. Cyano and some short fuzzy GHA over most of the rocks. It's still to short to pluck out though. Before this I only really had diatoms come and go.

Now what is the best action I should take here? Being a new tank, should I just simply let it run its course and keep up with my water changes, hoping it passes?

I'm more concerned about the GHA going crazy. I do have a scopas tang, snails and some hermits.

It's a normal tank stage.

Having said that, you can't just ignore it or it really will get out of control.
Manual removal using a toothbrush if necessary and upping the number of algae eaters in the tank is the go. Build up the CuC.

You dont mention the size of the tank, but for a 75gal you'd be looking at 20 snails, 2 or so Conches to help the Scopas Tang.

 

[Kial]

It's a normal tank stage.

Having said that, you can't just ignore it or it really will get out of control.
Manual removal using a toothbrush if necessary and upping the number of algae eaters in the tank is the go. Build up the CuC.

You dont mention the size of the tank, but for a 75gal you'd be looking at 20 snails, 2 or so Conches to help the Scopas Tang.

Yeah need to add to my CUC big time I think. It's close to a 500L tank with the sump volume. Went to get some more yesterday but didn't have what I was looking for unfortunately.

I'm going to get to work on the scrubbing next Water change, may do a small one tomorrow eventhough I did one yesterday

 

[gbroadbridge]

Yeah need to add to my CUC big time I think. It's close to a 500L tank with the sump volume. Went to get some more yesterday but didn't have what I was looking for unfortunately.

I'm going to get to work on the scrubbing next Water change, may do a small one tomorrow eventhough I did one yesterday

30 Trochus snails on the rocks, and 6 Strombus snails for the gravel

It seems like a lot of money for something that just crawls around, but makes a huge difference to the amount of work maintaining the tank.

If you keep the glass clean with a flipper or something, the snails will stay on the rocks where they belong

 

[Lavey29]

Doesn't look bad at all. Typical new tank ugly phase. Add divers cleaner crew maintain good parameters and stay the course.

 

[mkereefer]

Will be doing my water testing this afternoon so will post those soon

what was parameters?

 

[Freddy0144]

Personally, I would not add any Chemical "remover" to the tank, if anything, I would be dosing MicroBacter 7 as per the instructions on the bottle.

Other than that manual removal and increase flow and clean filters regularly like every other day or daily. unless you have a roller mat then just let it do its thing.

 

[Reefahholic]

Phosphate 0.03
Nitrate 5

Personally I’d bring up PO4 a little. I find that when it gets to the lower end funky algae species and Cyano will start to dominate. You’d be surprised what a little higher nutrients can do for a reef. Also, order several Astraea snails for your reef. I recently put about 75 in my 105/G. Good luck.

 

[Reefahholic]

Personally, I would not add any Chemical "remover" to the tank, if anything, I would be dosing MicroBacter 7 as per the instructions on the bottle.

Other than that manual removal and increase flow and clean filters regularly like every other day or daily. unless you have a roller mat then just let it do its thing.

I agree with not adding chemicals.

Adding bacteria at this point (although natural) will likely drop his nutrients and if he’s not dosing back to the system the algae will get worse. He’s sitting on the border line right now. A young system at 4 months doesn’t need high nutrients, but it does need enough to avoid funky algae species that dominate in low and depleted nutrient environments. I’d personally get N up to 6-8 ppm and PO4 up to .06-.08 ppm. If he can hold it there then it would be safe to dose some bacteria but I don’t think it’s needed at this point. This is normal for a system at this age. I think the best course of action is to get a good size CUC with diversity and slightly increase nutrients and let the tank do it’s thing w/o too much intervention on his part.

 

[Kial]

I agree with not adding chemicals.

Adding bacteria at this point (although natural) will likely drop his nutrients and if he’s not dosing back to the system the algae will get worse. He’s sitting on the border line right now. A young system at 4 months doesn’t need high nutrients, but it does need enough to avoid funky algae species that dominate in low and depleted nutrient environments. I’d personally get N up to 6-8 ppm and PO4 up to .06-.08 ppm. If he can hold it there then it would be safe to dose some bacteria but I don’t think it’s needed at this point. This is normal for a system at this age. I think the best course of action is to get a good size CUC with diversity and slightly increase nutrients and let the tank do it’s thing w/o too much intervention on his part.

i have just ordered some more CUC. Have some turbos, stromb and hermits coming, got what was available.

Will my nutrients not be technically higher anyway due to the algae taking in nutrients? Im a bit hesitant to add more food etc incase the GHA gets worse

 

[gbroadbridge]

I agree with not adding chemicals.

Adding bacteria at this point (although natural) will likely drop his nutrients and if he’s not dosing back to the system the algae will get worse. He’s sitting on the border line right now. A young system at 4 months doesn’t need high nutrients, but it does need enough to avoid funky algae species that dominate in low and depleted nutrient environments. I’d personally get N up to 6-8 ppm and PO4 up to .06-.08 ppm. If he can hold it there then it would be safe to dose some bacteria but I don’t think it’s needed at this point. This is normal for a system at this age. I think the best course of action is to get a good size CUC with diversity and slightly increase nutrients and let the tank do it’s thing w/o too much intervention on his part.

Quick note. MB7 is not easily (legally) available in Australia.

Closest thing is Continuum Bacter Gen M, which I agree would probably not be useful at this point.

 

[Reefahholic]

i have just ordered some more CUC. Have some turbos, stromb and hermits coming, got what was available.

Will my nutrients not be technically higher anyway due to the algae taking in nutrients? Im a bit hesitant to add more food etc incase the GHA gets worse

Excellent.

No the algae will consume the PO4 mostly and you’ll need to dose it back should it get lower than it currently is. I like .06 ppm in my tank as a safe bottom. I try to keep it there or above. .03 is getting on the low end. Of course this all depends on the system, but being that your tank is 4 months I’m tryin to help you target the most optimal level as my new tank is only 5 months. I’ve seen in several of my new systems the same things repeat themselves in lower nutrient conditions. If you’re tank was 2+ years the conversation would be different.