Beat algae bloom. Now what ?

[Barb0713]

Hi,
So… I have a 6 month old nano reef. I just beat a bad Green algae / bacteria bloom with a combination of protein skimmer , uv sterilizer, daily water changes , manual removal , shortened lighting , stopped feeding. lol anyway. Hallelujah.. it’s crystal clear . Question is. What now ? Leave all of the equalities running as is . UV sterilizer and protein skimmer 24. /7. To maintain this state ?
Thanks for listening.

 

[Peace River]

Congratulations on the win!!! IMO the next step is to establish stability.

 

[Barb0713]

Congratulations on the win!!! IMO the next step is to establish stability.

Thanks !!! My numbers are stable. So , leave the protein skimmer and the up sterilizer running all the time ?

 

[Peace River]

My understanding is that the energy savings of running the UV part time is often offset by the extra wear and tear on the bulb shortening their life when you turn it on and off every day.

If your skimmer is pulling out skimmate, then I would continue to run it.

 

[CHSUB]

I would remove the uv after a week or 2, it is most effective against bacteria blooms and not much else. Remember, however, fighting algae and tank maintenance is never won it is a constant battle. Skimmer running forever….

Thread 'Time to remove UV?'
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/time-to-remove-uv.1072178/

 

[Dan_P]

Hi,
So… I have a 6 month old nano reef. I just beat a bad Green algae / bacteria bloom with a combination of protein skimmer , uv sterilizer, daily water changes , manual removal , shortened lighting , stopped feeding. lol anyway. Hallelujah.. it’s crystal clear . Question is. What now ? Leave all of the equalities running as is . UV sterilizer and protein skimmer 24. /7. To maintain this state ?
Thanks for listening.

The daily water changes can be stopped. 24/7 protein skimming is “normal”. Some reefers use a UV sterilizer al the time. Start feeding assuming everything has starved to death. Lighting cycle should match the needs of the inmates. Continue vigilance and manual removal

 

[Miami Reef]

Lighting cycle should match the needs of the inmates

Inmates? lol

 

[Barb0713]

Lighting cycle should match the needs of the inmates

Inmates? lol

Yeah I have a Duncan colony and a hairy mushroom colony that is thriving and I have some GSP and some fender bender cyphastria I use an aquastar G5. I got it like 18 weeks n he’s above water at 55 %blues and purples and 4 % whites for 12 hours including sunrise and sunset. I adjusted the ramping up and down time to have a little less full day and the coral is still happy and I think it assisted in the clearing of the tank.

 

[Barb0713]

My understanding is that the energy savings of running the UV part time is often offset by the extra wear and tear on the bulb shortening their life when you turn it on and off every day.

If your skimmer is pulling out skimmate, then I would continue to run it.

Thank you. :) my sand is white again. It was about a month battle .. but, I think I will just leave it run. It is only a clip on 3 watt on a 20 gallon. But, it worked excellent. The green eating machine brand. Best 35 dollars I ever spent. It didn’t do it alone but , it was a big part of it.

 

[Barb0713]

Lighting cycle should match the needs of the inmates

Inmates? lol

Yeah I have a Duncan colony and a hairy mushroom colony that is thriving and I have some GSP and some fender bender cyphastria I use an aquastar G5. I got it like 18 weeks n he’s above water at 55 %blues and purples and 4 % whites for 12 hours including sunrise and sunset. I adjusted the ramping up and down time to have a little less full day and the coral is still happy and I think it assisted in the clearing of the tank.

Oh and other inmates
Brown knobby brittle starfish
yWG
2 baby clowns
1 chromie
4 nassarius snails
2 Mexican turbos
4 astrea snails

Some say I have too many fish , but these 4 have been in there since the beginning 6 months ago and they all occupy their own space
The YWG sleeps in the caves with the starfish and
The chomis thinks he is a clown and they accept him as such
lol it works I have cut back 80 % on feeding since the outbreak tho and I will not go back to what I was feeding.

 

[Peace River]

The chomis thinks he is a clown and they accept him as such

Chromis and Clownfish are both Pomacentridae, which is the family of damselfishes and clownfishes. While they fit into different genus, they are still loosely related. This often means that they will either get along or they won't without much in between. All that to say that they have similar levels of aggression so they can often hold there own against each other.