Getting rid of algea id a game of patience

[DancingShark]

Tank has been running for exactly a year. Set up November 2018.

Never tested for phosphate or NO3.

Dry rock used.

50 to 100 percent water changes ever 2 weeks. A bunch of times it went longer.

Algea cleared at around June 2019.

Filter sock used. Changed when I remembered.

Manual removal, lots of it. And netting the floating debris.

No skimmer until mid October of 2019.

Before and after

 

[Juice780]

What did you do to get rid of it

 

[DancingShark]

What did you do to get rid of it

Everything is in the first post. Nothing but water changes and manual removal. And like the title says. Lots of patience. No miracle products or stuff like that.

I am still battling bubble algea but that isn't out of hand yet. Every time I do water changes which is once a month now when I have time I remove them with a siphon.

 

[Juice780]

Do you know the source of your algae

 

[DancingShark]

I am guessing phosphate leaching from rock work. If that's what you are asking. It was never cycled or cleaned out of the tank.

For sure it wasn't from the rodi.
I even got some bryopsis form a frag. That died out as well.
My guess is once the rock stopped leaching phosphate into the water everthing leveled out.

Same thing happened to my 125g two years ago.
Water changes to keep phosphate down with nutrient export by manual removal of algea until they starve out.
It's as simple as that. Again it takes a long time.

 

[brandon429]

excellent documentation, laser clear pics

 

[s_tempest]

thank you for such great documentation and giving hope!

 

[oversd]

What are you using for you nutrient export methods?

 

[DancingShark]

Water changes every now and then. I just do it when I vacuum the substrate to replace the water I took out now. I use miss wages pickle and lime to replenish calcium and alk.

I had a refugium but it was so small I let it die. I felt it wasn't doing much for the size. It's a ten gallon sump. I have a skimmer and that seems to skim alot of junk out.

 

[DancingShark]

Oh. I do wacth how much I feed aswell.
Funny thing is the flow sets all the poop next to this brain coral. It then picks it all up and eats it. Win win.