Green algae problem and coral bleaching

[Whiteydenewf]

So this is my son’s tank. Every week it is a fight to control the hair algae. He currently has a clown, peppermint shrimp, skunk cleaner shrimp, Halloween hermit crab, emerald crab, a couple astrea snails, 2 turban snails, 2 bumblebee snails, 4 margarita snails, and a cowrie snail.

Every week we do water changes. Phosphates are good. Nitrates are good. Every month we vacuum the back of the tank and change up the carbon and GfO. During water changes we suction the sand to remove waste. And I pinch as much of the hair algae as possible to reduce growth. But every week the darn stuff keeps coming back. We use the product Vibrant weekly as directed. Saltwater is at 33ppm.

He’s had this tank for 2 years and we have solved problems through this site’s forums, but I’m going crazy. Can anyone throw out some suggestions?

thanks

 

[Whiteydenewf]

So this is my son’s tank. Every week it is a fight to control the hair algae. He currently has a clown, peppermint shrimp, skunk cleaner shrimp, Halloween hermit crab, emerald crab, a couple astrea snails, 2 turban snails, 2 bumblebee snails, 4 margarita snails, and a cowrie snail.

Every week we do water changes. Phosphates are good. Nitrates are good. Every month we vacuum the back of the tank and change up the carbon and GfO. During water changes we suction the sand to remove waste. And I pinch as much of the hair algae as possible to reduce growth. But every week the darn stuff keeps coming back. We use the product Vibrant weekly as directed. Saltwater is at 33ppm.

He’s had this tank for 2 years and we have solved problems through this site’s forums, but I’m going crazy. Can anyone throw out some suggestions?

thanks

Also we’ve had many coral deaths. I’m wondering if there’s something else I should be testing?

 

[Glenner’sreef]

Tell us about:
1. Lights and lighting schedule are the lights on a timer.
2. Rock, originally live rock or dry, bought used, die off etc.
3. Is the tank receiving 3 hours of direct sun each morning when you’re at work and kids are at school.
4. phosphates are good hmm? What are they.
5. Pellets and Reefroids every day?
I’m totally on your side bud. Answer each one. It’s all cause and affect. Let find it.

 

[Glenner’sreef]

Adding one:
6. TDS, are you using RODI? Are the filters good. Can you monitor tds? Do you get your water from lfs.

 

[Whiteydenewf]

Tell us about:
1. Lights and lighting schedule are the lights on a timer.
2. Rock, originally live rock or dry, bought used, die off etc.
3. Is the tank receiving 3 hours of direct sun each morning when you’re at work and kids are at school.
4. phosphates are good hmm? What are they.
5. Pellets and Reefroids every day?
I’m totally on your side bud. Answer each one. It’s all cause and affect. Let find it.

thanks for the reply!

Ok bear with me as I’m still new.
1. Lights: I have aqua knight v2 lights. They are on timers. I have been suspicious of these and yet to find answers. I have found settings for them on reef2reef but I’m honestly unsure if they are right. They have a blue, white, and an in between lighter blue. I’ve minimized morning 8am light, especially white as I had previous concerns. The afternoon starts at 12pm and has brighter blues and again less intense white. The evening light is near zero. Just enough to see. It starts 8pm I believe (my son is sleeping now). I can get back with the exact settings tomorrow.

2. the rock was bought brand new. Live rock. It has some of the coralline purple growth going but not everywhere.

3. the tank is in my son’s basement bedroom. Light is present but not full sun.

4. Last reading on phosphorus was 36 on using a Hanna ULR. That corresponds to 0.110 ppm of phosphate and I think that I messed up here. I was mistaking the phosphorous for phosphate. Please weigh in here because I’m unsure. I use GfO, but this seems high despite the weekly water changes? Can you suggest a way to drop it if it is?

5. pellets daily. The clown is fed and once he stops feeding over 2 minutes that’s it. Reef roids are used a couple times a week.

any advice would be welcomed. Thx

 

[Whiteydenewf]

Adding one:
6. TDS, are you using RODI? Are the filters good. Can you monitor tds? Do you get your water from lfs.

Help me out on this. I’m unsure what TDS is? Or RODI. Filters are good. I also use filter fabric that catches extra at the inlets of the tank. It’s an innovative marine 20G with all the equipment in the back. I can monitor TDS once I know what it is. We use a distiller to make distilled water. We then add the salt and let it sit a week for the next change. By water change time it’s 33ppm.

 

[Glenner’sreef]

Sorry for the delay, was watching the Suns woop on Dallas lol I’m in Az. So lighting:
Your Aqua Knight lights are good lights. I would try to keep your highest intensity to last only 5 hours much like a reef. Say 10:00am. to 3:00 pm. You can certainly ramp up and down on either side of those times but keep it low as gha under the right conditions will grow under whites or blues.
The rock sounds good.
The diffused light in your son’s bedroom could be a contributing factor. So see if you can block that out.
Phosphates: We’re all aiming fir 0.04ish
GFO is great to use but if you’re using water with high phosphates and food with high phosphates, One step forward two steps back.
food: Pelletized foods are typically high in phosphates Reef roids are high in phosphates. You should stop the pellets and go frozen meaty foods for your fish/inverts. Keep the Reef roids but cut back a bit until you have a handle on this.
water purity:
So go online and google either BUlk Reef Supply RODI or Spectrapure RODI. These are 3-4 or 5 stage water purification systems that remove harmful pollutants and metals from your source water. TDS or total dissolved solids are the things in water that encourage hair algae to grow and corals not to grow. These systems have TDS monitors on them telling you how bad your water is coming in and how effectively the filters have cleaned your water as it comes out.
In conclusion: food and questionable water quality are the culprits.
On a lesser amount: lighting schedule and diffused light need to be looked at.
Hang in there bud. You’ll beat this!

 

[Roatan Reef]

Yes, do you have a RODI System for water changes? What salt are you using?

 

[Garf]

So this is my son’s tank. Every week it is a fight to control the hair algae. He currently has a clown, peppermint shrimp, skunk cleaner shrimp, Halloween hermit crab, emerald crab, a couple astrea snails, 2 turban snails, 2 bumblebee snails, 4 margarita snails, and a cowrie snail.

Every week we do water changes. Phosphates are good. Nitrates are good. Every month we vacuum the back of the tank and change up the carbon and GfO. During water changes we suction the sand to remove waste. And I pinch as much of the hair algae as possible to reduce growth. But every week the darn stuff keeps coming back. We use the product Vibrant weekly as directed. Saltwater is at 33ppm.

He’s had this tank for 2 years and we have solved problems through this site’s forums, but I’m going crazy. Can anyone throw out some suggestions?

thanks

Warning: Use Vibrant at your own risk

It does not appear to be what UWC claims. Data clearly suggest it is an algaecide identical to Algaefix (see thread below) IMO, this as a very serious breach of trust from a company that has insisted it is not an algaecide. It is also a clear breach of the Reef2Reef terms of service (about...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

I see only 2 rocks, I would just pull them out during the next water change, and then scrub them with a toothbrush. And I mean scrub them, right down to the roots, scrub it out.

I would also stop feeding reef roids while you get the algae under control. Those little frags dont need it, you're really just feeding the algae.

you also mention that "phosphates is good". Algae consumes the phosphate, so it will often show a low reading on a test. But the phosphate is not good, if it was good the algae wouldnt grow. Reduce feeding of pellets which are very high in phosphate, and start feeding more frozen foods.

Look into GFO or phosguard if you dont already use it.

You have to starve it out and scrub it off.

 

[Whiteydenewf]

Hi everyone. I’m just back. Some follow up from my last post. And a massive thanks to you all for the replies. We have had so many problems come up that we have really learned as we go. From the cyano bloom to the alien green water. It’s been a long 2 year road and losses along the way. So again thanks.

I am a noob and am doing my best to get it. So I did another Hanna ulr test and it showed 59ppb which based on the chart is .181ppm. I added .7 mL of diluted phosban L. I just found out about this and kudos to this forum and the response. I’ve been using GfO but it’s not kept it down. I’m going to test the phosphates again tomorrow and hopefully this brings it down below 0.03. Regarding the GFO, I would change every 4 weeks but now ask if that’s frequent enough?

I can hold pellets. WRT frozen food, can you recommend a brand or product?

I see only 2 rocks, I would just pull them out during the next water change, and then scrub them with a toothbrush. And I mean scrub them, right down to the roots, scrub it out.

I would also stop feeding reef roids while you get the algae under control. Those little frags dont need it, you're really just feeding the algae.

you also mention that "phosphates is good". Algae consumes the phosphate, so it will often show a low reading on a test. But the phosphate is not good, if it was good the algae wouldnt grow. Reduce feeding of pellets which are very high in phosphate, and start feeding more frozen foods.

Look into GFO or phosguard if you dont already use it.

You have to starve it out and scrub it off.

I have been using GfO , changing it monthly. Maybe it’s not enough. On my water change today I scrubbed the rocks. Removed clumps of the hair algae from the bottom. I use an extra fabric to filter floating bits of algae to catch it. I’ll hold the reef roofs going forward. The phosphate was tested after water change (15% water change done weekly) and using a Hanna ULR I got 59ppb. That’s 0.181ppm by the chart. I added 0.7mL diluted phosban L to remove the excess. I hope it helps and will test tomorrow. Can you recommend a frozen food to add. This might sound silly but I actually have my folks send frozen cod from NL to ON yearly. If it were smashed up could I use it? If I reduce the pellets will the clown be ok? Or do I just feed until he’s done after a couple minutes. Thanks for your help.

 

[Whiteydenewf]

Hi everyone. I’m just back. Some follow up from my last post. And a massive thanks to you all for the replies. We have had so many problems come up that we have really learned as we go. From the cyano bloom to the alien green water. It’s been a long 2 year road and losses along the way. So again thanks.

I am a noob and am doing my best to get it. So I did another Hanna ulr test and it showed 59ppb which based on the chart is .181ppm. I added .7 mL of diluted phosban L. I just found out about this and kudos to this forum and the response. I’ve been using GfO but it’s not kept it down. I’m going to test the phosphates again tomorrow and hopefully this brings it down below 0.03. Regarding the GFO, I would change every 4 weeks but now ask if that’s frequent enough?

I can hold pellets. WRT frozen food, can you recommend a brand or product?

I have been using GfO , changing it monthly. Maybe it’s not enough. On my water change today I scrubbed the rocks. Removed clumps of the hair algae from the bottom. I use an extra fabric to filter floating bits of algae to catch it. I’ll hold the reef roofs going forward. The phosphate was tested after water change (15% water change done weekly) and using a Hanna ULR I got 59ppb. That’s 0.181ppm by the chart. I added 0.7mL diluted phosban L to remove the excess. I hope it helps and will test tomorrow. Can you recommend a frozen food to add. This might sound silly but I actually have my folks send frozen cod from NL to ON yearly. If it were smashed up could I use it? If I reduce the pellets will the clown be ok? Or do I just feed until he’s done after a couple minutes. Thanks for your help.

Dear lord. Now you see how me I am to the forums. ‍

 

[Whiteydenewf]

Warning: Use Vibrant at your own risk

It does not appear to be what UWC claims. Data clearly suggest it is an algaecide identical to Algaefix (see thread below) IMO, this as a very serious breach of trust from a company that has insisted it is not an algaecide. It is also a clear breach of the Reef2Reef terms of service (about...

www.reef2reef.com

So I should stop using this? My fish store suggested it but I can hold.

 

[Whiteydenewf]

Yes, do you have a RODI System for water changes? What salt are you using?

I use instant ocean. As for water changes, I make my saltwater Sunday night. It sits and is ready a week later. Sometimes needs slight adjustments but always 33ppm. Once Sunday comes, I remove 3G water using a siphon vacuum and then return the 3G newly mixed. Repeat. So my system is my muscles.

 

[Whiteydenewf]

Sorry for the delay, was watching the Suns woop on Dallas lol I’m in Az. So lighting:
Your Aqua Knight lights are good lights. I would try to keep your highest intensity to last only 5 hours much like a reef. Say 10:00am. to 3:00 pm. You can certainly ramp up and down on either side of those times but keep it low as gha under the right conditions will grow under whites or blues.
The rock sounds good.
The diffused light in your son’s bedroom could be a contributing factor. So see if you can block that out.
Phosphates: We’re all aiming fir 0.04ish
GFO is great to use but if you’re using water with high phosphates and food with high phosphates, One step forward two steps back.
food: Pelletized foods are typically high in phosphates Reef roids are high in phosphates. You should stop the pellets and go frozen meaty foods for your fish/inverts. Keep the Reef roids but cut back a bit until you have a handle on this.
water purity:
So go online and google either BUlk Reef Supply RODI or Spectrapure RODI. These are 3-4 or 5 stage water purification systems that remove harmful pollutants and metals from your source water. TDS or total dissolved solids are the things in water that encourage hair algae to grow and corals not to grow. These systems have TDS monitors on them telling you how bad your water is coming in and how effectively the filters have cleaned your water as it comes out.
In conclusion: food and questionable water quality are the culprits.
On a lesser amount: lighting schedule and diffused light need to be looked at.
Hang in there bud. You’ll beat this!

Oh man I like that RODI system. Thanks for the explanation. I’ll get one. Any suggestions? Also same question I already asked. Is there a brand of frozen food you recommend? Finally do you have a suggestion for all 3 light settings, wrt time and brightness per each channel? I keep adjusting but I honestly don’t know. Thanks for the assist!

 

[Whiteydenewf]

Sorry for the delay, was watching the Suns woop on Dallas lol I’m in Az. So lighting:
Your Aqua Knight lights are good lights. I would try to keep your highest intensity to last only 5 hours much like a reef. Say 10:00am. to 3:00 pm. You can certainly ramp up and down on either side of those times but keep it low as gha under the right conditions will grow under whites or blues.
The rock sounds good.
The diffused light in your son’s bedroom could be a contributing factor. So see if you can block that out.
Phosphates: We’re all aiming fir 0.04ish
GFO is great to use but if you’re using water with high phosphates and food with high phosphates, One step forward two steps back.
food: Pelletized foods are typically high in phosphates Reef roids are high in phosphates. You should stop the pellets and go frozen meaty foods for your fish/inverts. Keep the Reef roids but cut back a bit until you have a handle on this.
water purity:
So go online and google either BUlk Reef Supply RODI or Spectrapure RODI. These are 3-4 or 5 stage water purification systems that remove harmful pollutants and metals from your source water. TDS or total dissolved solids are the things in water that encourage hair algae to grow and corals not to grow. These systems have TDS monitors on them telling you how bad your water is coming in and how effectively the filters have cleaned your water as it comes out.
In conclusion: food and questionable water quality are the culprits.
On a lesser amount: lighting schedule and diffused light need to be looked at.
Hang in there bud. You’ll beat this!

I missed the rodi suggestions. Forgive my question.

 

[Whiteydenewf]

I missed the rodi suggestions. Forgive my question.

Ok so after googling the RODI systems I’ve got another question. Which one would I choose for a 20G tank? The lowest I’ve found has a 75G capacity for bulk reef supply. I also see some with 3 stages and others with more. I am not rdy to give up on this reef tank and am ready to get whatever I need to make it work.

 

[Whiteydenewf]

Sorry for the delay, was watching the Suns woop on Dallas lol I’m in Az. So lighting:
Your Aqua Knight lights are good lights. I would try to keep your highest intensity to last only 5 hours much like a reef. Say 10:00am. to 3:00 pm. You can certainly ramp up and down on either side of those times but keep it low as gha under the right conditions will grow under whites or blues.
The rock sounds good.
The diffused light in your son’s bedroom could be a contributing factor. So see if you can block that out.
Phosphates: We’re all aiming fir 0.04ish
GFO is great to use but if you’re using water with high phosphates and food with high phosphates, One step forward two steps back.
food: Pelletized foods are typically high in phosphates Reef roids are high in phosphates. You should stop the pellets and go frozen meaty foods for your fish/inverts. Keep the Reef roids but cut back a bit until you have a handle on this.
water purity:
So go online and google either BUlk Reef Supply RODI or Spectrapure RODI. These are 3-4 or 5 stage water purification systems that remove harmful pollutants and metals from your source water. TDS or total dissolved solids are the things in water that encourage hair algae to grow and corals not to grow. These systems have TDS monitors on them telling you how bad your water is coming in and how effectively the filters have cleaned your water as it comes out.
In conclusion: food and questionable water quality are the culprits.
On a lesser amount: lighting schedule and diffused light need to be looked at.
Hang in there bud. You’ll beat this!

One more add to the string of questions I have. I was buying distilled water. Then I decided to get a water distiller thinking it’s the same. Is it a good choice?

 

[Glenner’sreef]

Ok so after googling the RODI systems I’ve got another question. Which one would I choose for a 20G tank? The lowest I’ve found has a 75G capacity for bulk reef supply. I also see some with 3 stages and others with more. I am not rdy to give up on this reef tank and am ready to get whatever I need to make it work.

So read BRS options: and determine what you need and your own budget. I’m thinking the 4 stage with tds monitors would do.

 

[Glenner’sreef]

One more add to the string of questions I have. I was buying distilled water. Then I decided to get a water distiller thinking it’s the same. Is it a good choice?

You won’t need distilled water as both your fresh top off water and newly mixed salt water will be made with your rodi system.