Green algae taking over my sand!

[Reefing Madness]

Even people using RO/DI water watching everything that goes into their tank use GFO and for Chemipure Elite. Nothing wrong with staying on top of it.

 

[BewareOfButtlice]

All very good advice! Seems out of the norm to let it grow until it vanishes but seems thats the best bet? It is coming back in the back left corner of my tank. So should i just let it grow and take out as much as i can by manual removal? I've got a lot of diatom in the sandbed now as well. Ive got power heads aimed as low as possible to the sand bed and it blows small pieces of stuff around but any lower and the sand will start to blow around the tank like an arabian sandstorm!

For GFO and Chemipure Elite, should i use in conjunction with the bio-chem zorb?

 

[Mike J.]

I Would not have used chemiclean! I agree with Batmmackey this is normal for a tank this young, it would have gone away on its own. You problem now is that cyano was using up those nutrients and now they will build up again. Once cyano is reintroduced, or another form of algae is introduced, it will be harder to get rid of. Cyano is bacteria and you need it during cycle, the problem with stuff like chemiclean is we dont know what it is or what else it kills. You are trying to build up populations of bacteria during cycle not kill them.

Never use chemicals to get rid of algae use proper husbandry. By using proper husbandry you will learn more and be more prepared for the future or future outbreaks.

I so much was thinking this same thing. It's Cyanobacteria and it's easy to get rid of with proper maintenance. Actually, the truth is, it will help you to clean your tank because when you syphon it out you are removing it, the nitrates and phosphates it's consumed and the detritus that is under it. Blowing it around only spreads it. Syphon it out during the middle of the light cycle when it's in full bloom. It will help you to clean your tank and help you locate spots with low flow and detritus.

 

[Mike J.]

I'm highjacking this thread, sorry, but here's a good example. Every time someone has algae issues the standard reply is "cut back on feeding", "feed every other day". First, I'm not going to starve my fish. Second, what if the person has fish that need to be fed three times a day? Third, proper husbandry and maintenance is the way you handle algae issues. Hate to corny, but we need to one with the algae. It will help us and it will aggravate us. The algae isn't the issue, the husbandry is.

 

[normanqt]

I am having a similar problem. I just bought a 8 year old aqarium and moved it to my house. It was a bit of a process but eventually I got everything set back up. The only casualties were a brain coral that I put too close to an elegance coral and I think it got stung and died. It has been about a week and I am getting a lot of green algae on the sand. I also am getting a bit of brown algae on some of the rocks. I have tried sucking it out or mixing it in but it always comes back during the day. The fish used to be fed twice a day. I have tried reducing the amount of food to a pinch once a day, and I shortened the amount of time the Metal Hydrides were on. I don't want to use chemicals, but I do have a lot of supplements if they would help. I am very new to salt water aquariums and I am trying to learn as much as I can. Any input is greatly appreciated.

 

[shred5]

I am having a similar problem. I just bought a 8 year old aqarium and moved it to my house. It was a bit of a process but eventually I got everything set back up. The only casualties were a brain coral that I put too close to an elegance coral and I think it got stung and died. It has been about a week and I am getting a lot of green algae on the sand. I also am getting a bit of brown algae on some of the rocks. I have tried sucking it out or mixing it in but it always comes back during the day. The fish used to be fed twice a day. I have tried reducing the amount of food to a pinch once a day, and I shortened the amount of time the Metal Hydrides were on. I don't want to use chemicals, but I do have a lot of supplements if they would help. I am very new to salt water aquariums and I am trying to learn as much as I can. Any input is greatly appreciated.

When you move a tank you can go through a mini cycle and stir things up again.. I would add a reactor with some GFO (Granular Ferric Oxide) or put a sock of it in a higher flow are of your sump if you have one. This will take up some of the phosphates. High quality water changes can help siphoning out any detritus.

 

[shred5]

I'm highjacking this thread, sorry, but here's a good example. Every time someone has algae issues the standard reply is "cut back on feeding", "feed every other day". First, I'm not going to starve my fish. Second, what if the person has fish that need to be fed three times a day? Third, proper husbandry and maintenance is the way you handle algae issues. Hate to corny, but we need to one with the algae. It will help us and it will aggravate us. The algae isn't the issue, the husbandry is.

Yea starving your fish aint a good idea, but cutting back a little sometimes is recommended for a bit to get things back in order if they are way out of wack. If you are having algae issues due to feeding your tank is most likely over stocked or you are not exporting enough nutrients. A good skimmer can help if you don't have one. What goes in must come out or it will turn into something else.

 

[normanqt]

Thanks for the advice. I put a sock full of SeaGel in the sump. I was not sure where to put the sock, so I placed it under the out flow from the protein skimmer. I also have a reactor that is not installed yet. Where is the best place to put it? There are only 3 fish and a shrimp. I was also thinking about buying a diamond back goby to help with the sand. Is it a bad idea to add another fish after only a week in the new house?

 

[jimmybling31]

Wait on the extra fish you do not want to add fish for at least another month.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

 

[jimmybling31]

I'm highjacking this thread, sorry, but here's a good example. Every time someone has algae issues the standard reply is "cut back on feeding", "feed every other day". First, I'm not going to starve my fish. Second, what if the person has fish that need to be fed three times a day? Third, proper husbandry and maintenance is the way you handle algae issues. Hate to corny, but we need to one with the algae. It will help us and it will aggravate us. The algae isn't the issue, the husbandry is.

As much as you are right you are also wrong. Cutting back feedings isn't the way to deal with it once a tank is established. When a tank is new it shouldn't have anything that sensitive in it. Every other day is ridiculous and if never tell anyone to do that but doing a lighter feeding and our switching to pellets over frozen food temporarily can do wonders for nitrates and phosphates.

I do have to say at this age in the tank I would have just started doing 2 prevent water changes every day and left it alone. Cyano will go away on its own.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

 

[shred5]

Thanks for the advice. I put a sock full of SeaGel in the sump. I was not sure where to put the sock, so I placed it under the out flow from the protein skimmer. I also have a reactor that is not installed yet. Where is the best place to put it? There are only 3 fish and a shrimp. I was also thinking about buying a diamond back goby to help with the sand. Is it a bad idea to add another fish after only a week in the new house?

Reactor can go anywhere in the sump. I don't use one everyday just for emergencies that is actually a hob reactor. Some people run carbon and GFO or just one of them in a reactor or separate reactors. I use polyfilter, I like them better than carbon. I can see what is happening with them and they seem to remove a little more from the water. So basically I only need it for gfo and use it if there is an out break of algae due to something bad happening.

Thats Green Cyano Bacteria.
What are you adding as far as food that contains silicates?
Whats your flow in the tank?
You can lift it off the sand bed and vacuum it out.

Silicates, you are thinking of diatoms.

All very good advice! Seems out of the norm to let it grow until it vanishes but seems thats the best bet? It is coming back in the back left corner of my tank. So should i just let it grow and take out as much as i can by manual removal? I've got a lot of diatom in the sandbed now as well. Ive got power heads aimed as low as possible to the sand bed and it blows small pieces of stuff around but any lower and the sand will start to blow around the tank like an arabian sandstorm!

For GFO and Chemipure Elite, should i use in conjunction with the bio-chem zorb?

Its not the norm to let it grow it just not right to use chemicals to kill it. Remember that bacteria and algae are consuming phosphates. If those phosphates are allowed to accumulate you will have a bigger problem when it binds to your rocks and sand if those nutrients are not removed. (so basically that algae is temorarily holding those nutrients). The other thing that happens is those nutrient build and you get even a worse algae bloom. The other thing is if you kill algae with out removing it, where do the nutrients go they had stored? Back into the water. Basically remove the nutrients and the algae starve. You can remove the algae manually to help remove the nutrients they have accumulated.


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Limit the amount of nutrients going into the tank.
Like Mike said Do not over feed.
Do not overstock.
This is a biggie: Use high quality ro/di water for making saltwater and top-off. If you don't do this you are continually pouring nutrients right in your tank and will never solve the problem.

Export as much nutrients as possible.
Good skimmer
Water changes see above.
Those are the big too, there are other things like using gfo.

You follow those rules you should never have a issue with algae except during cycle.

Cynao will eventually get reintroduced again anyway, its in almost everyone tank even if you don't have a outbreak unless you killed it with chemicals. . So next time you buy a fish or a coral it get introduced again.

Cynao is also a bacteria and in killing it you kill other bacteria that are consuming nutrients, so inturn now you have even more nutrients. There is nothing in this hobby that singles out a single strain of bacteria. Erythromycin is what is used in allot of red slime remover, chemi-clean is not supposed to hve it in though, I am not sure what is in it, i have emailed the manufactures and they wont tell me but they say there is no Erythromycin in it.

Again these are my opinions and they have always worked for me.

 

[Tom Tom Law]

I have a coral only tank well established and I am getting algae growth on the sand Def not Cyno just green algae..hairy kind...pull it up during my weekly water changes and it's clumped together with the sand and rubble....not really worried but thought I'd see if anyone has any idea why...