Is it me or do all new tanks experience algae issues?

[dave171]

I recently have been sifting through posts and really notice that most people have gone through some sort of alage issue in way or another. I have seen this with people using ro/di water and people using tap water. I have gone through it as well with using ro/di water. Luckily it was cut short due to my amazing turbo snails. Anyways is this simply a inbalance of nutrients or something else? Would like to know as a personal knowledge gain. As of now I've always thought and have been taught/trained it's a unbalanced nutrients.

 

[Tahoe61]

My tanks have always gone through the ugly stage ( as I like to call it) for about 6 months. One type of bloom after another.

 

[PaulKreider]

Just part of cycling I believe, you go through the stages until your tank is mature, don't sweat it.

 

[dave171]

Just part of cycling I believe, you go through the stages until your tank is mature, don't sweat it.

Not going through it but just would like to know the root of the problem. But you are right it is just part of the cycle but I still want to know exactly why lol

 

[PaulKreider]

I think it just takes probably 6 months to a year to really establish all the biological filtration and for your tank to get in its own "groove." Even if using live sand it will still take quite some time to fully develop.

Could also be silicates being released by new rock/sand.

Or the tank is working out its ability to export nutrients such as new fish additions or more food and such.

 

[brandon429]

Dave
http://reef2reef.com/threads/if-pho...why-cant-i-generate-_____-by-adding-p.204380/


Like you said, we were all educated at one point that algae=you have a nutrient issue and there's no other way to see it. I mentioned that repeatedly in our thread above.

this thread above is related to your question 100%

you can see these are very passionate claims we all hold :)

im simply inserting my opinion as I run my tanks and the tons we run online.

My tank is immune to any invasions from day 1 to day 3000, literally immune, and nutrients w never affect me.

The uglies are simply optional, let them have their stay if you want, or dont. The single most impacting change in handling algae issues over the last 20 yrs, in my opinion, is that you can simply opt out of algae problems and never have them. Ill continue building massive threads that show it as well, and you have the same choice. There is a clear option where you just allow the uglies to pass, continue focusing on nutrients, and win out that way. my only point here is no, I wouldnt have an ugly stage in my reefs because I opt out, always. I think algae looks bad and it causes me to make excuses to people who see my tank, i prefer a zero algae phase the entire life of the tank.

Another neat way to see the issue is you can can simply deny a presence to algae, and then in time things w stabilize as has been said and you wont be having to directly deal with it as much. I haven't had to treat, mess with, or even see green hair algae in my reef for the last 36 mos because I disallowed it right when it wanted to build some mass in my tank.

The only reason I hold passion for treating algae and not the water is because I have a tank immune to any invader, meaning it will run another 10 yrs and then another barring hardware issues or just bad luck with nerfballs flying around the house.
B

 

[jolt]

Dave

I haven't had to treat, mess with, or even see green hair algae in my reef for the last 36 mos because I disallowed it right when it wanted to build some mass in my tank.

B

Brandon - what specifically did you do to accomplish this? I am still trying to understand :)

 

[brandon429]

that question was loaded hA :)

I did it by using a chemical cheat a few times until the burgeoning mass of GHA was rid from my tank. Others have lifted up their rocks where new algae was growing, burnt it off with a jet lighter, then that algae that was about to take over turned black and fell off. My only offer here is reject the algae through any means, right when it pops up. If you leave it in your tank to hopefully go away, you might be seeding your tank with regenerative biomass that can make you have to take much more drastic actions later.

Always practice good nutrient control on each tank, and if that doesnt work, we can still act through many means. I personally choose to chemically burn out algae so that I dont have to mess with nutrients. In the end, i have a permanently algae free tank using only basic care methods and thats all I wanted. No tank is free of cyano, they get in routinely and either express as a colony or not depending on variables. the DNA for a potential cyano invasion is certainly in my tank, so I value nutrient management to prevent them.

there are many ways to skin a cat
*little to no reef anarchy is being offered here. Im saying that when the first sprig pops up and you remove it, 0 is there to take over that spot, then the next, right up to a really bad phase for the tank. we have all been taught that disallowance is a waste of time
But we save tanks with it now

Nothing impacts disallowance other than allowance.

Nutrients, bandaids legitimate methods, those control how often you are taking the final step of prevention which is disallowance. An ideal reef prevents its own algae, you do hardly any work. A practical reef needs you to do kill/removal/disallowance often, rarely, daily, it ranges. But its nice to know zero algae can win if you opt for it. For me, chemical cheats are getting me less work so thats only my way. 9 yrs algae free
B

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Not going through it but just would like to know the root of the problem. But you are right it is just part of the cycle but I still want to know exactly why lol

Various sources of necessary nutrients and trace elements available (including releases from live rock), without established grazers that eat it. :)

 

[jolt]

Sounds like what I am doing is within the range of acceptable approaches: control nutrients, manual removal (32 gallon tank too small for serious grazers), regular water changes, and patience. I've always been very hesitant to treat my tank with any chemicals. I really wish I could have a tang or rabbit fish!

 

[brandon429]

Jolt I like that. I think its great when someone has a plan and sticks to it, its better than haphazard everytime. I truly would strive for your approach and no chem cheats as needed. We should simply do the least impactful thing needed to be algae free. 100% of tanks should strive for that and start like that in my opinion. I too rely heavily on export, i change literally tons of water.

i think the smartest thing you can do in reefing is plan a tank that needs no cheat, but know when to use a cheat should the need arise. miss neither opportunity.

 

[zemuss]

Been thinking about this lately myself.. Started building a water station. Two ten gallon tanks, one RODI and another Salt mixing. For the Salt mi, using two 5 gallon buckets change 2.5 gallons 3 times a week. This should only take 10 minutes a day to do. So I think i will start my experiment because I am tired of seeing cyano and other alga's in my tank and SPS not doing well.

 

[Paul B]

As you may have discovered most tanks go through algae cycles especially in the beginning. Algae is not caused by excess nutrients like 99.972 people believe. Nutrients are needed but they are not the only trigger. My nitrates are over 40, phosphates are off the chart and have been for many years yet I have no algae, except a little in a place where I am trying to cultivate it. New tanks with all new water with very few nutrients get the most algae. Old, established tanks with enormous fish loads have fewer issues with algae. Unfortunately, no one really knows what causes algae although many of us think we know. If you take clean tap water and put it in the sun, algae will grow. The best thing is to let it run it's course because it is a fantastic water purifier. If it is a problem, build an algae scrubber. You can't cure it because it is not a disease and if you tried to remove all of the nutrients, which isn't going to happen, you would kill your corals. Good luck

 

[Oscaror]

It's an almost inevitable part of the cycle

 

[WetWhistle]

I like to support the food web and use it as a natural means of algae control and grow algae in a large productive refugium. If you grow fast growing macro species like Caulerpa or Chato it helps out compete other nuisance algae by limiting available nutrients and most will release anti-growth hormones\ chemicals that slow or stop other algae from growing. (I do run a carbon reactor to help remove the build up) Coupled with fish that helps feed on the algae you have a potent way of fighting algae.

Look at it this in a basic way, the spores the Caulerpa or Chato release feed the inverts and that in turn feed on the algae. It allows your tank to grow large amounts of these beneficial fauna that will naturally help you with any algae blooms. I rarely if ever have algae problems in my system. A healthy food web is a healthy tank. No need for the most part for chemical fixes. A chemical fix is like cough drops. They fix the symptoms but don't cure what is causing it.

 

[brandon429]

I think that ATS/refuge users could def be gaining an allelopathic benefit by using that much plant...nice call.

 

[WetWhistle]

It does add to the statement that nutrients don't always cause algae blooms. In some of my old setups they had high nutrient levels and still no algae blooms. The large amount of cleanup crew and beneficial bacteria took care of any algae issues. In new systems the cleanup crew and bacteria are missing so they don't help curb the swing of nutrients or the growth of algae. I actually can't remember the last time I tested for phosphates or nitrates. Chemicals to have their place in my system but just as a secondary means of control. If you combine biological, mechanical and lastly chemical you cover all your filtration bases. Mechanical really helps to remove things before anything is broken down.

 

[brandon429]

 

[dave171]

Wow great information from everyone! I like brandon's ideas and theories. Also like the idea of growing things like chato or etc and it will basically out compete any nuisance algae.

 

[Harold Green]

So far after decades of saltwater tanks I haven't yet figured out why hair algae starts or how to get rid of it. Most older tanks with high nutrients will eventually grow hair algae. Most new tanks have some type of algae try to get started. From time to time a frag will come in with hair algae on it. On my 210 I have a large skimmer, gfo and carbon reactors, refusium. The algae growth in the refusium is very slow, likely due to low nutrients in the system. The tank has a large number of snails, hermits, spaghetti worms, pods. I think they remove algae before it can get a start. I had to remove three long spined urchins. Couldn't grow pink calcerous algae on the rocks because they kept it scraped off. They make excellent bull dozers too. I've allowed a patch of green-brown flat leafed algae to grow on one of the return tubes. The tang picks at it but doesn't seem to make a dent. It grows slowly and I can remove it as easily as I could from the refusium but I like the way it looks in the tank. I think low nutrients and the largest cleanup crew the tank can handle are the key to preventing hair algae, at least for me, though I've seen lots of spectacular reef tanks that did neither.