Losing the year long battle with algae

[AJ_Daubz]

Hello all!

I've had my reef tank up and running for coming up on 2 years now, and have pretty much had constant hair algae for the last year.
I'm really running out of ideas on how to stop this so would really appreciate some advice.

All my rocks are completely covered in algae, it's all over the sand bed, all over the glass and back of the tank, and it keeps blocking up the water return.

My nitrate and phosphate are pretty much where they need to be at 10ppm nitrate and 0.1ppm phosphate.

I'm doing weekly 10% water changes using my own RO water with 0tds.

Pretty much daily I try to scrub the rocks and siphon excess algae out, but it seems to return almost instantly.

I have a decent clean up crew consisting of various shrimps, snails, urchins and hermit crabs but they barely make a dent. I also have a tomini tang who doesn't seem too keen on eating the algae.

I'm really at my wits end now and don't know what else to do, I feel like I spend hours and hours trying to remove the algae for it to just instantly return again. Does anyone have any ideas on how to solve this? I'm getting desperate now haha! I'd really appreciate any advice you guys have!

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Can you tell us about your filtration system and bioload and feeding habits? Its all about nutrient import vs export, so your system is not exporting enough nutrients, and docs (dissolved organics) are allowed to elevate causing the algae. Algae grazers help to keep algae in check, but I see no snails on your glass?

 

[Romeo_Reefer]

That sucks, I had the same issue for a while. It's getting better. I'm starting to win by:

1) added to my cleanup crew (32 g cube with 12 turbos, hermits, and nasarius snails)
2) couple weeks of 30% water changes
3) started buying RO/DI water. I used to make mine but just in case I started buying
4) increasing the flow a bit at a time

You probably went through all the above, but did you do it at the same time?

 

[AJ_Daubz]

Can you tell us about your filtration system and bioload and feeding habits? Its all about nutrient import vs export, so your system is not exporting enough nutrients, and docs (dissolved organics) are allowed to elevate causing the algae. Algae grazers help to keep algae in check, but I see no snails on your glass?

My filtration system consists of a filter sock and skimmer- nothing too fancy! I also add copepods and phytoplankton every 2 weeks or so. I feed a sprinkle of pellets every day, and some frozen shrimp every 2 or 3 days which gets eaten up completely. In terms of fish I have a clown pair, a dusky wrasse, 3 azure damsels, starry blenny and a tomini tang.

 

[AgentKooper]

My 13.5 gallon tank was the same way for a year and a half. I added two turbo snails and they cleaned the rock completely bare in 2 weeks. It was truly amazing, and my tank has looked good ever since.

 

[brandon429]

Here's a thread written about fixing tanks like that.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/algae-identification.707457/
The issue is your lights are too bright, and you need to clean it like that vs in parts. Notice our after pics, they're what you want.

 

[CHSUB]

My nitrate and phosphate are pretty much where they need to be at 10ppm nitrate and 0.1ppm phosphate.

Unfortunately you have been persuaded to follow the “new” advice of high nutrients. Get nutrients low with cleaning, scrubbing, blowing and WC. You claim you’re removing the algae, while the simple answer is remove more and more often. Get a canister filter too and vacuum till it’s all gone, including detritus and filth. Feed less and make it a routine and you will turn the corner. Don’t fall for the traps that nutrients are “good”, it’s about maintenance not numbers…

 

[AgentKooper]

The issue is your lights are too bright

Where’s the evidence for this?

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Personally I like this article a lot, it explains the importance of keeping doc's low and having a large number of algae grazers. Docs is a very important parameter that we can't test for, so we have to be proactive against it

https://reefbuilders.com/2024/06/21...hy-reef-tank-heres-a-new-method-to-manage-it/

 

[AgentKooper]

Unfortunately you have been persuaded to follow the “new” advice of high nutrients. Get nutrients low with cleaning, scrubbing, blowing and WC. You claim you’re removing the algae, while the simple answer is remove more and more often. Get a canister filter too and vacuum till it’s all gone, including detritus and filth. Feed less and make it a routine and you will turn the corner. Don’t fall for the traps that nutrients are “good”, it’s about maintenance not numbers…

In my experience, 10 ppm nitrates and .1 phosphate are not harmful. My levels have been pretty much exactly that, and my rocks have stayed clean. My algae was at its worst when my levels were lower. OP can chase numbers if they want, but my turbos were the easiest hair algae fix ever.

 

[CHSUB]

The issue is your lights are too bright

It’s never about the lights…my tiny system is lite with 2 plant grow lights totaling 165W @ 5500k and 2 reef lights totaling 110W @ 14k for ~12 hours per day. Algae control is maintenance and nutrient driven.

 

[Coral Memere]

I went through the same problems, as have friends (through r2r). I finally got ahead of it (notice i didnt say I beat it) by removing it by hand from the glass and overflow, taking out the rocks and hitting them with a toothbrush and hydrogen peroxide. Doing the same with the frag plugs.

I'm ducking as I day this next part, because im surprized no one has mentioned it yet. When ALL else failed, I dosed the tank with fluconazole. (Saddest day ever, because I forgot an air stone and nuked all my fish.)

It's a horrible stage we all go through and you think it's never going to end. It's demoralizing and you just want to quit and take up knitting. Good luck. Stick with it. You're doing all the things. You'll come out the other side, we promise!

 

[Reefer Matt]

I wonder if you have byropsis. Not many of the cuc will eat it if it is, and there are remedies that will take care of it in a few days such as Reef Flux or Flux rx.

 

[CHSUB]

Besides low nutrients, here is one reason reef don’t suffer from algae….imagine the amount of algae these tangs consume.

 

[Patx]

Personally... war time... enough...
Scrape all glass clean.
Spray peroxyde on rock...brush it, rinse in old water change water.

Low light -40-50%.

It's your tank... take control.

 

[brclark82]

Your parameters “look fine” because the algae is using it all up but in reality if the algae wasn’t there you’d be running much higher numbers.

You need to manually remove as much as possible and then aggressively manage your nuntrients until things have stabilized.

It may take more than one manual removal. If at all possible removing rocks and scrubbing with a brush is preferred.

It can be beat with some work. Good luck

 

[OfficeReefer]

Hello all!

I've had my reef tank up and running for coming up on 2 years now, and have pretty much had constant hair algae for the last year.
I'm really running out of ideas on how to stop this so would really appreciate some advice.

All my rocks are completely covered in algae, it's all over the sand bed, all over the glass and back of the tank, and it keeps blocking up the water return.

My nitrate and phosphate are pretty much where they need to be at 10ppm nitrate and 0.1ppm phosphate.

I'm doing weekly 10% water changes using my own RO water with 0tds.

Pretty much daily I try to scrub the rocks and siphon excess algae out, but it seems to return almost instantly.

I have a decent clean up crew consisting of various shrimps, snails, urchins and hermit crabs but they barely make a dent. I also have a tomini tang who doesn't seem too keen on eating the algae.

I'm really at my wits end now and don't know what else to do, I feel like I spend hours and hours trying to remove the algae for it to just instantly return again. Does anyone have any ideas on how to solve this? I'm getting desperate now haha! I'd really appreciate any advice you guys have!

Hey @AJ_Daubz Can you share with us your tank size, inhabitants and last water parameters on Alk, Nitrate and Phosphates? How often and what you feed your inhabitants and lighting type and schedule?

Also, is this near a window or do you leave lights on outside or around the tank in the lighting schedule?

This can be fixed, but you'lll need to share with us some general information from above, get lots of black plastic ready for a blackout and 55gal bucket with salt for water changes. Mix up all the salt, buy some Reef Flux HD, maybe some Brightwell Razor, if you cannot remove any of the rock to scrub.

 

[OfficeReefer]

My filtration system consists of a filter sock and skimmer- nothing too fancy! I also add copepods and phytoplankton every 2 weeks or so. I feed a sprinkle of pellets every day, and some frozen shrimp every 2 or 3 days which gets eaten up completely. In terms of fish I have a clown pair, a dusky wrasse, 3 azure damsels, starry blenny and a tomini tang.

I see about 8 fish in this tank? 55 gallon?

 

[OfficeReefer]

Your parameters “look fine” because the algae is using it all up but in reality if the algae wasn’t there you’d be running much higher numbers.

You need to manually remove as much as possible and then aggressively manage your nuntrients until things have stabilized.

It may take more than one manual removal. If at all possible removing rocks and scrubbing with a brush is preferred.

It can be beat with some work. Good luck

This is exactly what is happening.

 

[pooootiqe]

The algae has definitely taken a stronghold in your tank! Like the others said it's definitely the biggest nutrient sink right now.

I vote for scorched earth ;) drain, peroxide the entire tank, and get new live rocks.

Maybe include an ATS post-reset to handle the pulse of nutrients from all the fish.