Need help eliminating algae!

[dputt88]

also i should mention that not enough nutrients can cause it to go sexual as well. so when it gets big and you notice growth slowing down trim it and throw the trimmings in the trash. ( this is the actual nutrient export, as long as the algae is in your system you havent removed any nutrients)

[THiNKFiRE]

Update.

Installed my light. It's creating a slight glow behind my viewing tank. I need to get the back painted now, I was hesitant, because I like being up to see from the back while cleaning instead of walking back and forth from room to room.

Should I worry about the 24 hour glow for now or is that not really sufficient to affect it? The blue night lighting is brighter.

Or I can just put a piece of cardboard along the back for easy removal but that gets wet and yucky during cleanings...


I also took my pump and flow control nozzle from my PhosBan and used it pressure washer style on a few rocks. Worked nicely! So I have a spot where it slides on the mount inside main tank when I want to use it and voila! A pressure washer for a fish tank.

If you squish the bulbs from th caluerpa, will it release nutrients? When I put it in, I put it towards the bottom and put a rock on top of part of it not really paying attention to what I was squishing, my boys were fighting upstairs, so it was kind of a, "throw it in the water quickly and see what the hell the fuss is about" moment.

I also have to say, I am having much more fun and confidence since I start posting, I kind of wish I hadn't lurked so long and came right out and asked for help. Then again, I AM a guy...I hate asking for help. :P

[THiNKFiRE]

Update.

Tank looking better. Still breaking away algae and netting it here and there.

Still a little concerned about the glow the light from the refugium gives off to the main tank.

pH 8.4
Ammonia .25
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 20
Phosphate 0000000000000000000!!!!

Will continue with the 6 hour light regimen, 2 of which are actinic only.

The bed is starting to clear up on it's own too.

I know refugiums like minimal flow. However, I put a small pump in there to create surface aggitation, cause it was looky a bit slimy. But now I am worried water flow is too much. Any other ideas for surface aggitation?

[THiNKFiRE]

Did another 20% water change today.

Definitely seeing cutback on the algae, still scraping off some of the rocks and using the pressure washer technique.

Levels are great. Phosphates at 0, nitrates still a tad elevated.


I have a ton of snail shells, that don't seem to be occupied. Should I remove them? Is there a trick to seeing which ones are alive?


I'm also curious how some of you have setup your top-off system, with what kind of equipment.

Also, when doing water changes, I feel the biggest obstacle/time consumption is making the new water.

Since my RO system is super slow, I let it run overnight to fill up a 40 gallon bucket. Then I have to put a thermometer in it and wait for the temp and also mixing it takes quite some time between the entire process.

I've simplified the actual removing of water and putting new water in. I will soon be putting a piece of PEX tubing from my fish tank area and run it to the outside of the house into a small gravel pit to make it even easier.

What process do you guys use for mixing water?

[McPuff]

Take the shells out and smell them. You'll know if they're alive or dead (or empty). Then you can decide whether to put them back or keep them out.

As for mixing water it doesn't have to be that hard. I just use two 5 gallon buckets and put 4 gallons of RO water in one along with the salt. Then I pour back and forth between the buckets to mix it up. I let it sit for a day or so and don't really worry much about the temp. Since I don't do large water changes it doesn't change the temp of the display much.

What's the pressure wash technique you use with the live rock? It's also easy to just use a toothbrush to scrub off the algae when necessary. Doesn't bother anything else either unless you want to.

[THiNKFiRE]

The PhosBan came with a flow control valve on the input.

I pull it off the PhosBan and adjust it like a hose nozzle and use it to blast the rock/glass with it.

Another question.

I have all these....white dots, mostly up and down the plastic column of my overflow, when cleaning it makes it feel like rough sandpaper. Should I be worrying about scraping that stuff off?

[McPuff]

Originally Posted by THiNKFiRE

Should I be worrying about scraping that stuff off?

No. They are normal to have.

[THiNKFiRE]

Originally Posted by McPuff

No. They are normal to have.

Thanks!

[THiNKFiRE]

Got a Salifert PO4. Shows 0 also.

Algae is looking like...tan/brown color, so it's dying. Which is good.

I found this on my Frogspawn, any idea what it is? The white thing protruding from the base...

Sorry, phone ***** for shooting through 1" acrylic and 3/8" glass.

EDIT: Website shrunk my picture way down, making it harder to see...

Try this: https://picasaweb.google.com/1146560...48961964564530

[THiNKFiRE]

Before I started this thread: https://picasaweb.google.com/1146560...48281415446946

Current: https://picasaweb.google.com/1146560...49893603342114

Thanks for the suggestions. They are working and I am enjoying this hobby a lot more now.

[THiNKFiRE]

Everything is going great so far.

Algae is disappearing at an impressive rate right now.

I ended up changing some of my plumbing. I took the PVC off the return and put in flexible tubing so its a lot easier to pull the pump out and clean it.

I never figured out what that thing is I posted in the last post at the bottom of my frogspawn.

I've also got a question about my sump and refugium setup and if I have it maxmized for effeciency.

Currently I have a 90 gallon display built into my wall, up top.

Right now the overflow goes into about 150gallon barrel that I modified, it's filled halfway, so about 75 gallons right now.

I put a 5 gallon bucket in there too to put all the pumps in and keep the liverock seperate. In the 5 gallon bucket are 3 pumps. Return, phosban, and skimmer.

The return goes straight back up into the display tank.

The phosban goes to the phosban and the output comes back into same barrel.

The skimmer goes to the skimmer, the output of the skimmer goes into a refugium, about 20-25 gallons, there is a bulkhead in the top side of the refugium and gravity brings the water back into the barrel.

There is caulerpa and liverock in the refugium and a 24 hour grow light.

There is liverock in the barrel, outside the 5 gallon bucket.

The 5 gallon bucket with all the pumps in it has filter material in the bottom to help with silencing/reducing vibration. The bucket also has 1/8-1/4" holes in various places to allow water to flow into it, I didn't make enough. So I ended up notching about a 2 square inch spot along the rim and keep the water level just high enough for the water to be above the notch, but not the rim. Part of the reason for the bucket was because I kept getting bubbles returning back into the main tank because of the bubbles from the return. So I put that bucket in and the notch is on the far side. This way when the water comes into the bucket, the bubbles have disappated by then. The other reason was because I was tired of moving live rock around to clean up the pump filters and whatnot.

[eco reef]

If you still need some help with this, I can't say enough good about No3Po4 X...and no Red Sea is not paying me to say that. Easy to use, works fantastic. Check my review of this in the link below, the review was done on a tank similar to your situation.

Red Sea NO3:PO4-X | Additives

[Naiad]

Originally Posted by THiNKFiRE

Got a Salifert PO4. Shows 0 also.

Algae is looking like...tan/brown color, so it's dying. Which is good.

I found this on my Frogspawn, any idea what it is? The white thing protruding from the base...

Try searching for pineapple sponge and see if that is what is on there. Hard for me to make out in the pic.
Jen

[THiNKFiRE]

Originally Posted by Naiad

Try searching for pineapple sponge and see if that is what is on there. Hard for me to make out in the pic.
Jen

Yep. Spot on, that's exactly what it is. I'll have to keep an eye on my tank and see if they multiply. So far, just that one going off my Frogspawn, is it a threat to the Frogspawn or vice versa?