Algae outbreak

[M@v3rick]

Hi Reefers,

I had restated the hobby. I used to have a 30g sumpless FOWLR setup about 10 years ago. Now I have a 50g sumpless reef setup which I had cycled for 2 months. I have aan adult sailfin, a clown perc and an azure damsel fish (these are the fishes that survived). I also have several corals (elegant, bubble, sps). I use 2 T8 lamps @35w each and am using 3 box fans to cool the water to 28-29'C.

Recently, my 2 hammer corals withered and the water turned murky. I did a 20% water change yesterday and the water clarity improved a bit, but I noticed an outbreak of black hairy algae on the surface of the top layer LRs.

Kindly advise what to do to have crystal clear water and control algae growth. I started dozing with ethanol last night (10 drops of 70% ethyl alcohol) to control NO3 and PO4 levels. I use a Queens skimmer with a 2200 powerhead and a corner filter for mechanical filtration. I use a wave maker and a rio800 to achieve water flow.

[aarongo222]

ano po readings ng parameters?

[obet_carlos]

IMO, you need to have a way to export nutrients from your tank.. more so because you have a tang.. carbon dosing needs a very good skimmer.. and queen just wont get it done.. add a sump.. use chaeto or caulerpa..

[naning]

ganyan din ung akin mga sir Algae problem combo ng diatoms and cyano. i have a sump with chaeto and sponge lang for filtration. Plan to buy skimmer pero dipa siguro ngaun kase kapos sa budget. I been almost 5months reading in this forum and yes i know that Algae bloom are normal when the system are in birth stage (new tank syndrome) is this possible to disappear itself even if i don't have a really good filtration like skimmer, reactor etc. My system running for 3months.

thanks in advance

[meekosbc]

I also have this problem. it occurred two days ago, everyday, padami ng padami ang algae, one part of the DT almost half covered. I also noticed lots of bubbles in my substrate, don't know if it has to do with the outbreak. so far, bought 6 turbo snails. helpful naman, half of the algae gone when I woke up this morning, but I'm sure palliative treatment lang ito. Will do water change later, rearranged my sump and added live rocks in it. for my 15G tank and 10G sump, I think my SK-05 skimmer is not powerful enough to do the job, I also installed a waver for movement and maximum water going to the sump. will also do a RO/DI top off later.

Will update you guys.

[meekosbc]

Update: The algae is almost totally gone, also, I limited the time my lights are on from 11 hours to 8 hours. The turbo snails definitely helped a lot as well as the limited time the lights are on.

[naning]

@meekosbc

bro ilang months or years na system mo? buti pa ikaw medyo ok na ung akin ganon prin.. ung cyano alge ko sobrang dami try kong alisin bukas kasi mag WC ako update ko din kayo.

thanks

[meekosbc]

Bro Naning, 3 months palang tank ko bro. I think nakatulong yung water change at pag limit ng time na naka lights on. Nkatulong din yung turbo snails bro. I suggest stabilize m yung parameters mo then try to set the lights on to 6 hours muna until mawala mga algae. Goodluck bro!

[M@v3rick]

The algae is almost gone. I added 6 turban snails and 3 nassarius snails. I did re-arrange the aquasculpture and scrubbed some of the algae off the top layer rocks. I plan to buy a betta cage and grow cheato in it. I still will not add a sump tank as I do not have the space for it. Everything has to be done in the display tank. I am also looking for mangrove to stick in my tank.

[yose_]

Also be careful with the corner filter. Be sure to clean it at least 2x a week. Might trap a lot of detritus.

[naning]

bro meekosbc, pareho pala tayo ung akin 3months palang din sabi nila normal lang sa bagong system ung akin pero pangit tignan noh? hehe.. napansin ko pag off ung lights wala ung cyano pero pag nag open na ayun after ilang oras lalabas na. kahapon nag try kong e off ung lights tapos kanina binuksan ko after ilang oras ayun nanaman haha.. sabi nila ung GFO makaka tulong din.