Algae out of control on sandbed

[flixxx]

Hi,

I am finally facing an algae problem i can't control and I'd like some assistance.

There is the brown algae on my sandbed (it's golden brown, some green) that looks like a carpet almost because i can literally lift it and it will take some sand with it.

As of two weeks ago I reduced my lighting to 8 hours a day instead of 12 and my feeding to every second/third day.

What else can I do to reduce this, it's taking over my tanks sandbed?

My tank parameters are:

Tank start: November 2013
Nitrate : 0 (I did this test twice because i was normally at 0.25, but i did also do a water change)
Phosphate: 0.03
Alk: 166 PPM (measured before my water change)
calc: 330
MG: 1350

My stocking is relatively low;
Various cuc
6 fish
3 shrimps
1 anemone
5 coral frags

 

[Cymonous]

Depending on what type of fish, not sure if I would say 6 fish in a 45g is a low stock.

I would say you may need to adjust your flow towards your sand more and get more CUC members(won't add much to bioload) such as nassarius snails, fighting conch, hermit crabs.

You could also run GFO in a reactor. Your readings for nitrates and phosphates may be low because the algae is already consuming them.

 

[footballdude2k3]

What are your 6 fish? you could try to get lucky with a lawnmower blenny, but you better make sure it doesn't starve.

 

[Stolireef]

I know you reduced the frequency of feeding but that won't usually solve the problem. How much are you feeding? What kind of fish do you have. In my experience, increased frequency of feeding but with very small amounts is much more effective.

What, if any, kind of skimmer are you running? Is it producing waste? What kind of lights are you using?

Lots of variables here before we can help you.

 

[flixxx]

Thanks for all the replies, I currently have;

2 ocellaris
1 bangaiis cardinal
1 royal gramma
1 midas blenny
1 goby (paired with a pistol shrimp, not sure which type of goby)


my CUC;
1 conch snail
a few trochus
a few nassarius
a couple cerite
a couple nerites
1 pistol shrimp
1 peppermint shrimp
1 fire shrimp

I feed every second-third day; It's frozen food that I made which includes shrimp, cod, calamari proessed.

I add some phytoplankton (about 100 ml every 4 days or so).

My skimmer definitely works, it's an RLSS-R6i and i have it skimming wet.
I have chaeto in my sump
My lights are Radion XR 30w, at 75% brightness

 

[Cymonous]

I add some phytoplankton (about 100 ml every 4 days or so).

^ That is more than likely your problem. Adding phyto contributes to additional algae growth. I would highly suggest to stop adding phyto.

 

[Stolireef]

Actually, how much, specifically, are you feeding (talking about the frozen food).

 

[flixxx]

^ That is more than likely your problem. Adding phyto contributes to additional algae growth. I would highly suggest to stop adding phyto.

I read that phyto reduces algae because it starves out all other types of algae, is that not true?

Actually, how much, specifically, are you feeding (talking about the frozen food).

Frozen food, I cut them out in cubes that are about 2cm by 1 cm. I feed it slowly until they kinda just get tired of eating. Then I take the remaining food and feed it to the anemone

Here are some pics:

 

[Cymonous]

Adding phyto adds more nutrients to your tank.

 

[Stolireef]

I'd do a couple of things. First, don't panic. I've seen and had much worse algae outbreaks. Annoying, yes. Ugly, kind of. But not an emergency.

1. Feed daily in smaller amounts. Alternate between good quality flake (I like Ocean Nutrition Prime Reef), good quality pellets (I like Hikari) and prepared frozen. It's fun to make your own but I suspect some of the better frozen foods out there will have greater variety and better nutrient control. Rod's Reef is great. PE Mysis, etc. No matter what you feed, the fish should consume everything within two-five minutes. If it's taking longer, you're overfeeding.

2. Stop feeding your anemone. If it has sufficient light, it shouldn't need much in the way of feeding. If you want to do it for fun, do it no more than once per week.

3. I can't remember but if your lights have a red channel, turn it way down or even off.

4. Relax. If you give this time, it will almost definitely go away by itself. You may want to consider upping the frequency of your water changes but it's not absolutely necessary. In most cases, time fixes this if you are practicing good water husbandry.

 

[flixxx]

I'd do a couple of things. First, don't panic. I've seen and had much worse algae outbreaks. Annoying, yes. Ugly, kind of. But not an emergency.

1. Feed daily in smaller amounts. Alternate between good quality flake (I like Ocean Nutrition Prime Reef), good quality pellets (I like Hikari) and prepared frozen. It's fun to make your own but I suspect some of the better frozen foods out there will have greater variety and better nutrient control. Rod's Reef is great. PE Mysis, etc. No matter what you feed, the fish should consume everything within two-five minutes. If it's taking longer, you're overfeeding.

2. Stop feeding your anemone. If it has sufficient light, it shouldn't need much in the way of feeding. If you want to do it for fun, do it no more than once per week.

3. I can't remember but if your lights have a red channel, turn it way down or even off.

4. Relax. If you give this time, it will almost definitely go away by itself. You may want to consider upping the frequency of your water changes but it's not absolutely necessary. In most cases, time fixes this if you are practicing good water husbandry.

Thanks for the steps.

I do have red lights, i'll check if it's on and i'll turn it off completely for a few weeks.

I feed my anemone because he was stringy. I started feeding him two weeks ago and he's a bubble tip again. I did also raise the brightness from 50% to 75% though, so i don't know if it's the feeding or the lighting. (uh oh, i just realized, maybe raising the lighting also boosted the algae growth)

I'll give it a shot and see what happens, should i remove the algae that is currently in there or leave it?

 

[Stolireef]

You can remove it if it's bugging you. Not a bad method of nutrient export when you think about it. Actually, I've always thought that if there were a way to really keep cyano contained, it would be better than other macro algaes but since that's impossible...

Assuming your using a Gen 1 Radion, do you ramp it up and down over the course of the day? As I understand it, they should only be on their highest intensity for a few hours. You can look at the Ecotech form here for a bunch of different approaches for your lighting curve. I use metal halides so I don't really have that option.

 

[flixxx]

I changed my lighting to "high growth" because I just got some corals and my anemone wasn't looking great.

I can put it back to the ramp up/down... It was nicer with a lot more blue. I'll do that and monitor how my corals react and my anemone

 

[mgrmax]

I'd do a couple of things. First, don't panic. I've seen and had much worse algae outbreaks. Annoying, yes. Ugly, kind of. But not an emergency.

1. Feed daily in smaller amounts. Alternate between good quality flake (I like Ocean Nutrition Prime Reef), good quality pellets (I like Hikari) and prepared frozen. It's fun to make your own but I suspect some of the better frozen foods out there will have greater variety and better nutrient control. Rod's Reef is great. PE Mysis, etc. No matter what you feed, the fish should consume everything within two-five minutes. If it's taking longer, you're overfeeding.

2. Stop feeding your anemone. If it has sufficient light, it shouldn't need much in the way of feeding. If you want to do it for fun, do it no more than once per week.

3. I can't remember but if your lights have a red channel, turn it way down or even off.

4. Relax. If you give this time, it will almost definitely go away by itself. You may want to consider upping the frequency of your water changes but it's not absolutely necessary. In most cases, time fixes this if you are practicing good water husbandry.

I was not aware red lights contributed to algae growth. Interesting.

 

[Stolireef]

Algae absorbs red spectrum more efficiently. Think about the color of cyano. What wavelength would it absorb the best.

I'm in no way saying that the red channel is causing the problem but it may be a contributor. There's quite a few threads on red channel LED's here on RC.

 

[mgrmax]

Algae absorbs red spectrum more efficiently. Think about the color of cyano. What wavelength would it absorb the best.

I'm in no way saying that the red channel is causing the problem but it may be a contributor. There's quite a few threads on red channel LED's here on RC.

Makes sense. I just turned mine down from 30% to 5%. Hopefully, that will aid in the small cyno issue I'm having. Thanks for the info.

 

[Stolireef]

Keep in mind that it may not be the cause. You still need some excess nutrients to feed the cyano. Usually that will be phosphates and nitrates. I am curious about whether you see a significant difference in the coloration of the corals with the reds turned down. The red is there primarily to warm up the color.

 

[mgrmax]

Keep in mind that it may not be the cause. You still need some excess nutrients to feed the cyano. Usually that will be phosphates and nitrates. I am curious about whether you see a significant difference in the coloration of the corals with the reds turned down. The red is there primarily to warm up the color.

Agreed with regards to the cause. I also use bio pellets, rowaphos, vinegar dosing and skim.

Do you mean an immediate color difference or long term?

To the OP, sorry to hijack.

 

[Stolireef]

Immediate. Do the corals look much different?

 

[mgrmax]

Immediate. Do the corals look much different?

5%

30%

The lighting is 2 Vegas. Out of 40 total LEDs, 4 are red. Plus I run the blues pretty high. Pics were taken with an ipad.

Also, I just realized that most of the cyno seems to be in the area where the red lights shine and only on the rocks/corals in that area!