Ohio Reef
Reef Discussion => Pests, Nudsiance Algae and Prevention => Topic started by: lazylivin on April 02, 2014, 00:01:28
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Just sharing some observations and change in water chemistry I had lately. As many of you know I built a new tank for my basement. Quite a large surface area being 10 foot long and 2 foot wide. I was prepared to get a bit of algae having new surface area for it to grow on. Those that came to the meeting in February saw the tank and a brown algae film on everything. Unfortunately it got worse; it was limited to the new tank and never showed itself in any other connected tanks.
I was planning on just letting it run it course, waiting for coraline algae to become dominant. However some water chemistry changes started occurring that caused many corals to get pale. Reds started turning pink, blues turned to a teal. In some cases it was a nicer color but most it lost it's rich deep colors in favor of a pale pastel. I tested my water and noticed that phosphate and nitrates were to low. Took the GFO offline and started feeding heavier and added amino acid and trace elements. It fueled the algae further and nutrient levels continued to drop. One of the SPS corals I had lost it's color entirely. I knew I needed to kill the algae as it was sucking all the nutrients out of the system. I have used API Marine AlgaeFix in the past so thought it would be the safest way to go but also knew it doesn't work on all types of algae. Directions says to add 5ML per 50g every three days until gone then add one more dose. So I put my cheato in a 5g bucket and did first dose. Each dose algae reduced dramatically. I have since dosed 3x and it almost all gone and I can see Coraline starting to establish on the tank walls. Nutrient's are coming back up to a normal level and corals are starting to look better. I thought it interesting how efficient algae can uptake nutrients and in some cases letting it run it course could kill the coral before starving out the algae.
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What were your parameters before during and after. It'll be interesting as to when/if you need to put the GFO back on.
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Thanks for sharing. Glad to hear it's going away. Did you ever identify the algae?
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No I wasn't able to identify the algae. The phosphate normally ran around .03 - .06 and nitrates about 5. Both went to 0 on the meters. Phosphate is at .02 at the moment and nitrate is barely detectable now but there is some. I think a lot of it exported as it died through skimmer as I noticed extra production. I actually noticed extra production as it was growing as well.
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So do these kind of issues just pop up with micro algae or with macro as well? Though I suppose macro algae is easier to deal with as you would just "harvest" the algae to lower quantities.
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Zero phosphates have been plaguing me for a while....I have no idea why I can't get a detectable amount. And no I don't run GFO.....and while I have dosed in the past, I've not been dosing for 6 months.
I know....feed more, but that hurts my nitrate issue that runs 10-15.
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Zero phosphates have been plaguing me for a while....I have no idea why I can't get a detectable amount. And no I don't run GFO.....and while I have dosed in the past, I've not been dosing for 6 months.
I know....feed more, but that hurts my nitrate issue that runs 10-15.
Sounds like you have something that's preferentially absorbing / utilizing phosphate over nitrate.
Might I suggest a boost to biodiversity? (I know, I know, that's my hobby horse.)
A chunk of new live rock from another established tank, a scoop of sand, etc.
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Sounds like you have something that's preferentially absorbing / utilizing phosphate over nitrate.
Might I suggest a boost to biodiversity? (I know, I know, that's my hobby horse.)
A chunk of new live rock from another established tank, a scoop of sand, etc.
You think his tank is just a little out of balance? These things are hard for me to understand sometimes. PO4 is one of them. To much is bad to little is bad ect. What would cause excessive nitrates with 0 phosphates? I know our tanks are a delicate balance. Just trying to understand that balance.
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Sounds like you have something that's preferentially absorbing / utilizing phosphate over nitrate.
Might I suggest a boost to biodiversity? (I know, I know, that's my hobby horse.)
A chunk of new live rock from another established tank, a scoop of sand, etc.
Yup, Tried that.........Brian gave me a softball sized piece of live rock....from before his phosphate drop. That is about 2 months ago, so it might just have had time to help yet. Within the last 4 weeks my Cheato is starting to grow......so maybe it is helping.
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Yup, Tried that.........Brian gave me a softball sized piece of live rock....from before his phosphate drop. That is about 2 months ago, so it might just have had time to help yet. Within the last 4 weeks my Cheato is starting to grow......so maybe it is helping.
Much as I hate to even consider it, but..
thought about Caulerpa sp? (Me and caulerpa have a love / hate relationship.. I love how it sucks up nitrates, but I hate what it does when it goes sexual.)
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I used to use it, but then for a while I didn't use Macro on my old system. I did have it go sexual once.....not a big deal if you catch it soon enough.
Any specific form of Caulerpa better than the other?
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Well, the one I had the best luck with was Caulerpa Prolifera- long leaves, easy to rip up when it eventually went sexual, fragments never broke off and made it to the display tank.
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I have kept Caulerpa serrulata in my tank for years and have never had any issues with it. I grow it in my sump mixed with cheato.
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Might have to grab a piece from you steve.