Suspended Algae Problem!

[linzld]

Help!
I am relatively new to saltwater, I set up my 40G system in January. Starting about 2-3 months ago I had a problem with what I thought was algae and turned out to be Cyano. I was recommended an Algae Remover called Algaefix for this problem. I put in the bottle-recommended dose and by the next day it seemed to be getting better, but the following day it was worse again. So I (stupidly) used a little bit more because it didn't seem to be hurting anything else. Well, the cyano would get better but what also happened was it killed ALL the algaes in my tank, including the cheeto (sp?) and all the good things growing in there. It looked like my tank had been scrubbed clean, everything looked spotless but not how it should look. At the time I didn't realize right away my cheeto had died. When I did, I scooped as much out as I could with my hand and then put some more in, after the algaefix was all gone. I then used chemiclean to get rid of the cyano and it seemed to take care of that. Then, I started to get algae blooms which I pretty much took care of with some water changes. But now I have what I think it just suspended algae. My water is a cloudy green and I can't seem to fix it. I turn off the lights for the better part of a few days and it seems to get a lot better but comes back when I turn them on. I did a water change of about 2/3 as a last resort and it looked better overnight but was green again when I got home from work the next day! I think this was caused by the cheeto which was decaying in my refugium (which has since been removed and all cleaned out), but now that is all gone and this problem won't go away. I have added some wool filtration to mechanically remove this (I just did this tonight) and am going to black it out for a few days but don't know what else to do! I have had a domino effect of problems and want my beautifu tank back! Suggestions?

The photo of my whole tank wasn't accepted by this program but I've put one looking down into the water to show the colour and another close-up showing the cloudiness.

[Canuckgod420]

I had this same problem in a fresh water tank once. I bought a UV sterilizer and in a couple of days it went away and never came back.

[Myka]

Holy moly that's a bad case of green water!!!

First off, quit using all those chemicals! Chemicals ALWAYS kill more than just what you want them to kill...always.

Where are you getting your source water? Tap? RO from the grocery store? Home RO unit?

What kind of lighting do you have over this tank? How many watts? How long is the photo period? How old are the bulbs? Do you run any phosphate media or carbon? If so, how?

Can you post up a full tank photo including your lighting and sump area? If you can't post them email them to me - [email removed]

[Richard_Dicosimo]

do you have a skimmer? how much flow is in your tank and how big is your tank?

Richard

[linzld]

Here is what I have running in my 40 gallon tank:

4 X 24W T5 bulbs (there are two full spectrum bulbs, an actinic blue marine and another but I forget what it is called) for a total of 96W. Two of the bulbs I have had since I started the tank in January and I added the second set of lights in April. I was running them 12 hours a day but have been cutting back more and more as I have been unable to solve this problem. I have an Aqua Clear Powerhead that runs 270 US Gallons per hour. I put wool in the filter attachment last night to help manually remove some of the suspended algae. I also have a Koralia 400 GPH circulation pump. I have a Remora Nano skimmer and a hang-on refugium in which I have mineral mud and cheato and a mesh bag with carbon. I use tap water for my water changes.

[linzld]

Here is the shot of my tank turned on its side because this thing said it was too tall the other way... my tank is much taller than it is wide.

[Myka]

Here are your pics. Get yourself a www.photobucket.com account. It's free, and easy, and makes posting photos in forums super easy. :)

http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k43/Myka82/IMG_1502.jpg

http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k43/Myka82/IMG_1501.jpg

Here is what I have running in my 40 gallon tank:

4 X 24W T5 bulbs (there are two full spectrum bulbs, an actinic blue marine and another but I forget what it is called) for a total of 96W. Two of the bulbs I have had since I started the tank in January and I added the second set of lights in April. I was running them 12 hours a day but have been cutting back more and more as I have been unable to solve this problem. I have an Aqua Clear Powerhead that runs 270 US Gallons per hour. I put wool in the filter attachment last night to help manually remove some of the suspended algae. I also have a Koralia 400 GPH circulation pump. I have a Remora Nano skimmer and a hang-on refugium in which I have mineral mud and cheato and a mesh bag with carbon. I use tap water for my water changes.

First of all please read A Guide - How to get rid of Hair Algae. Find the link in my signature. A lot of the phosphate and nitrate control tips would be very good for you to go over.

I understand (from your email) that your tank is currently in a dark phase. Be sure that there is ZERO light penetration. Absolutely zero light peeking in from anywhere. I mean, not even a half dim spot! If it isn't 100% pitch black, then your dark period is of absolutely no use. Once you get it 100% pitch black you need to leave it that way for 36 hours with NO PEEKING, don't feed the fish. The fish and corals will be just fine, your skimmer will provide them with enough oxygen. The best way to do this is to use a couple of dark sheets to cover the aquarium making sure it tuck it in on the sides. If you have a sump all the tubing, and the sump has to be dark too. None of the water at ANY TIME can be in the light.

The point of this pitch blackness is to kill the algae obviously, and if you peek or there is any light peeking in at all even for a second or two the algae will "revive". It basically "resets" so to say. It is best to do a large (say 75%) waterchange just before the blackout period, and then another large waterchange right away after opening the tank back up.

I bolded your statement about using tap water. I think this is either the key, or at least a very large contributing factor. Try www.bulkreefsupply.com for an RO/DI unit. They are very reasonably priced, the shipping is cheap, and the brokerage charges are very cheap. Check out their shipping policies.

Also, does your tank receive any natural light? If it receives any natural light at all be sure to block it.

How quickly is your chaeto growing? How big is your refugium? How many watts of light over it? What is your lighting schedule for it?

[linzld]

It has basically been dark since Monday night but I actually wrapped it in Tinfoil at 5 am on Tuesday. So it has been dark about 60 hours now. I peeked inside the evening and it is crystal clear but I'm still afraid of it coming back... might leave it dark until tomorrow evening.

My refugium is about 3 gal and I don't have a sump. Hard to tell how fast cheato is growing because I just got new stuff to replace the stuff I killed. I have 2X9W compact flourescents over it and they are on the same light timer as my tank. This whole problem (starting with the cyano) seems to have kicked off when it started getting nice this spring, around May. Although my tank isn't that close to a window, our house recieves lots of natural light in the summer. I have shut the blinds in the living room and covered the side of the tank facing the window with heavy, dark paper.

[whiteice669]

you may want to add a timer and change your light on the refugium to opposite of the main tank

[linzld]

Well, after 4 days of blackness I have peeled back the tin foil to discover my tank more clear than I even remembered it could be! YAY! Now to just keep it this way...

[Myka]

Well that's a good start! It seems that if the algae issues started when the days started to lengthen, it's likely that your tank is getting too much natural sunlight. If you can, block even more of the natural sunlight. If it comes back you may need to consider moving the tank to a better location.

[Whatigot]

The problem may be gone for now, but the conditions that caused may very well still be present.
Myka made an excellent point about your water source and I think it warrants investigation by you.
I don't know what the turbidity is like in Campbell River, but I would bet there are a lot of silicates and phosphates and the like in the water...


That was a pretty bad issue you had there, even with it gone I would take some time to consider why it happened and stop it before it starts again after you've potentially put more $$ into your system.

[whiteice669]

silicates and phosphates both read 0 on test kits and tap water has a tds of about 6-8ppm

[Brighteyes_13]

the majority of tapwater will test around 100 - 200ppm. I understand that Campbell river is known for great water quality but getting 6-8 ppm is better than some RO units! you may want to have your tds meter checked and calibrated.

[Whatigot]

what kind of test kits?
what kind of tds?

how old are the tests respectively?