how to prevent a algae in salt fish tanK?

jhoepopoy · #1 07-14-2010, 02:12 PM

hi guys

how get gid of green algae in my salt fish tank?

do i need a water change? how and when?
sorry i'm newbie in salt water!!!

pls give me an advice

Thanks!!

viperfish · #2 07-14-2010, 03:17 PM

- Do not overfeed.
- Run a good skimmer (you don't have to pay mega bucks for a good skimmer)
- Lots of circulation inside the tank with as few dead spots as possible
- Make sure you don't have too much flow through the sump (if you have one)
- Some form of supplemental biological filtration helps such as a fuge or biopellets/reactor.
- If you are running lower Kelvin lights such as 10K or god forbid 6500K, do not run them too long. If you have Fiji Purple, get it out of there, they are the worst for algae growth.
- If you are running a filter sock, change it frequently. Same applies to HOB mechanical filters like the Aquaclear with foam media.
- Remove dead fish ASAP.
- Keep a good size clean up crew.

Water changes do very little for excess nutrients when done on a small scale and very large (50%) water changes are very hard on inhabitants. The best way to manage nutrients is not by water changes but by keeping a consistent daily cleaning regime.

jhoepopoy · #3 07-14-2010, 04:25 PM

thanks for the info!!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by medhatreefguy

- Do not overfeed.
- Run a good skimmer (you don't have to pay mega bucks for a good skimmer)
- Lots of circulation inside the tank with as few dead spots as possible
- Make sure you don't have too much flow through the sump (if you have one)
- Some form of supplemental biological filtration helps such as a fuge or biopellets/reactor.
- If you are running lower Kelvin lights such as 10K or god forbid 6500K, do not run them too long. If you have Fiji Purple, get it out of there, they are the worst for algae growth.
- If you are running a filter sock, change it frequently. Same applies to HOB mechanical filters like the Aquaclear with foam media.
- Remove dead fish ASAP.
- Keep a good size clean up crew.

Water changes do very little for excess nutrients when done on a small scale and very large (50%) water changes are very hard on inhabitants. The best way to manage nutrients is not by water changes but by keeping a consistent daily cleaning regime.

jhoepopoy · #4 07-14-2010, 04:31 PM

as of now i'm running 4bulbs T5 (2x24) do i need take out 2 bulbs? and i have a HOB CPR BAK PAK 2 protein skimmer!!

reefwars · #5 07-14-2010, 04:58 PM

Like med said consistency is the key regular routines and light schedules try to learn and read as much about algae and on how your equipment works as possible. Their are different types of algae some good some bad , the bad stuff is alot easier to orevent then get rid of and the good stuff doesn't happen over night bu will in time

another thing to remember is f this is a fairly new system you'll probably deal with your share of algae over the next year don't get frstrated and ask ask ask , I'm sure the algae subject will never end people are always finding new ways to deal with things so knowlege is your best defence the rest are just small tasks

cheers!!

reefwars · #6 07-14-2010, 05:00 PM

Your lighting will depend on tank size and what you plan to keep for livestock

jhoepopoy · #7 07-14-2010, 08:49 PM

here my picture!!

Jeff_ · #8 07-15-2010, 06:24 AM

IMO from your tank picture there isn't very much "bad" algae or very much algae at all with the exception of the regular diatoms, but do definitely get in a habit of doing water changes, either once a month or once every two weeks. I've been using tap water with prime for several years with little problems but it was for my seagrass which helped absorb most of the excess nutrients in the tap water, Using RO/DI will definitely help control the algae. How often do you feed, and what do you feed?

jhoepopoy · #9 07-15-2010, 01:05 PM

i feed them twice a week a frozen food!!!

thanks

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeff_

IMO from your tank picture there isn't very much "bad" algae or very much algae at all with the exception of the regular diatoms, but do definitely get in a habit of doing water changes, either once a month or once every two weeks. I've been using tap water with prime for several years with little problems but it was for my seagrass which helped absorb most of the excess nutrients in the tap water, Using RO/DI will definitely help control the algae. How often do you feed, and what do you feed?

viperfish · #10 07-15-2010, 01:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jhoepopoy

i feed them twice a week a frozen food!!!

thanks

I feed daily. Twice a week is barely enough for most fish. Some fish such as Anthias have very short intestinal tracts and need to be fed two or three times a day. Smaller portions once a day would probably suffice for you, just be sure you are feeding the fish instead of the tank.