Algae is kikkin' my butt ?

[TANGOMAN]

Those of you who have met me will know why I'm bald ! It's because I'm constantly pulling the hair out of my head trying to control an algae problem in my 90g. Ironically, hair algae. Or a form of it. It is much "finer" than what I've seen over the years.
I've got two tanks goin'. The other is perfect. Same water supply and parameters. I was certain the 90g was suffering from lighting problems. Wrong. I had replaced the two 55w PC's (10K) and added 2x 40W NO Actinics. Pulled all the hairy rocks and scrubbed 'em. (this process surely had nothing to do with a form of parasitic irritation the fish suffered from). I began growing Caulerpa in the sump on a reverse photoperiod. I ran the tank for two weeks with no PC lighting. Things looked good and then wham, it's back with a vengeance.
With a lionfish there is no "clean-up crew", a Lemonpeel Angel and a stupid Damsel are the other occupants. Bio-load I feel is low to moderate. Yes, lions are messy eaters but the other two clean up awesomely behind him.
Rocks I'm thinkin' may be the problem ? When I bought this tank used several years back it had some live rock and a lot of "lava rock". Ya know, the pieces with big holes in it that's way over priced. I removed some of the lave rock and added live rock.
Should I "junk" the lava rock. I once read natural elements could be present and leach out over time...hmmm. Iron ? Yum yum...
It's time for something drastic. I'm sick of fighting with this tank. I just go to the other room and admire my 60g... Any thoughts on cleansing this nusiance from the live rock...I read about a week or two in a tub with tank water and maracyn in the dark...?
Help me....

[ganowicki]

I am fairly new to this but it was my understanding that lava rock contained phospates. I had a similar problem and it was all caused by a piece of lava rock a little bit larger than my fist. I pulled the rock and it cleaned up in a couple of weeks. If it it was me I'd pull the lava rock

[ranz]

I have half a tank of lava and live rock, I can't claim that I havnt had problems with algae but it is not a nussaince. I have had bad cycles but it usually cleans up on its own...

My problem is calcium which has always made me wonder about the lava rock. I have added 7 teaspoons of Kent Turbo Calcium and 4 gallons of KALK and still only get readings of 280 ppm (THESE READING are correct). Anyways here is something I have done and it works great for algae clean-up...

1) put an extra mechanical pad in overflow to catch loose algae only until tank clears up...

2) Take a electric tooth brush and wrap a rubber glove around the electrical end and wrap two elastics to seal it.

3) Go at those rocks... sounds barbarick but works great...

4) Remove extra mechanical pad in overflow.

Ranzreef....

[Beverly]

Originally Posted by TANGOMAN

It's because I'm constantly pulling the hair out of my head trying to control an algae problem in my 90g. Ironically, hair algae. Or a form of it. It is much "finer" than what I've seen over the years.

With a lionfish there is no "clean-up crew",

Geez, I didn't know you couldn't keep snails with a lionfish. If you could, though, I'd add a couple of dozen astreas or other snails. They'd fix your algae problem pretty quickly, ime.

[ranz]

Very good point......Beverly

simple fix

[Quinn]

lionfish will eat them apparently i'm no expert, but i've read bad things about lava rock.

[BCOrchidGuy]

My understanding is that Lava rock releases iron into the water, which of course is a nutrient for the algae..... just some food for thought, have you tried an iron or phosphate test kit?

[ranz]

Phosphates are zero in my tank...

Ranz

[Bob I]

Here we go round and round again. This time lava rock gets it. I have used the stuff for years. At this time I have some in each of my three tanks. I have never had a problem

[Diomedes]

Hey Tango, here is what I think you should do...try to find some old/dead LR to replace the lava. It isn't natural anyhow, but I don't think it leaches phos or iron in any special quantities. IMO the maracyn thing is a little over board...and besides only cyanobacteria will be affected. Describe your algae.

Maybe this will help - it is an exerpt from an article I wrote a couple of months back. It is not in complete form, and some things have been omitted for the sake of brevity...I hope it helps...PM me if you need the entire list of 23 algae-inhibiting techniques and information.

Algae Control
There are a number of contributing factors that make algae one of the most formidable challenges in modern aquarium keeping. But lets start with a brief description of the enemy…pest algaes are usually unicellular (very small) little basic plants that thrive in the presence of Light, Nitrates, Phosphates and Carbon dioxide. Secondary contributing elements are Iron, Silicon and Iodine among others. They can overgrow rocks and make viewing an aquarium as pleasurable as looking at a transparent bucket of dirt. Their weaknesses lie in the 4 main contributing factors described above, as well as the fact that many things like to eat them.
The below methods focus on manipulating nutrient import vs. export ratios.

1)Do a water change – If you haven’t been doing water changes, algae causing compounds may be accumulating in your water. If you have been especially lazy, it may take a couple of changes over a week or two to get back to a healthy levels of pollutants.
2)Up and Out Clean – when you are cleaning the glass in your aquarium, clean from the bottom up and ‘slop’ the hand held scrubber into a waiting bucket of fresh water to rinse it out. This gets the waste matter out of your system, so that it can’t be broken down into nutrients that feed more algae. This is especially important if your current is low and you don’t run a protein skimmer.
3)Circulation – Any place in your tank where waste material settles is a prime algae growing engine. In these areas nutrients and CO2 accumulate and are released that cause algae growth.
4)Cleanup crew – These are my recommendations for the ideal cleanup crew. The number of these organisms should be individually tailored to suit your tanks needs. Keep in mind that if you are feeding these critters they will not be as inclined to eat your algae – Therefore don’t let your food hit the ground.
i)Blue-legged hermit crabs
ii)Scarlet hermit crabs
iii)Algae eating snails (I prefer Turbo, Cerith snails)
5)Source water – Reverse Osmosis/ Deionized water helps because it doesn’t contain contaminants that encourage algae. But if you are using tap water get it checked for Phosphates, Nitrates, Silicates (if poss.) and overall Total Dissolved Solids (TDS).
6)Clean Floss/Foam – the more often you clean these during an algae outbreak the better. When sitting in your filter they are not doing much good. Water is being pressured through a block of foam that is full of rotting matter. The real filtering occurs when you take the foam/floss out and clean it under the tap.
7)Limit nutrient input – Don’t overfeed and use the techniques described above in the nutrition section. One piece of krill can foul up a 50 gallon tank if left to rot. Feed slowly, let each piece be eaten before adding another.
8)Turkey baster – using a turkey baster to blow off collected waste on rocks and gravel is a very simple, effective way to clean. This mimics wave action breaking on the surface of the rock and taking away rotting sediment. Clean your sponge/floss filter out after.
10)Herbivorous fish – there are many species of fish that eat algae. My favourites are Kole’s tang (Ctenochaetus strigosus) and the Jeweled Rockskipper (Salarias fasciatus). Look into other fish in the books listed below - certain fish match certain algaes.
12) High KH, pH – In my personal experience that keeping the pH, KH high encourages less algae growth – pH 8.4, KH 10 dKH.
13)Dose Kalkwasser – this precipitates out phosphates and helps keep pH high.
14)Maintain temperature low (75 degrees) – If you are a beginner or are having real issues, this allows you to keep a better handle on the situation. The metabolic speed of everything in your tank is tied into temperature...your fishes appetite, waste production, Algae growth etc.
Make temperature adjustments slowly.
16) Protein Skimming – while protein skimming will not eliminate algae in an improperly maintained aquarium, it is capable of eliminating tons of waste before it breaks down.
23) READ, READ, READ – Read every book in the Recommended reading section and then apply that knowledge. Algae will jump out of your tank and run at the very sight of you.

Cheers
Stephen