Peng Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 I have had my all fish removed from DT for a month now, brown/green hairy algae started grow and cover the power heads and some areas of rocks, while the corallines are dying. This is very strange... I thought about starving them to death but doesn't it mean that corals will be starving too? Can anyone help me? RO/DI TDS is zero. Nitrate phosphate and nitrite aren't detectable. No diatoms just hairy algae growing. Not sure if the nutrients came from the sand bed. My lights are on a lil bit over 12 hours per day.[attachment=38565:ImageUploadedByTapatalk1422151844.519981.jpg] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadySaber Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 Well I believe you need to reduce the time your lights are on. You can check on something that loves green algae maybe a sally lightfoot crab or a lawnmorrow blenny something like that. My hermits keep the algae mowed down. Just my thoughts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rworegon Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 I'm confused. Are you still feeding your tank with no fish? Also the results of phosphate tests will often site zero if the algae in the tank is consuming it faster than it is being produced. I would not feed the fallow tank, manually remove add much of the algae as possible, and add some trochus snails and maybe some red legged hermits for algae control. Also reduce photo period. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadySaber Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 I have a red legged hermit he is my tank hermit..lol large very large but eats any algae and knocks over anything that isnt bolted down LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peng Posted February 7, 2015 Author Share Posted February 7, 2015 I'm confused. Are you still feeding your tank with no fish? Also the results of phosphate tests will often site zero if the algae in the tank is consuming it faster than it is being produced. I would not feed the fallow tank, manually remove add much of the algae as possible, and add some trochus snails and maybe some red legged hermits for algae control. Also reduce photo period. Hi no I'm not feeding the tank. I think I have photo period for too long... 12 hrs. So I'm going to reduce that. It has been fellow for like 5 weeks now... Not sure where does the nutrients come from. I added some snails. I bought a spottailed blenny but it cannot enter the tank yet... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandinga Posted February 8, 2015 Share Posted February 8, 2015 Why would you remove and stress your fish to cure an algae outbreak? I understand you want to cut the amount of nutrients being imported, but all you really need to focus on is NUTRIeNT EXPoRT! Skimmers, refugiums, wc's, and carbon dosing are among a few options. Also, kent tech-m will melt bryopsis when used with care. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandinga Posted February 8, 2015 Share Posted February 8, 2015 Not sure where does the nutrients come from. I added some snails. I bought a spottailed blenny but it cannot enter the tank yet... Phosphates can leach from substrate, Rock, food, and even plastic water barrels can leach PO4. Removing your fish is not a solution. You need a long term PLaN as to how you will remove excess nutrients. If your current plan isn't working time to try something else. There are a million threads on this topic, so do some research and I will stop my rambling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peng Posted February 13, 2015 Author Share Posted February 13, 2015 Phosphates can leach from substrate, Rock, food, and even plastic water barrels can leach PO4. Removing your fish is not a solution. You need a long term PLaN as to how you will remove excess nutrients. If your current plan isn't working time to try something else. There are a million threads on this topic, so do some research and I will stop my rambling. Hi thanks for the concern but I didn't remove my fish to treat the algae break... The fish were out in the first place because aquarium rearrangement and ich elimination. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandinga Posted February 13, 2015 Share Posted February 13, 2015 (edited) AHAAA! This whole before and after, pre and post tense stuff workes wonders! Anyways, How many tangs did you take out of the tank? From the looks of another thread you removed at least a PBT and AT. I would hypothesize that the tangs were previously keeping this type of algae under control, and by removing the tangs you removed natural lawnmowers...aka tangs. Ever seen your tangs nipping at your powerheads, and seemingly algae-less rocks? Yeah, they are nipping algae before you even see it. All day long they are on the hunt. Edited February 13, 2015 by Mandinga 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bombertech Posted February 13, 2015 Share Posted February 13, 2015 If it were me, it sounds like there are a couple options: Get some critters in there to eat all the algae, increase flow to capture their waste. Continue until whatever rock/sand is leaching nutrients finishes. OR.... Nix the sand (its cheap), and decide if you need to nuke the rock. When starting fresh, make sure you learn from previous lessons so you don't have to do it again. Oh, and as for the bacterial cycle, you can use bottled bacteria to help kick start the ammonia cycle. Which will convert it to nitrites and then nitrates. One thing to note is you'll have to let the anerobic bacteria populate the oxygen void parts of the rock, in other words, you'll need to keep nitrates in check with macro and/or water changes and be careful feeding or you'll go full circle. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peng Posted February 16, 2015 Author Share Posted February 16, 2015 AHAAA! This whole before and after, pre and post tense stuff workes wonders! Anyways, How many tangs did you take out of the tank? From the looks of another thread you removed at least a PBT and AT. I would hypothesize that the tangs were previously keeping this type of algae under control, and by removing the tangs you removed natural lawnmowers...aka tangs. Ever seen your tangs nipping at your powerheads, and seemingly algae-less rocks? Yeah, they are nipping algae before you even see it. All day long they are on the hunt. Yes I think that's why... Can't wait until the fallow period is over... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pledosophy Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 Depending on the corals you are keeping, I might continue to feed the tank. Corals need food too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JManrow Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 All these are excellent recommendations. Also, make sure you have adequate protein skimming and that your Magnesium level is high enough. I had a Bryopsis outbreak years ago when my Mg. was low. Increasing it gradually over a few days to 1300ppm took care of my algae problem. Here are some optimal water parameters. http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/ This nuisance algae guide may be helpful too. http://www.reefcleaners.org/nuisance-algae-id-guide Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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