alage bloom

[my_gs_miranda]

Help!I just got a new tank ,faRILY NEW ANYWAY(4 months old),the problem is a alage bloom has struck my reef tank,I was told to do 20% water change do not put on the lights and watch for any rays that might come in the room from the sun so you can say my living room is dark all the time.when i do this is seems to be getting better then if i turn on the tanks lights when in an hour the tank is dark with alage again.to the point you cannot see the fish!all the test of the water has come back normal the fish are doing fine but they need some kind of lighting right?Is there any one out there that has had this problem and if so can you PLEASE HELP,me out i really miss watching those fish even though my reef tank is young

[Smo]

You need to stop the algae at it's source.
What does the algae look like?
Is it a brown dusting covering the glass and rocks?
Is it a green colored hair looking type?

You're doing a good job so far, but I wouldn't turn the lights off completely. Just cut them back to maybe 8 hours a day.
How often do you feed your fish and how much?
Have you tested for phospahtes? ( a normal source of nutrients for algae introduced through the use of tap-water or over feeding).
What type of water do you mix your salt with?
What type of water for top offs due to evaporation?

We'll start with those few items and continue as you provide more info. More than happy to help you out.

[FatFishFourU]

If the algae is brown or red looking, it might be diatoms which grow because of too much silicates in your water. To get rid of them, you have to buy a phosphate sponge. Kent Marine makes the one I use, it works really well.

[Geoff]

if it shows up that quickly than it is cyano.

ahh the scurge of all reefers, expecially beginners.

give us as much info about your setup as you can. when you are doing water changes are you siphoning out all of the algae? if not then start. what kind of water are you using to make up your water. if you are using tap water than you could have a lot of phosphates in it and this fuels cyano.

what kind of substrate do you have? if you have a crushed coral substrate than vacuuming this will also help. getting more flow in the tank will also help.

now for the important question.

what kind of skimmer do you have?

these are very important for removing excess nutrients that can cause cyano.

G~

[my_gs_miranda]

The algae in my tank is of the pea soup variety, cannot hardly see through it. About 10 or 12 days ago I did a 30% water change with some results but it is right back where it was, thick. I have cut back about half on the feedings. Don`t have a phosphate test kit yet but i`m going to try to get one. We use tap water for changes and topoffs. Would aging our water help out? If so how long?

[ErinGoBragh]

Originally Posted by my_gs_miranda

The algae in my tank is of the pea soup variety, cannot hardly see through it. About 10 or 12 days ago I did a 30% water change with some results but it is right back where it was, thick. I have cut back about half on the feedings. Don`t have a phosphate test kit yet but i`m going to try to get one. We use tap water for changes and topoffs. Would aging our water help out? If so how long?

The tap water is the problem, a RO-DI unil is fairly expensive, but you need it. I have been getting RO-DI water at wall mart at 58 cents a gallon, but now I have about 100 empty bottles in my garage, and am half way to the price of a RO-DI unit. There are phosphates in your tap water, and algae can't live without them. doing water changes with tap water is just feeding the algae and you will never get ahead. Even after about 1.5 months my tank is still green, so it will take time even after you change to RO water, but it will straighten up (I am told)

Basically what I have been told here is that I need a good skimmer, live rock, and that tap water is a no-no. Did you have a chance to look my other threads dealing with this problem?

[my_gs_miranda]

[]I have been told that our problem could be the salt that we are using. Has anybody heard of this being a problem? We tested our tap water for phosphates and there is none.

[ErinGoBragh]

Originally Posted by my_gs_miranda

[]I have been told that our problem could be the salt that we are using. Has anybody heard of this being a problem? We tested our tap water for phosphates and there is none.

I have heard that the phosphate test kits on the market don't register all types of phosphates, however, unless you are on a private well, I bet phosphates are added. They are added to compensate for other toxins in the water (such as mercury and copper).
Some more inexpensive salt mixes do add phosphates, but I am not sure which ones. If you did a search I am sure you would find tons of info, as this is a common topic.

[Geoff]

Originally Posted by my_gs_miranda

[]I have been told that our problem could be the salt that we are using. Has anybody heard of this being a problem? We tested our tap water for phosphates and there is none.

phosphates are a tough thing to test for. since phosphates are limiting, then the safe assumption is, if you got algae you got phosphates.

as for the salt adding phosphates, i really doubt it. what salt are you using? i like Instant Ocean. it is a mid to low priced salt. used it for years, do not have a problem with it.

G~