Algae Problem

[cabbagehead]

Greetings! This is my first post on this forum so I wanted to first say thanks for having this outlet available. I currently have a 135 gallon Oceanic with three 175watt metal halides. The tank is the product of a two year old 55 gallon AGA that is being converted to a sump/fuge underneath the 135. This tank has been up and running since early December and all has been well until now. All of my water parameters are fine but I am experiencing a major algae bloom. I have come to the conclusion that it might be a flow problem. I currently have four maxijet 1200s with rotating heads connected to a Wavemaster pro for alternating current. I thought this would be enough when I included the returns in my flow calculations. After doing the math I calculated that I am turning my tanks water volume 13 time per hour. Is this enough?
I am not including the 30 gallons that I have in my sump. By adjusting the location of the powerheads I have improved but not eliminated the algae problem. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
Tank Specs:
PH : 8.2
Nitrate: less than 5
Nitrite : 0
AM: 0
Phos: less than .5
Salinity: 1.027
Calcium: 450 (Oceanic Salt)
Tank Contents:
110 pounds of live rock (2years old)
Yellow tang
Blue tang
Purple tang
Six line wrasse
Skunk Clown
Over 20 differant corals SPS,LPS and softies
Equipment:
AquaC Ev120 skimmer with Mag 7 supply
4 Maxijet 1200 with rotating heads
3 X 175 watt MH with 4 65watt PC
4 LED moonlights
Quiet One 5000 return pump

[Rob]

ok, it sounds like you will be fine...
you are probably going though a cycle... going from a 55 gallon to 135 will likely cause a cycle (even if you moved all the water sand and rock)... what you are probably seeing is a brownish red dusting of algae over EVERYTHING (diatom bloom).. and probably some greeish algae on the glass... this is all normal..

just keep an eye on it and do water changes... i dont normally recommend water changes during a cycle, but since you already have alot of established rock, and you have many inhabitants. i would say do them

now regarding the water flow, you might want a bit more.. most the the stony corals are going to want more... and the tank overall is going to need more

those MJ 1200 are 295 GPH so 4x295 is 1180 but since they are on a wavetimer, you have to subtract either one or two... from the total. you only count whats "on" so if you have two fire, then the other two fire.. you can only cout two of them in your total...
on top of that, those rotating heads on them reduce there overall output too...

the QuietOne 500 is about 1300 GPH at 0' if i remember right... but you have to subtract for the head... (how long the return hose is) so figure out your head to get the accurate amount... there should be a chart with the pump, or you can find one online.
same thing for the Mag7.. its 700 gph, but when you account for it going through the skimmer, you are likely loosing 25-35% of its force...

so icant really say how much more oyu need, but i would look into either Tunze powerheads or into SEIO powerheads...

depending on the type of coral, you might need more than 20x per hours

[cabbagehead]

Rob
Thank you so much for replying to my post. I was wondering about a cycle but have not seen any water readings to support this. I might have missed this if it was a very short cycle and the algae is the end result. I remember when my 55gal cycle I had brown algae for two weeks. You hit the nail on the head with the color of the algae. I do water changes religiously, 10% a week and will continue to. I will look in to the SEIO pumps as the Tunze are currently out of my range. Thanks again and keep up the great work on the podcast.

[Rob]

you are seeing the end of the cycle right now... as a nitrate reading of about 5 is way to high...
anything over 1 is too high.. 0 being the recommended
although with your water changes this should get reduced...

yes the SEIO's are good, i have one, and am thinking about getting another one...
a great alternative to the Tunze

[gwen_o_lyn]

Hi Cabbagehead,

Welcome to Talking Reef!!

When reading your post, I didn't see anything mentioning that you are using RODI water- I just wanna make sure of that, because that can cause algae.

Also what kinda of algae are you seeing? A hair algae, diatom bloom, or even cyano bacteria maybe?? I'm asking because u treat each one differently- but in most cases the goal is to starve the algae. If you aren't sure the type- just try and describe it.

I read where Rob described the algae and u agreed to have that kind- but it sounds like it could be either a diatom bloom or cyano.

Talk to you soon,
gwen

[Rob]

diatom bloom is what it is... this is what you get at the end of a cycle...
while cyano could follow, they look quite different...

Diatoms have more of a dusting look, where cyano has more of a slimy look to it...

and for the record (gwen im sure you know this already) Cyano is not algae its bacteria... hence it being called cyano bacteria.. just incase anyone reading this was curious...

but yes, the use of RO or distilled water is always recomended IMO.

[gwen_o_lyn]

I knew I'd prolly confuse people mentioning cyano and algae in one sentence.... that's why I tried to say "or even" instead of just "or" which people would think it was algae.. oh well, I'm all about confusing people though.

[cabbagehead]

gwen_o_lyn,
Thanks for the reply! I think it was definetly a diatom bloom because it looked exactly like the bloom I got when my 55gal fully cycled. I spent some time and adjusted the power heads to direct flow more evenly across the tank and it has pretty much eliminated the algae on the sand. The algae on the glass however is still a big problem. I just got this tank and it is the first " Brand New" tank I have ever had. I am very wary of using some of the tools available to get the hard encrusting algae of the glass. I plan on doing a water change tommorow (RODI of course) and testing all of my parameters. I will try to post a picture in the gallery as I am extreamly proud of the wood work that I did on this tank. Thanks again Rob for the great website and the podcast

[gwen_o_lyn]

I totally understand not wanting to scratch the glass on your brand new tank sitting on a beautiful stand!! I've heard of people using algae magnets everyday to clean the tank and they never get the coralline buildup, but that is too much work for me. I use this:
http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewIt...product=KM2627
And I've never had a problem nor scratched the glass.

[mopecula]

First of all a diatom bloom is usually caused by silicates in the water, are you using r/o water with d/i filter? red or blue/green cyano( aka algae) is usually caused by detrious build up and thats why good water movement helps to eliminate this algae. it will help to keep the detrious in suspension for the filter media to trap it or will settle in the sump for later removal. Your phosphate levels should be .03 or lower and what is you alk and Ph? keep those steady and keep alk around 10dkh algae hates a high alk.

[Rob]

diatoms blooms are also a common accurance at the conclusion of a "cycle" which is where cabbagehead is at...
so becuase hes at the end, (and using RO.DI per his previous post above) i would not assume this is a silicate issue..

[mopecula]

Originally Posted by Rob

diatoms blooms are also a common accurance at the conclusion of a "cycle" which is where cabbagehead is at...
so becuase hes at the end, (and using RO.DI per his previous post above) i would not assume this is a silicate issue..

Hey Rob, are not diatom blooms caused by silicates? what about the end of a cycle would cause a bloom? any how they will usually disapea