Horrible Algae Issues

[tcampbell23]

So I've been in this hobby for going on 6 years and in just about every tank I've set up I've had an algae issue (cyano, green hair, and bubble) and it is becoming extremely frustrating especially in the last 3 setups. I'm going to outline my setup from top to bottom and I would really appreciate any help or feed back you guys may have to help address this issue.

The tank itself is a 75 Gallon that I drilled 3 holes for a bean animal overflow and one hole on the opposite end of the tank for the return. and the sump/refugium is a 40 gallon long.

Equipment:
1) 2- 165w MarsAqua Led fixtures (Chinese full spectrum)
2) 3- 54w ATI T5HO (Blue+, Coral+ and purple+ i believe)
3) Jebao Coralbox D700 skimmer (rated for 200gallons)
4) 2 TLF Phosban reactor 150 (I was running 2 one with Seachem PhosGuard and one with petsmart brand Carbon. After learning that carbon is a source of phosphate, I took it offline to see if that would help my algae problem.
5) Aqueon AQ1700 return pump
6) 3 MJ1200 for flow inside the display
7) AquaticLife RO Buddie
8) Inline TDS meter (the brand escapes me at the moment.)
9) Gravity fed ATO
The rest is the standard stuff 2 heaters, filter sock, and a RKL with temp and pH probes.

Parameters
Salinity-1.027 measured with a hyrdrometer
pH- 7.9-8.0 measured by RK
temp- 79.7 consistently (like it NEVER changes)
Ammonia-0.0ppm (API test kit)
Phosphate-0.0ppm (API) obviously some is present otherwise i would not be creating this post
Nitrate- 0.0ppm (API) again some has to be present due to algae growth
Calcium- 420ppm (API)
Magnesium- 1200ppm (RedSea)
Alkalinity- 9 dkH (API)

Stock list
2- True Percula Clowns 1-1.5 in each
1-Blue Jaw Trigger ~4.5 in
1-Yellow Tang ~3 in
1- Mandarin Dragonet
1- Flame Angel ~2.5 in

Maintenance Schedule
15gallon water change weekly (3x a month) with IO Reef Crystals
20gallon water change once a month (every 3 weeks)

Tank has been up for about a month and a half with livestock in it. Had little to no cycle due to heavy seeding from a previous setup.

PLEASE HELP ME lol

 

[tcampbell23]

My next step is to add an algae scrubber and then from there I am considering plumbing my old 15 gallon column tank into the system to serve as a larger fuge that i can densely pack with macro algae. I don't want to do this because of all of the extra work involved but I am willing to if that's what it takes.

 

[genesis]

I think you need to get a better quality test kit for your nitrates and phosphates so you can have a better idea (speaking from experience). I went to the Red Sea kits from the API

 

[lsu_fishfan]

Genesis;1068927 wrote: I think you need to get a better quality test kit for your nitrates and phosphates so you can have a better idea (speaking from experience). I went to the Red Sea kits from the API

Agree, api isn't that great.

How long are you running your lights?

In every tank I've set up, within the first 6 months, I've had a hair algae bloom.
When aquarists talk about cycling their tanks, most are referring to the nitrogen cycle at the start of a system. There is also the phosphorus cycle, that occurs after the nitrogen cycle, and is most likely the cause of your algae problem. The best way to rid hair algae is to physically remove it from the tank. Depending on how long your running your lights, you might be providing more photosynthetic period for the algae to gain nutrients and spread.

Cyano is usually caused by dead spots of water movement in the tank.

 

[shrimpy brains]

IMO, that is a large amount of livestock for a 6 week old tank. Algae blooms to be expected.
The reason you read 0 on ammonia and nitrites/trates is because the algae is consuming it. They are obviously plentiful per the fast growth rate of the nuisance algae.

You make no mention of how much/often you feed. Perhaps this is something that may be cut back.
Also, how long do you run your lights daily. This can be cut back also.

Another thought is you don't mention any CUC. A good supply of dwarf blue leg hermit crabs and a good mix of snails will eliminate tons of algae.

Other than that, I think your system just needs time to build up the proper biofiltration for your bioload. The first thing I learned in this hobby and often forget is, patience.

 

[tcampbell23]

I completely forgot to mention the cleanup crew currently I have 4 turbo snails, 7 or 8 blue leg hermits, 3 nassarius snails, and 3 astrea snails.

My light schedule is
Blues 9am-7pm
Whites & T5 11-5

I will get a better test kit and go from there. Any recommendations?

 

[tcampbell23]

For flow i have a MJ1200, an aqueon 950 and a chinese powerhead that i purchased off ebay that says it pushes 1600 gph but, I poin this directly to the surface of the tank to agitate and assist with gas exchange.

By next weekend I am going to scrap all of these for 2 jebao rw-8 and 2 rw-4s to get around the back and lower portions of the tank

 

[tcampbell23]

I feed half a frozen cube of mysis (the brand from petsmart..the name escapes me at the moment) every other day as I try not to overfeed.

 

[lsu_fishfan]

I'd recommend cutting your lights back at least 2 hours

 

[tcampbell23]

LSU_fishFan;1068949 wrote: I'd recommend cutting your lights back at least 2 hours

So
Blues 9am-5pm
Whites/ T5 11am-3pm ?

 

[snowmansnow]

I may have missed it but...

I saw you had a TDS meter.
Does it read 0 on the out?


So long, and thanks for all the fish.

 

[tcampbell23]

SnowManSnow;1068963 wrote: I may have missed it but...

I saw you had a TDS meter.
Does it read 0 on the out?


So long, and thanks for all the fish.

Yeah it reads 55 going in and 0 coming out

 

[snowmansnow]

I also didn't see a skimmer?
I can be done, but man it's easier with

My bad.... Found it


So long, and thanks for all the fish.

 

[snowmansnow]

I think , at 6 weeks you my just be hitting your cycle.... Can you post a pic of the algae you're having?


So long, and thanks for all the fish.

 

[billsfan]

Just a heads up. I have 2 rw-8's in my 120 and I have to angle them up to stop them from blowing the sand all over. 4 pumps would be way to much unless its bare bottom tank.

 

[billsfan]

A little off topic but how good is the coral box skimmer. How does it compare to skimmers you have owned. I'm looking into there cloud c9 skimmer.

 

[tcampbell23]

SnowManSnow;1068968 wrote: I think , at 6 weeks you my just be hitting your cycle.... Can you post a pic of the algae you're having?


So long, and thanks for all the fish.

Yeah I'll post a couple when I get home

 

[tcampbell23]

billsfan;1068971 wrote: A little off topic but how good is the coral box skimmer. How does it compare to skimmers you have owned. I'm looking into there cloud c9 skimmer.

Honestly it's the first skimmer I've actually invested in but I can say that it has been the best I've owned. It pulls out some really good skimmate and I have to empty the cup 2 times a week

 

[bkostuch]

Also if you want to go back to using carbon, i would suggest a dual reactor style setup or run your phosban reactor in tandem behind your carbon, that way any "phosphate leech" that is happening on your carbon is caught immediately with the phosban reactor. I run carbon and GFO in a dual reactor and have yet to see a phosphate issue.

 

[tcampbell23]

billsfan;1068969 wrote: Just a heads up. I have 2 rw-8's in my 120 and I have to angle them up to stop them from blowing the sand all over. 4 pumps would be way to much unless its bare bottom tank.

Okay. I just want to reduce dead spots.. My scape is extremely open with just 3 separate islands and no rock touching the glass but as I've read, cyano comes from lack of flow so I want to be sure that the lower areas of the tank get decent flow