MrZ2u Posted January 23, 2019 Share Posted January 23, 2019 (edited) I had a green hair explosion in my tank a little while back. Manually took a lot out and got a sea hare in there munching on the rest. He is still pooping so there must be some to eat still. Watching for him to be done so I doesnt expire. No detectable nitrates or phosphates using API test kits. There is a green slime that forms on the glass constantly. I can do a water change, razor the glass and in a couple hours its coming back. If I dont run the mag across it 2x a day it gets so hard the mag doesnt work well. Been sifting the sand with the water changes and doing 25% every other day as well as doing Fritz algaecide and its really not getting any better...the glass that is. There is another green algae that isnt hair...it looks like the fake bushes they use in model train set ups. They are stiff and hold their shape when removed from water. Sea hare doesnt seem to eat them...maybe yet? Bubble stuff isnt that bad but its in there. The red stuff comes and goes as a dust of sorts on the sand...might just be dead green stuff too. Bought a ball of Chaeto the other day and I have it in one of the chambers in the back of the tank (nuvo lagoon 25, #2 in this pic ) I have pulled the black cover off the back on mine so I can see to clean it and now so light can pass thru. I was thinking of a simple plant light back there. Thinking if I can get that thing to dominate maybe it will starve the rest? Anyone think a single stick of these would be sufficient to light that chaeto? Edited January 23, 2019 by MrZ2u Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolt Posted January 23, 2019 Share Posted January 23, 2019 You are seeing the green algae become hard within 24 hours? As in coralline algae hard? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrZ2u Posted January 23, 2019 Author Share Posted January 23, 2019 Just now, jolt said: You are seeing the green algae become hard within 24 hours? As in coralline algae hard? no, just hard enough (maybe sticky is a better word) that the mag float alone really doesnt do much...gotta really scrub it back a forth a lot to make a dent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolt Posted January 23, 2019 Share Posted January 23, 2019 What are your nitrate and phsophate readings? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrZ2u Posted January 23, 2019 Author Share Posted January 23, 2019 With an API kit...0 on both. Not only that...I have done probably 8 25% changes over the past two weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrZ2u Posted January 23, 2019 Author Share Posted January 23, 2019 (edited) The second partitions next to the skim intakes seem pointless to me and I am thinking of removing them to be honest. That will give me a lot more room for the skimmer and return pump and let me put a screen over it so I can house a larger amount of chaeto Edited January 23, 2019 by MrZ2u 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolt Posted January 23, 2019 Share Posted January 23, 2019 Hmmm, something does not seem right. I'm guessing you have a lot of organics in the water that are not detectable by the API tests. Hopefully others might ave some thoughts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mFrame Posted January 23, 2019 Share Posted January 23, 2019 Are you running UV? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrZ2u Posted January 23, 2019 Author Share Posted January 23, 2019 Just now, mFrame said: Are you running UV? yes but there are only two UV LED's in my fixture among 55 total and they are not new to the setup . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mFrame Posted January 23, 2019 Share Posted January 23, 2019 Sorry, I meant a UV sterilizer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrZ2u Posted January 23, 2019 Author Share Posted January 23, 2019 Just now, mFrame said: Sorry, I meant a UV sterilizer. ahh...negative. No and I dont see where I would even put one if I wanted to Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mFrame Posted January 23, 2019 Share Posted January 23, 2019 It might be worth seeing if you can borrow one. Temporarily it can be placed beside the tank with an infeed tube going into the water on one side and a return on the other. I would also add carbon or maybe chemipure to try to start filtering anything out of the water that might be there. The other thing to is a 3 days of darkness treatment to try to starve it out. The growth you're seeing is dependent on light. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrZ2u Posted January 23, 2019 Author Share Posted January 23, 2019 I have two packs of nano sized ChemiPure Blue in there right now and will continue the water change intervals. The starvation route is doable for sure but I wonder if any would lay dormant. More to the question I kind of started with ...lighting the chaeto. Or the chaeto itself. Is it worthwhile to have or is it a unnecessary element? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sierra Bravo Posted January 23, 2019 Share Posted January 23, 2019 Regarding the chaeto light question, the light you linked has the proper spectrum. I'd leave it on 24hrs a day to encourage rapid growth. When you get on top of the algae problem run it opposite of your lights to help balance pH throughout the day/night. Having chaeto to out-compete nuisance algae is widely recommended (I pull a half-bucket's worth out of my sump every two weeks), but I don't know how well it works in a small space like your AIO. The algae may be blue-green cyanobacteria. Other things to look at would be TDS of your RODI, amount you're feeding (may have zero levels because of the algae itself), light schedule and spectrum, any new rock added, flow. . .same things you'd consider for a red cyano outbreak. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrZ2u Posted January 23, 2019 Author Share Posted January 23, 2019 6 minutes ago, Sierra Bravo said: ...but I don't know how well it works in a small space like your AIO. That is partly why I am considering removing the second baffles (the ones that say 4" in the pic). Its very cramped back there with the skimmer and pump in the center section and those two spaces do not seem to serve any real purpose. Their website refers to them as dedicated skimmer and heater columns which might be great if my skimmer would fit in one but thats a nogo and just by a tiny bit too. In addition they have a floor on them that seems even more pointless and honestly, is just a trap for crap that is very difficult to clean in any meaningful way. It would sure give me a lot better room for things back there than I have right now. Not really part of this topic but it kinda ties in a little Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Dogfish Posted January 23, 2019 Share Posted January 23, 2019 Let me in on this. I feel you are feeding the algae with each water change somehow. Doing the same thing over and over again with no results. I would change water every 2 weeks or 10% a week. As a test. Right now its the main nutrient consumer in your tank. Chaeto or some other fast growing macro will start to compete with it. Not sure if that 5 watt light is enough light for good growth. More light more nutrients (faster water movement) usually = more growth. But over time this should work. Chemiclean blue is basicly DI resin and carbon. This can pull some stuff out of the water. Fritz; sounds like your algae is immune to it. Other options that work sometimes are; adding bacteria in a bottle, adding a tons of pods both Copepods and Amphipods. If you look at the mighty magnet site they have these algae scrubber pads. It is a nylon net that goes over a magnet and is good for scrubbing that hard to get off stuff. Sierra Bravo has some good points. Timfish has 2 threads on how he rid tanks of unwanted algae. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefpuck Posted January 23, 2019 Share Posted January 23, 2019 1 hour ago, MrZ2u said: That is partly why I am considering removing the second baffles (the ones that say 4" in the pic). Its very cramped back there with the skimmer and pump in the center section and those two spaces do not seem to serve any real purpose. Their website refers to them as dedicated skimmer and heater columns which might be great if my skimmer would fit in one but thats a nogo and just by a tiny bit too. In addition they have a floor on them that seems even more pointless and honestly, is just a trap for crap that is very difficult to clean in any meaningful way. It would sure give me a lot better room for things back there than I have right now. Not really part of this topic but it kinda ties in a little One thing I regret was trying to make my sections/baffles too "tight & efficient"...now it's very hard to work in the sump especially around the skimmer compartment. My setup is different from yours...but if you're already debating it...I'd take it out or move it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrZ2u Posted January 23, 2019 Author Share Posted January 23, 2019 2 hours ago, Reefpuck said: but if you're already debating it...I'd take it out or move it. Yeah, I have decided to take them out...the only question is how to do it because its tight quarters in a few places. The drawing I found above does not do justice to just how close that bottom piece of the baffle is to the floor itself. I need to modify a blade on my xacto and extend the handle and BE PATIENT! Need someone with tiny hands and good motor skills...any of you dentists? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isaac Posted January 27, 2019 Share Posted January 27, 2019 i been having a GHA explosion in both my tank systems for a couple months since the big storms. while all the news was about city of austin water, im prerty sure lake g-town (which feeds RR) got elevated levels of phosphates, which made its way into our tanks. I dose/feed the exact same thing religiously (i have "my process" on my build thread), and my phosphates spiked to 0.60 6-8 weeks ago. around that same time, my DI started burning off quite a bit faster as well. both tanks get top off from the same feed. tank in my office only gets pellets, dosing nothing. both tanks started GHA at the same time. on a side note, my office tank is starting on week three of fluconazole. If it works, my main DT will get it. also, my algea scrubber got clogged up w/ detritus, just barely unclogged it tonight... so we'll see is that takes off this week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrZ2u Posted January 27, 2019 Author Share Posted January 27, 2019 I may be rounding the corner...cant say what is helping. I nixed the lights for yesterday and went out of town. I have had lights on a ball of chaeto in the back running 24x7 for about five days now...that is just the cheap light that came with an old 3.7 gal petco AIO from my previous project low watts I am sure and 12 white with 4 blue. I just got back and the glass looks cleaner. Hard to believe one night of no light was all it took. I am also starting week three of the Fritz treatment. I gave it a dose Friday night so it had Saturdays lack of light perhaps to work a little harder? Dunno. During the dosing I have also been on the three day 25% change cycle as well which I have since slowed/stopped and the last change was a week ago...the water in there now has had two Fritz doses. It occurred to on my drive that I may have been inadvertently hindering its ability with the water changes because they were out of sync with each other with a dose and then a change the next day. Think I am gonna leave the lights off tonight as well for good measure...maybe for a few days just to see how it goes. Next dose for Fritz is Monday...I have two batches of water ready so I plan to scrape glass, vac up the scrapings and gravel in general and refill...dose and three days later use the last of my mixed water and dose again. Then leave the water alone for a bit. Fingers crossed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolt Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 Good luck! Algae can take a lot of patience to conquer ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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