Wade Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 I've been battling a hair algae outbreak for a few months now and have been steady, but slow progress. I went on vacation a couple of weeks ago and turned my skimmer off to avoid an overflow while I was gone. I have a web cam to watch my tank while I'm away and noticed that the algae growth was slow while I was gone. The cheato growth over the week I was gone was also low. In the week that I've been back and had the skimmer running, the cheato has almost trippled in size and I can see a lot more algae growth in the tank. I clean the skimmer cup every three days. Is the skimmer acting like a nitrate factory? Should I be cleaning it daily or stop using it until the algae dies off? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woods Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 First question I have is, was someone feeding your tank while you were away? I have never heard of a skimmer being considered a nitrate factory... One of its main purposes is to remove material that will cause nitrates down the line. If you weren't feeding while you were away, that is my guess is your root cause in your decrease in algae growth... No food going in means no added nutrients to feed the algae and your system will help clean up what was there before... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wade Posted April 22, 2015 Author Share Posted April 22, 2015 I've got an automatic feeder that I've been using for a few months now so we can remove that from the equation. I only feed once a day as well. Maybe I'm just finally on the downhill side of eradicating the algae. Thanks for your reply though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 Maybe your home, like many homes, has higher CO2 levels than ambient air. When you shut off your skimmer while on vacation, it suppressed the amount of CO2 being pushed through your system via the skimmer and slowed the growth rates of the algae. Just a wild theory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolt Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 Did you skip a water change while on vacation? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 What are your phosphate levels when you turn your skimmer off? Corals need phosphate to utilize nitrates. Perhaps when your skimmer is off your corals are better able to compete with the algae for nutrients. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sascha D. Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 Skimmers normally use some sort of pump to circulate the tank water through the body. The skimmer body shouldn't contain any more nitrates or phosphates than the general water of the tank as long as the pump is working correctly. All of the nitrates would be in the collection cup. As long as the cup contents aren't mixing back with the water then the nitrates should go down as the cup fills. If the cup were overflowing then the nitrates would be increasing with every feeding. I mean not taking into account any removal methods like a refugium or binders. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.