brown Algae and lighting
 

I have been having a brown algae issue for about 4 weeks. I am now on
vacation and was here when the lights came on at 10:00am and noticed the
algae was completely gone from the rocks and about 70% gone from the
sand bed. I come back about 4 hours later and it is as bad as ever. I
have a 24" corallife agualight deluxe double 130 watt power compact. It
bought it in September. It comes with one 65 watt Actinic and one 65
watt 10,000K bulb. I have a windows next to the tank that I have had
blocked off with a rub so no natural light hits the tank. My question is
should I replace the bulb even though they rate to last for 12 months?

No, this isn't a bulb issue. What are your nitrate and
phospahte readings?

Does this brown algae act like a layer or film on the sand.
Can you scoop it together so it looks wrinkled in a pile?
You might be dealing with Cyano bacteria, which does what
you've described when the lights are on, but virtually
disappears when the lights are out.

Marc


Joe Cool wrote:

I have been having a brown algae issue for about 4 weeks. I am now on
vacation and was here when the lights came on at 10:00am and noticed the
algae was completely gone from the rocks and about 70% gone from the
sand bed. I come back about 4 hours later and it is as bad as ever. I
have a 24" corallife agualight deluxe double 130 watt power compact. It
bought it in September. It comes with one 65 watt Actinic and one 65
watt 10,000K bulb. I have a windows next to the tank that I have had
blocked off with a rub so no natural light hits the tank. My question is
should I replace the bulb even though they rate to last for 12 months?

--
Personal Page:
http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com/oanda/index.html
Business Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com
Marine Hobbyist: http://www.melevsreef.com

The weird thing is after sun down the tanks starts to look better.

Marc Levenson wrote:
No, this isn't a bulb issue. What are your nitrate and phospahte readings?

Does this brown algae act like a layer or film on the sand. Can you
scoop it together so it looks wrinkled in a pile? You might be dealing
with Cyano bacteria, which does what you've described when the lights
are on, but virtually disappears when the lights are out.

Marc


Joe Cool wrote:

I have been having a brown algae issue for about 4 weeks. I am now on
vacation and was here when the lights came on at 10:00am and noticed
the algae was completely gone from the rocks and about 70% gone from
the sand bed. I come back about 4 hours later and it is as bad as
ever. I have a 24" corallife agualight deluxe double 130 watt power
compact. It bought it in September. It comes with one 65 watt Actinic
and one 65 watt 10,000K bulb. I have a windows next to the tank that I
have had blocked off with a rub so no natural light hits the tank. My
question is should I replace the bulb even though they rate to last
for 12 months?

"Joe Cool" wrote in message
...
| The weird thing is after sun down the tanks starts to look better.
|


I'm going to side with Marc, (always a safe bet g) and recommend
you do a search for cyanobacterium in marine aquaria, and see if
everything fits.

billy

"Billy" wrote in message
...

"Joe Cool" wrote in message
...
| The weird thing is after sun down the tanks starts to look better.
|


I'm going to side with Marc, (always a safe bet g) and recommend
you do a search for cyanobacterium in marine aquaria, and see if
everything fits.

billy



Billy -
Siding with Marc? Humm.....

Joe Cool -
Cyanobacterium or any algae, the best combat tool is to have good flow of
current and good efficient Protein Skimmer that will export any nutrient out
of the tank. Good current flow and Protein Skimmer [combo] will take care
majority of the algae problem.

CapFusion,...

Thanks, will add a second power head to the tank.
CapFusion wrote:
"Billy" wrote in message
...

"Joe Cool" wrote in message
...
| The weird thing is after sun down the tanks starts to look better.
|


I'm going to side with Marc, (always a safe bet g) and recommend
you do a search for cyanobacterium in marine aquaria, and see if
everything fits.

billy




Billy -
Siding with Marc? Humm.....

Joe Cool -
Cyanobacterium or any algae, the best combat tool is to have good flow of
current and good efficient Protein Skimmer that will export any nutrient out
of the tank. Good current flow and Protein Skimmer [combo] will take care
majority of the algae problem.

CapFusion,...

FYI, at one point I had 4 powerheads in my 29g. I was able
to later remove those when I installed a closed loop on my
tank. http://www.melevsreef.com/closedloop.html

If the cyano doesn't clear up over time - and it may take 3
weeks or longer - a product called Chemi CLEAN will remove
it in 24 hours. Most LFS will have it in stock, behind the
counter.

Marc


Joe Cool wrote:

Thanks, will add a second power head to the tank.
CapFusion wrote:

"Billy" wrote in message
...

"Joe Cool" wrote in message
...
| The weird thing is after sun down the tanks starts to look better.
|


I'm going to side with Marc, (always a safe bet g) and recommend
you do a search for cyanobacterium in marine aquaria, and see if
everything fits.

billy




Billy -
Siding with Marc? Humm.....

Joe Cool -
Cyanobacterium or any algae, the best combat tool is to have good
flow of current and good efficient Protein Skimmer that will export
any nutrient out of the tank. Good current flow and Protein Skimmer
[combo] will take care majority of the algae problem.

CapFusion,...


--
Personal Page:
http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com/oanda/index.html
Business Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com
Marine Hobbyist: http://www.melevsreef.com

Make sure the current is close to the spot that have the problem. That
current will spread it to other area too. But the majority should end up
into the skimmer. You may also siphon any bulk area out.

Using Chem Clean should be your last option. Try not to use any chemical if
can preventing it.

CapFusion,...

"Marc Levenson" wrote in message
...
FYI, at one point I had 4 powerheads in my 29g. I was able to later
remove those when I installed a closed loop on my tank.
http://www.melevsreef.com/closedloop.html

If the cyano doesn't clear up over time - and it may take 3 weeks or
longer - a product called Chemi CLEAN will remove it in 24 hours. Most
LFS will have it in stock, behind the counter.

Marc


Joe Cool wrote:

Thanks, will add a second power head to the tank.
CapFusion wrote:

"Billy" wrote in message
...

"Joe Cool" wrote in message
...
| The weird thing is after sun down the tanks starts to look better.
|


I'm going to side with Marc, (always a safe bet g) and recommend
you do a search for cyanobacterium in marine aquaria, and see if
everything fits.

billy




Billy -
Siding with Marc? Humm.....

Joe Cool -
Cyanobacterium or any algae, the best combat tool is to have good flow
of current and good efficient Protein Skimmer that will export any
nutrient out of the tank. Good current flow and Protein Skimmer [combo]
will take care majority of the algae problem.

CapFusion,...


--
Personal Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com/oanda/index.html
Business Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com
Marine Hobbyist: http://www.melevsreef.com