Filaments of brown algae : problem in established tank

And I recommend you get rid of the things that don't work
well in a reef tank, ie trigger fish.

Wayne Sallee
Wayne's Pets



jjbunn wrote on 9/30/2006 9:17 PM:
Hi Wayne,

The turnover is pretty good: there are two powerheads plus the return
from the skimmer plus the return from a hang on filter (in which I keep
the charcoal and silicate/phosphate sponge).
I have a lot of live rock in the tank, so there are certainly plenty of
obstructions.

I completely overhauled my CPR BakPak skimmer last night, and that
seems to have improved the collection rate of skim. I've increased the
lights to 12 hours on.

I'm going to go with this setup for a couple of days to see what
improvements there are (if any).

Thanks again.
Julian

TheRock wrote:
What about turn over of water ?
You say you've got 2 power heads ? What's the GPH ?
Are there obstructions that would restrict flow (corals, rock etc.) ?



"Wayne Sallee" wrote in message
nk.net...
Get rid of things that don't work well in a reef tank.

Wayne Sallee
Wayne's Pets



jjbunn wrote on 9/29/2006 9:24 PM:
Wayne Sallee wrote:
Well if you are trying to eliminate the corals, then keep
doing what you are doing.

If you want your corals to live, then turn the lights back
on. 12 hour is a normal light cycle. 1 hour is just pathetic.

Pull the algae out with you hands. You can also use a
tooth brush, they work well. Use fresh phosphate remover,
add some algae eating critters.

Wayne Sallee
Wayne's Pets


Hi Wayne,

Thanks: excellent input.
I will try again with a normal light cycle, but this has only
exacerbated the problem when I've tried it recently.

I have pulled clumps of the algae out, and continue to do so ... but
it's often hard to get a hold of as it's so slippery. I've scrubbed the
rocks with a toothbrush several times in the last week or so, but I
have the impression this is just distributing the algae further!

I have a Kent Phosphate and Silicate remover in ... I need to replace
it now because it has been in a couple of days

I'd love to add some snails ... I have a bunch of hermit crabs, but my
Picasso Trigger just treats snails as a delicious snack :-)

Julian

Ha! No chance!

That Picasso Trigger is my pride and joy.

In fact, the hawkfish is much more problematic, and I've tried many
ways of getting rid of him.

Julian


Wayne Sallee wrote:
And I recommend you get rid of the things that don't work
well in a reef tank, ie trigger fish.

Wayne Sallee
Wayne's Pets



jjbunn wrote on 9/30/2006 9:17 PM:
Hi Wayne,

The turnover is pretty good: there are two powerheads plus the return
from the skimmer plus the return from a hang on filter (in which I keep
the charcoal and silicate/phosphate sponge).
I have a lot of live rock in the tank, so there are certainly plenty of
obstructions.

I completely overhauled my CPR BakPak skimmer last night, and that
seems to have improved the collection rate of skim. I've increased the
lights to 12 hours on.

I'm going to go with this setup for a couple of days to see what
improvements there are (if any).

Thanks again.
Julian

TheRock wrote:
What about turn over of water ?
You say you've got 2 power heads ? What's the GPH ?
Are there obstructions that would restrict flow (corals, rock etc.) ?



"Wayne Sallee" wrote in message
nk.net...
Get rid of things that don't work well in a reef tank.

Wayne Sallee
Wayne's Pets



jjbunn wrote on 9/29/2006 9:24 PM:
Wayne Sallee wrote:
Well if you are trying to eliminate the corals, then keep
doing what you are doing.

If you want your corals to live, then turn the lights back
on. 12 hour is a normal light cycle. 1 hour is just pathetic.

Pull the algae out with you hands. You can also use a
tooth brush, they work well. Use fresh phosphate remover,
add some algae eating critters.

Wayne Sallee
Wayne's Pets


Hi Wayne,

Thanks: excellent input.
I will try again with a normal light cycle, but this has only
exacerbated the problem when I've tried it recently.

I have pulled clumps of the algae out, and continue to do so ... but
it's often hard to get a hold of as it's so slippery. I've scrubbed the
rocks with a toothbrush several times in the last week or so, but I
have the impression this is just distributing the algae further!

I have a Kent Phosphate and Silicate remover in ... I need to replace
it now because it has been in a couple of days

I'd love to add some snails ... I have a bunch of hermit crabs, but my
Picasso Trigger just treats snails as a delicious snack :-)

Julian

Maybe I'll add another powerhead to rough things up a bit more ...
can't do much harm.

Thanks!

Julian


Peter Pan wrote:
Isn't brown Algae cause by pour water circulation? If so, shouldn't more
water movement fix this problem? ( before you flame me on this... I'm just
asking, I'm not sure of the answer)

I don't know if it's the best way to do it, but I use a turkey baster
(occasionally)
and blast the dead areas that start to cake up with waste
and my filter usually takes care of the rest.


"jjbunn" wrote in message
oups.com...
Maybe I'll add another powerhead to rough things up a bit more ...
can't do much harm.

Thanks!

Julian


Peter Pan wrote:
Isn't brown Algae cause by pour water circulation? If so, shouldn't more
water movement fix this problem? ( before you flame me on this... I'm
just
asking, I'm not sure of the answer)

I have now had the new regime for three or four days: lots of turbulent
water flow, 12 hour 250W MH lights, activated charcoal, Kent
phosphate/silicate sponge, refurbished skimmer (collecting decent
amounts of gunk).

The problem with the algae persists. In fact it is worse, if anything.
When the light first comes on it looks better, but within a couple of
hours the tank is full of strands of brown filamentous algae.

Is it possible that my MH bulb is causing the problem? It looks as
bright and white as ever, but I'm clutching at straws now.

What to do next?

Thanks!
Julian


TheRock wrote:
I don't know if it's the best way to do it, but I use a turkey baster
(occasionally)
and blast the dead areas that start to cake up with waste
and my filter usually takes care of the rest.


"jjbunn" wrote in message
oups.com...
Maybe I'll add another powerhead to rough things up a bit more ...
can't do much harm.

Thanks!

Julian


Peter Pan wrote:
Isn't brown Algae cause by pour water circulation? If so, shouldn't more
water movement fix this problem? ( before you flame me on this... I'm
just
asking, I'm not sure of the answer)

Here are some photos of the brown algae. These photos are not for the
faint of heart!

http://static.flickr.com/80/260382277_5b5f86d466_o.jpg
http://static.flickr.com/99/260382327_fc410b8aa0.jpg
http://static.flickr.com/98/260382207_9e730ae038.jpg

Julian


jjbunn wrote:
I have now had the new regime for three or four days: lots of turbulent
water flow, 12 hour 250W MH lights, activated charcoal, Kent
phosphate/silicate sponge, refurbished skimmer (collecting decent
amounts of gunk).

The problem with the algae persists. In fact it is worse, if anything.
When the light first comes on it looks better, but within a couple of
hours the tank is full of strands of brown filamentous algae.

Is it possible that my MH bulb is causing the problem? It looks as
bright and white as ever, but I'm clutching at straws now.

What to do next?

Thanks!
Julian


TheRock wrote:
I don't know if it's the best way to do it, but I use a turkey baster
(occasionally)
and blast the dead areas that start to cake up with waste
and my filter usually takes care of the rest.


"jjbunn" wrote in message
oups.com...
Maybe I'll add another powerhead to rough things up a bit more ...
can't do much harm.

Thanks!

Julian


Peter Pan wrote:
Isn't brown Algae cause by pour water circulation? If so, shouldn't more
water movement fix this problem? ( before you flame me on this... I'm
just
asking, I'm not sure of the answer)

jjbunn wrote:
Here are some photos of the brown algae. These photos are not for the
faint of heart!

http://static.flickr.com/80/260382277_5b5f86d466_o.jpg
http://static.flickr.com/99/260382327_fc410b8aa0.jpg
http://static.flickr.com/98/260382207_9e730ae038.jpg

Julian




To me those photos look like you have some dinoflagetts growing in your
tank. They can be very bad since they can be toxic depending on the
species. Normally they are a sign of very high nutrients in the water,
not enough current, and possible bad lighting. The good thing is if it
is dino's, you can just leave the tank dark for about 2 days (will not
hurt your corals as long as they are semi healthy). After you turn the
lights back on though it can come back pretty quickly. I would suggest
tunning up your skimmer or upgrading it if possible, increasing water
movement (the pictures show the algae floating straight up) and
replacing light bulbs if they are old.

Kim gross
www.jensalt.com

Hi Kim,

Excellent input. I turned the powerheads off to take the photos, which
is why the strands are floating straight up.

I believe the lighting is good (the bulb is quite new) and the current
is very good.

My corals are certainly not as healthy as they were a few weeks ago,
but I am going to now turn the lights off for a couple of days and see
what happens.

Thanks again!

I'll report back.

Julian


kim gross wrote:
jjbunn wrote:
Here are some photos of the brown algae. These photos are not for the
faint of heart!

http://static.flickr.com/80/260382277_5b5f86d466_o.jpg
http://static.flickr.com/99/260382327_fc410b8aa0.jpg
http://static.flickr.com/98/260382207_9e730ae038.jpg

Julian




To me those photos look like you have some dinoflagetts growing in your
tank. They can be very bad since they can be toxic depending on the
species. Normally they are a sign of very high nutrients in the water,
not enough current, and possible bad lighting. The good thing is if it
is dino's, you can just leave the tank dark for about 2 days (will not
hurt your corals as long as they are semi healthy). After you turn the
lights back on though it can come back pretty quickly. I would suggest
tunning up your skimmer or upgrading it if possible, increasing water
movement (the pictures show the algae floating straight up) and
replacing light bulbs if they are old.

Kim gross
www.jensalt.com

It's not hair algae. Looks like cyanobacteria. It will
look less, or even gone in the morning, and then show up
after the lights have been on for a while. The light on
light off thing is a good indicator of cyanobacteria.

Cyanobacteria is a little more tricky than hair algae.

Hair algae likes high nitrates, and cyanobacteria does not
like high nitrates, and it likes to take free nitrogen,
and fix it into nitrates. Cyanobacteria can wiggle like a
worm. I've got some vidio on my camcorder of cyano under
the microscope wiggling like worms.

Wayne Sallee
Wayne's Pets



jjbunn wrote on 10/4/2006 12:48 AM:
Here are some photos of the brown algae. These photos are not for the
faint of heart!

http://static.flickr.com/80/260382277_5b5f86d466_o.jpg
http://static.flickr.com/99/260382327_fc410b8aa0.jpg
http://static.flickr.com/98/260382207_9e730ae038.jpg

Julian


jjbunn wrote:
I have now had the new regime for three or four days: lots of turbulent
water flow, 12 hour 250W MH lights, activated charcoal, Kent
phosphate/silicate sponge, refurbished skimmer (collecting decent
amounts of gunk).

The problem with the algae persists. In fact it is worse, if anything.
When the light first comes on it looks better, but within a couple of
hours the tank is full of strands of brown filamentous algae.

Is it possible that my MH bulb is causing the problem? It looks as
bright and white as ever, but I'm clutching at straws now.

What to do next?

Thanks!
Julian


TheRock wrote:
I don't know if it's the best way to do it, but I use a turkey baster
(occasionally)
and blast the dead areas that start to cake up with waste
and my filter usually takes care of the rest.


"jjbunn" wrote in message
oups.com...
Maybe I'll add another powerhead to rough things up a bit more ...
can't do much harm.

Thanks!

Julian


Peter Pan wrote:
Isn't brown Algae cause by pour water circulation? If so, shouldn't more
water movement fix this problem? ( before you flame me on this... I'm
just
asking, I'm not sure of the answer)

Leaving the lights off for a couple of days definitely has improved the
problem, but it's still there. I'll read up on cyanobacteria, and how
to get rid of it.

Julian

Wayne Sallee wrote:
It's not hair algae. Looks like cyanobacteria. It will
look less, or even gone in the morning, and then show up
after the lights have been on for a while. The light on
light off thing is a good indicator of cyanobacteria.

Cyanobacteria is a little more tricky than hair algae.

Hair algae likes high nitrates, and cyanobacteria does not
like high nitrates, and it likes to take free nitrogen,
and fix it into nitrates. Cyanobacteria can wiggle like a
worm. I've got some vidio on my camcorder of cyano under
the microscope wiggling like worms.

Wayne Sallee
Wayne's Pets