[donnie442]

I've had my 29gal aquarium setup for about a month now. My goal is to get it established enough to get the purple and red coraline algae. However the problem I am running in to is a lot of green hair algae. My snails are eating it but not fast enough. I've kept the front and one side of the glass clear of algae by scraping it off. Should I scrape all the algae off? I'm not sure if this is a bad or good thing. I guess for the snails it's good because they get plenty of food.

How long will it take to get the coraline algae and how do I prevent so much green algae? I'm thinking if i scrape it all off, then there will be no change of getting coraline algae.

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks,

donnie442

[rlcline76]

What is your water source? Tap? If so, you are looking at a ton of nutrients spurring hair algae growth. If that is the case, try using RO/DI water or distilled water (the former being the best) when you do water changes. Also, since you are still cycling, and probably without fun stuff like corals, you may want to consider shutting off the lights for a few days or at least cutting down your light cycle. If your tank is near a window receiving indirect sunlight, this could also help the bad algae along. Shut the blinds or get some curtains. Snails are good, I have a few turbos for our tank that have done their job, but you will have to correct your water in the long run...which in our hobby means the near future!

[reefnoob1991]

Becky's right, Tap = algae's food source (phosphates, nitrates)...With a few RO water changes the hair algae will slowly start to disappear. Coralline algae feeds off of Calcium and light, so if you want it to continue to bloom your best bet would be to get a two part Calcium and Alkalinity Buffering additive

[rlcline76]

I would hold off on supplementation for the moment. NO DOSING FOR SQUAT WITHOUT TESTING FIRST!!!!!!!!! That is the rule. No exceptions. Reefnoob, quit pushing chemicals while tanks are still cycling.
Donnie, your tank is still cycling if it has only been up a month. Do not worry about corraline, it will happen on its own but it will take a few months. First thing is first, take care of the phosphates, nitrates and silicates.

[reefnoob1991]

Well I figured if it was still cycling he wouldn't have snails in it...there's no problem with keeping your calcium and alkalinity levels in check early on in the stages of a tank

[rlcline76]

No, nyet, nein...leave it be. We do not know where his calcium, KH or pH are at. Taking care of the nasty nutrients should come first. In my experience, taking care of the nutrients has made my calcium, KH and pH more stable and I rarely ever have to add additives these days.

[reefnoob1991]

The only reason I "pushed" the additives was because he wanted to reach a level of muchos coralline so I figured if that's what he wants that's what he gets lol

[rlcline76]

Lovely.
Donnie, before you go shopping, please allow me enough time to get another senior member to assist.
Thank you.

[reefnoob1991]

Just when I thought things were fine...wow. I simply suggested getting a 2 part buffer and here we go again.

[donnie442]

Wow thanks for all the advice! I've never received this many responses so quickly.

I've actually used distilled water from wal-mart. All of the nitrates, nitrites, PH, Amonia & alkalinity is within specs as of now. I think I'll cut back on the lighting a bit. I have the lights on a timer for 12 hours on and 12 hours off. From your advice, I think I should cut back on the lights a bit and do a water change, manually remove the algae and retest params?

Rcline76, you mentioned silicates and phosphates? This is probably a dumb question, but I'm not quite sure how silicates plays in the process of cycling? and are they a threat?

[reefnoob1991]

Since all you have in your tank at the moment is snails, unless I read wrong, you can reduce your photoperiod to 6-8 hours and begin your RO changes...distilled is actually fine to use as well.

[CyberJester]

Originally Posted by reefnoob1991

Coralline algae feeds off of Calcium and light, so if you want it to continue to bloom your best bet would be to get a two part Calcium and Alkalinity Buffering additive

That is what the problem is, you didn't think about it when suggesting that. How do you know that his Calcium levels arn't at 600 and PH at 9.5. You have no idea what they are at. This is obviously an extreme example, but you don't know. If his levels are similar to these that advice would be bad now wouldn't it?

[reefnoob1991]

Well for one his snails wouldn't be alive if he had a pH of 9.5 and as long as calcium is kept under 700 there is no harm (although 400-450 is the ideal range). There's no way his calcium could be that high anyways because there's no salt that produces calcium that high. I use oceanic which is supposed to be high in salt plus dose with Purple up plus use kents nano buffer and my calc always remains at 380. Let me start over using CyberJester's way . Before getting buffering products be sure to test your calcium range and alkalinity. Calcium should be 400-450, Alkalinity should be 7-12 Kh (karbonate hardiness), 7 being the better end of the spectrum. When dosing the products be sure to test before and after using, to make sure you're dosing the proper amount. That better Jester?

[donnie442]

Thanks Becky. I'm not even sure on the type algae. It's green, but not sure if it's hair algae. I just assumed it was because it's stuck to the sides of the glass and floating with the current. I could take a picture later if it helps?

[rlcline76]

donnie,
silicates, phosphates and nitrates are what feul all sorts of algae problems. Silicates help (not you) with diatoms and play part is cyanobacteria. If I were you, I would pick up a good test kit for phosphates and another for silicates.
Which test kits are you using? If you don't mind me asking...
And thank you for your patience as we sort this all out!

[rlcline76]

I would love a picture!

[reefnoob1991]

100_2102.jpg - Image - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

Donnie if you look at the top right rock you can see hair algae...it's name fits because it resembles strands of hair

[donnie442]

I'm using ocean master test kit, but it doesn't include a silicate test. A litle more info on my setup... I have about 20 lbs of live Tonga and fiji branch rock, one yellow tail damsel and one firefish that are doing great together. My cleaners are 5 blue legged hermit crabs, 5 margarita snails and one emerald crab. I have a aquac remora protein skimmer and two power heads that rotate cycles every 15 minutes.

[donnie442]

becky, I will send a picture later tonight when I get home.
Brandon, thanks for the advice on the buffering agents. I think I'll wait a bit until I get this green algae under control.

[CyberJester]

Originally Posted by reefnoob1991

Well for one his snails wouldn't be alive if he had a pH of 9.5 and as long as calcium is kept under 700 there is no harm (although 400-450 is the ideal range). There's no way his calcium could be that high anyways because there's no salt that produces calcium that high. I use oceanic which is supposed to be high in salt plus dose with Purple up plus use kents nano buffer and my calc always remains at 380. Let me start over using CyberJester's way . Before getting buffering products be sure to test your calcium range and alkalinity. Calcium should be 400-450, Alkalinity should be 7-12 Kh (karbonate hardiness), 7 being the better end of the spectrum. When dosing the products be sure to test before and after using, to make sure you're dosing the proper amount. That better Jester?

Somewhat yes. I don't know how long you have been doing this reefnoob. Probably a good while and that is why you are comfortable using different chemicals. But what you need to remember is to someone who is new to this any chemical can be dangerous and cause alot of harm. Even Calcium, From what I have read can cause detrement to a tank if used incorrectly.

What should be stressed here is not quick fixes, but a solid natural way of doing things that are less risky to people new to the hobby. Also an established tank, is alot sounder and less fragile then a new one due to suffencient amounts of benifical bacterial and such.

For example a good way to reduce the amounts of algae in a tank are to reduce light cycle times. This is much safer to the contents of a tank then dumping algae killing chemicals into the tank. Now I am not suggesting turning the lights out all together but to reduce the daily cycle by an hour or two.

Please just remember that your words have power. People who are new to this hobby like myself are unsure of many things and can get ourselves into alot of trouble with the wrong advice.

[donnie442]

brandon, thanks for the picture. Mine kind of looks like that but on the sides of the aquarium. It's a very thin layer though, but it does resemble hair (kind of).

[donnie442]

Brandon, I agree about the quick fixes. Yes, my end goal is to have a beautiful aquarium with lots of colorful algae (not the bad stuff), but I'm willing to wait until everything is stable.

[Krazy]

All I am going to say in this thread is stop arguging with each other # 1, your setting a bad example for new people..

#2 Wait on the 2-part additve UNLESS you are testing your calcium and alkalinty levels

Calcium should be 400-440 and your Alkalinty dKH should be 9-12, DO NOT DOSE if your levels are good. " NEVER DOSE FOR WHAT YOU DONT TEST " Coraline pink and purple come with time with an ESTABLISHED tank... You cannot rush these things.....

We all gotta get along here people...

#3. RO/DI is the only water that should be going into a reef tank, wal-mart has distilled and RO if your in a pinch....

[donnie442]

sorry, i meant for the last post to jeremy's response

[reefnoob1991]

Cyber, I completely understand where you're coming from...I'll make sure to be more clear for future reference. I've only been doing this for two months not years lol...Donnie I never recommend anything as a quick fix, I try to steer in the direction of a long term stability...this hobby isn't a sprint it's a marathon. Getting into a routine with testing/dosing/making sure you know what's good and what isn't good for your tank is only going to help you out in the long run. As more coralline grows calcium will be needed more and more which will make testing all the more crucial.