Advise on Hair Algae (and greenish water)?

[peterk]

Hi,

 

My 5.5g tank has 7 lbs LR and 10 lbs LS. I am using a mini BIO-wheel HOB filter with ChemiPure in it. I also have a mini powerhead for circulation.

 

After the tank was cycled, I got a piece of rock with several mushrooms on it. Also got 5 snails and 5 blue legs. The light is from JBJ with a total of 32W.

 

I have put a few drops of liquid calcium and iodine into the tank. Couple days later the water is all blur-greenish. The rocks are all green, I also see some red hair algae growing.

 

I did a one-gallon water change and the water is still very blurry.

 

I read other discussions on the site and I am thinking about the phosponge. Do I really need it though?

 

The blurriness is not due to the algae growing on glass but the water itself. So I don't think the snails or blue legs can help much.

 

Please provide some advises. Thanks.

[tinyreef]

the rock with the shrooms, did it have anything on it? specifically sponges and bio-material :x . shrooms tend to grow in low flow areas that are also conducive to sponges and such.

 

these organisms sometimes rapidly decay in a new environment not so conducive (i.e. our tanks) or due to shock (air, temp, pH, etc.). it isn't so much the shrooms but the host rock and hitchikers that usually come with the shrooms.

 

the water color can be microalgae bloom feeding on detritus from the rock or a bacteria bloom. keep at the wc's but concentrate on stability to allow your system to catchup. what are your readings btw? they may not show much but i suspect you may have some doc's.

[HuBu]

check the water you are using right now. i would recommend getin rid of the chemipure.

[peterk]

Thanks guys - one more question:

 

Does macro algae (sea lettuce, etc.) absorbs nitrate (NO3) and thereby reduce the algae growth?

 

Peter

[palaegic]

Macroalgae will uptake the compounds that the hair algae, or in your case, suspended algae is using, thus depriving the microalgae of some of it's fertilizer. Although the addition of macroalgae is beneficial and can keep stable water parameters in check - macroalgae will not directly eliminate your current issue.

 

Keep in mind my suggestion is my opinion based on my experience - your mileage may vary. I recommend purchasing a couple of Poly Filters. ( You can find them online, or probably at LFS) Cut the pad into several pieces that will fit snugly in your mini power filter. These pads will help pull some of the suspended algae from the water column, along with absorbing some of the excess compounds that are contributing to the bloom. Just pull the pad every 24 hours and replace with a fresh one. Rinse the used one and reuse. Rotate through your pads until you get the algae bloom under control.

 

If your bio-wheel mini - is using the bio-wheel, remove the wheel. It is counterproductive in your nano.

 

I would not throw phosphate adsorbant into your filter just yet. If you have phosphate and nitrate kits, let us know where your numbers stand. Keep in mind, you could also just continue with small regular water changes and chances are, the bloom will pass as well. Hope you find a method that works for you.

[Goliath]

now would be a good time to get a protien skimmer and throw in a filter with activated carbon to help clean up the green cloud. Once everything is cleared up, get rid of the carbon.

[hobbzz]

Originally posted by palaegic

If your bio-wheel mini - is using the bio-wheel, remove the wheel. It is counterproductive in your nano.

 

 

Why do you say that? What would you recommend besides a skimmer?

[hobbzz]

Originally posted by peterk

The light is from JBJ with a total of 32W.  

 

 

Do you have a link or website for these lights?

[peterk]

http://www.jbjlighting.com/sys_clamp_on.html

 

Hi,

 

So, for my 5.5g:

 

1). remove the bio-wheel (can you tell us why please?)

2). do frequent water changes (20% every two days?)

3). add fine cotton in HOB filter to filter out the spores in the water.

4). don't use phosponge yet, check reading first (can you also tell us the drawback of using it?)

 

 

Also - I have learned about this "janitor shrimp" from www.livebrineshrimp.com, they say that these marine shrimp work 10 times harder than those blue legs, etc. in cleaning the tank. Any comments?

 

Thanks again.

[onthefly]

In a reef system, you want to keep things as close to "natural" as possible. When you put a biowheel, bioballs, or any other couse substrate in your HOB or cannister filters, they provide a huge "synthetic" surface area for the important bacteria to florish. Although, this may seem like a good thing, it's not, because you're system is now dependent on those colonies.

 

Well......what happens when you decide "it's time to change the biowheel!". You could have some cycling! That's why we pay major "ching" for good quality LR and LS. Let them do their job!

 

So, that being said, just put some floss in the HOB and clean it regularly.

 

As for Phosponge, I had a NO3 spike and algae bloom.....after alittle Phosponge....gone! Make sure you buy good quality stuff and read the label. Some will leach Aluminum and other things you don't want. Also, change it frequently, it will leach PO4 back into the system once it become saturated. I've used Seachem and Kent and both were fine.

[palaegic]

Hey peterk,

 

To add to onthefly's response regarding the bio-wheel - basically the problem with the bio-wheel is that it does its job too efficiently. It produces massive colonies of denitrifying bacteria due to it's consistent contact with oxygen. Because the bio-wheel blows off ammonia into nitrite and then nitrate so well - it is effectively a nitrate factory. Correspondingly, that nitrate is detrimental to your reef animals, and is algae fertilizer. That is why I recommend removing it.

 

On the other hand your live rock and live sand become a natural biological filter loaded with beneficial bacteria, and other microfauna that contribute to your reefs equilibrium.

 

You don't need to do water changes every 2 days. 10-20% each week while you are battling the green should be sufficient. Which brings us to a point that HuBu mentioned - what kind of water are you using? Tap? Distilled? Reverse Osmosis?

Also keep in mind that despite the fact that I'm sure a green tank was not part of your goals, the suspended algae in and of itself is not harmful in the short term. It is an indicator that your chemistry is off. The likely suspects are too much nitrate (which is likely given the bio-wheel) and the prescence of excess phosphates. If you do not have test kits for these substances, pick them up - they will be very useful. Salifert is a brand most folks would recommend with confidence, but there are others as well.

 

The Poly Filters I recommended are an actual product name http://www.poly-bio-marine.com/polyprod.htm. It is a filter pad (which can be cut down). Again my previous experience with regular filter floss and green water was not very successful. The Poly Filter however, was like a magnet. If you use the Poly, you would effectively cut the pad to mimic the size of the filter sleeve in your bio-wheel mini. If you choose to use one of the phosphate sponges instead, follow onthefly's recommendation and read the instructions very carefully.