Algae Removal by Carbon

[klagos]

A few questions for all.

 

1. Is it pointless to run an Aqua C Remora AND an Aqua-Clear Mini with carbon only, or are they removing two differnt things. I can only seem to see they both remove "bad" things. Are they the same bad things or can I run the skimmer 24/7 and the carbon 75% of the time? This is how I have it set up now.

 

2. Do the Aqua-Clear ammonia removal things do anything positive or negative in a reef tank?

 

3. I've cut down feeding, upgraded to the Aqua C and began running carbon about 75% of the time, what else can I do to speed up the alage removal? I have several turbos and blue legged hermits as well.

 

4. Last one, how can I safely "scape" the algae off the acrylic tank walls? Dam acrylic.

 

Thanks for any help. I did search around for awhile, but couldn't get conclusive answers.

 

Also, I know "dam" has a "n" at the end. Ha, ha, get the funny joke?

[nalbar]

the first line of defense in fighting algae is a skimmer, so keep it running.

 

phosphate is the key nutrient for all algae. algae cannot grow without it. so you should next (after the skimmer) concentrate on removing phosphate from your system. what i use are the simple phosphate pads. you can just cut to fit. you must change them frequently (once a week) or they will leach phosphate back into your system. others use granulated removers. carbon is not all that great at removing phosphate. many times phosphate is put in systems by the water that is used in water changes. municapal water can have a great deal of phosphate in it. this is why it is critical to your fight to use high quality water for changes/ top off.

 

its important to realize why you have algae outbreaks. algae is a 'water scrubber'. it feeds off excess nutrients in your system. algae is a signal of excess nutrients. remove the nutrients and the algae dies back. its as simple as that. the nutrients can be being added to your system through simple means (over feeding) or more complicated ways (a sponge dying INSIDE a rock, where you cannot see it).

 

it takes patience and persistance to defeat an outbreak, sometimes (the sponge in the rock) there is little you can do except need it run its course. once the algae eats all the nutrients it will die on its own.

 

1. remove nutrients (skimmer/phosphate removal)

 

2. add no more nutrients (high quality water, less feedings)

 

3. patience.

 

you can also physically remove the algae by hand. but be cautious. because you will also remove the items (pods) that are living in the algae and consuming it. this is why scrubbing it off over a bucket is not recommended.

 

 

nalbar

[klagos]

Thanks. Patience is what I need right now. I do have granulated phosphate remover I use. Appreciate the info.

[EtOH_is_good]

i've had my remora from the beginning. don't use it all the time, but it is usually on at least part of the day. at the beginning my water was yellow, and the carbon helped clear that up. i ran carbon for 2 days, every other week for about 6 weeks. at a certain point (i don't exactly know when), the water was clear with just water changes and the skimmer. haven't run carbon in awhile.