Algae Bloom Question

[Lenny]

Hi Peeps,

Would like to consult anyone with the knowledge for this.
My 40 gallon tank is a fairly new and already cycled for a month.
However there is an evolution of algae which I'm wondering if it would naturally die off through time.

This algae kinda resembles well cut grass on the golf course. The person in the LFS I frequent suggests that I siphon it as it would get pretty bad.
Also to drop the light intensity from 70% whites to 40% whites for about a month.

I do have an astrea but I haven't really noticed if it's eating it cause the astrea has always been busy around the tank walls rather than the rock work.
I have 2 tailspot blennys that are grazing on it but it's quite a lot so I would say they're kinda slow on it. But I always see the 2 blennys picking on the algae on the rock.
I've attached an image. 

Thanks for reading peeps.

[patricklhc]

This is part of cycling. Yes it will eventually go away if u adopt one of the many nutrient export methods. Skimmer alone is definitely not sufficient. Consider biosphere, biopallet, reef rash and many others. Non of the methods IMO are dump and forget. Try to do some research of the different methods, know the pro and cons before u decide what's best for you. Good luck

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[Lenny]

HI patrick,

thank you for the tips. I will look into those various methods. Good to know it's still part of the evolution of cycling till maturity.

[patricklhc]

HI patrick,

thank you for the tips. I will look into those various methods. Good to know it's still part of the evolution of cycling till maturity.

Welcome bro. Feel free to ask any question. A lot of very experience reefers here to answer you properly

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[Harlequinmania]

algae bloom is quite common in  a newly setup tank, just be patient and you  will ride through this period very soon. As suggest by patrick, try looking into ways to control the nutrients ( Which is mainly phosphate & nitrate ) in your tank  i,e ; running some p04 removal media, nitrate remover media ,algae scrubber or refugium ect.. 

[Lenny]

Hey peeps

thanks so much for the tips. Truly appreciate. I will look into those.

I was thinking of putting a cpr aquafuge2 refugium actually but still holding back on that thought. The reviews are pretty good it seems.

[kohanson]

Just to check, do you run a wavemaker in your tank?

[Lenny]

Hey Kohanson,

Yes I have a Tunze 6055 attached to a wavecontroller Tunze 7092 and on pulse mode. Although quite frankly I'm still confused with which dial on 7092 is intensity and power. Seems the same to me whichever I tune. I just put both on 50% means the dial is pointing at 12 o clock.

[Lenny]

Hey peeps,

Just thought I'd share another picture to give you a better view on the algae.
The algae only grows on the parts where the lights can hit. So definitely the light is the main factor in its growth.

The lighting timing is from 6pm to 1am and I'm using Hydra 26HD with a schedule of white and blue lights. from 10pm onwards the light is blue.
I dropped the percentages down to 40% highest and that is only for 1 hour. the rest are pretty low like about 20-15%.
Also the tank is 1.5 meters away from the bedroom window but does not get direct sunlight. So it will have some natural daylight too.

What's your take on this?

[Guest]

This happen to me before when my po4 is very high

[Harlequinmania]

Hey peeps,

Just thought I'd share another picture to give you a better view on the algae.

The algae only grows on the parts where the lights can hit. So definitely the light is the main factor in its growth.

The lighting timing is from 6pm to 1am and I'm using Hydra 26HD with a schedule of white and blue lights. from 10pm onwards the light is blue.

I dropped the percentages down to 40% highest and that is only for 1 hour. the rest are pretty low like about 20-15%.

Also the tank is 1.5 meters away from the bedroom window but does not get direct sunlight. So it will have some natural daylight too.

What's your take on this?

http://www.sgreefclub.com/forum/uploads/monthly_2015_12/Algae.jpg.e7da2876ddd5bce29fa84b6ea90ca7aa.jpg

The best way to combat cyno which is happening in your tank now is to do a major water change and siphon out as much cyno algae as you can at the same time. After which switch off all the light for two to three day ( depending on the numbers of corals you have in your tank) , to stop the cyno from growing again.

Alternatively, there are some products in the market that can help combat cyno alage like zeovit cyno clean, A balance, red slime remover and bacteria like MB7.

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[Lenny]

Thanks peeps once again. Much appreciated.

My PO4 is 0.25.

 

[kohanson]

From the way the algae grows, it looks like it could likely be from your lightings from top down. Try reducing the lighting period or the light intensity. How far is your lights away from your tank? Mine is 1ft away from the water and I am running 40% white and 55% blue to ensure maximum output with the lowest heat from the lights. Mine starts from 3.30pm to 11.30pm but the first hour is only white light and the last hour is only blue lights. Not sure about how your hydra works though.

[Lenny]

hi kohanson

thanks for your reply. You're quite right it's likely from the lights cause other areas that are shaded have no algae.

I have reduced the period to 630-1130pm. Starts with whites at 40% and blues at 30%. It gradually declines and ends with blue and 20% till 0% meaning lights all off.

the height is 1.5 feet above the water. This hydra hd is really powerful.

[xiggie]

Light is not the only cause of algae problem . The main problem are nitrate and phosphate. The algae is actually doing you a favor by removing these 2 bad element , just because the algae grows in the main DT it becomes a problem , try growing them in the refuge/sump out of sight. 

Edited December 21, 2015 by xiggie