# algea problem



## stevew2405 (Jul 17, 2009)

i am new to the reef aquarium this is my first tank. i have a 29 gallon bio cube i am using the stock filter and i added a uv sterilizer which helped me clear up the tank, but my question is i have alot of algea in the tank on the sand and onn the rock i was going to go out to the store and buy some snails and hermit crabs to see if that would help eliminate some of my problems but if anyone had any suggestions it would be greatly appreciated thanks


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## petlover516 (Nov 12, 2008)

Welcome to the site!
if the algae is bright pink/purple/orange, than it is ok and it is a sign your tank is in good condition. if it is a dull green/brown/red, it is a sign your tank has too much nutrients. the UV sterilizer should help, and so will the snails, and getting a small protein skimmer will also help remove nutrients and dissolved organics.


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## stevew2405 (Jul 17, 2009)

ok thanks i have a protien skimmer with the bio cube but forgive me for the newbe quetion but how do i know the potien skimmer is working correctly i set it up the way the directions said i was just curious


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## Imaexpat2 (Jun 17, 2009)

Are you getting some foam and some dark looking gunk collecting in the cup? If so its working.

The snails and hermits will definitely help you out for sure. A sea hair might not be a bad idea either since you are apparently over ran with algae at this point.

A picture of the algae (good clear close up) or a very accurate discription of the algae you have would also be helpful as well. Hair alge can easily be delt with. If its Bryopsis, then thats a whole differnt story altogether. There really aint nothing that eats this crap on a consistent basis.


You also didnt mention much information about the tank itself. You told us its a 29 gallon Bio-Cube. You mentioned that you use a filter sock and a Skimmer. You didnt mention hold old the tank is which can have a bearing on things. You didnt tell us what kinda fish or corals you if any. You didnt tell us about the feeding shedule if there is one due to fish or corals. You didnt tell us about your lighting or how long its been since a bulb change. You didnt post water quality parameters which is crucial information. We dont know what kind of a clean up crew you currently have. Until we know these things we can only offer ideas on how to treat the symtoms not the root cuase of the problem. Therfore you will likley have no long term solution to the problem that exist in your tank. A SW tank should be approached as a system, as such there rarely is a magic bullet for fixing a problem. Help us help you.


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## AZDesertRat (Apr 10, 2009)

Hair algae is usually an indicator you have high nitrates and/or phosphates. It can also be aggravated by lighting, especialy old bulbs where the color has shifted more to the red or yellow range and direct sunlight.

What is your bio load as in fish and inhabitants? What, how much and how often do you feed? How long do you run the lights, what color or K rating are they and how old are the bulbs? What do you use for water, hopefully RO or RO/DI. What do you use for salt mix? How often do you do water changes and how much do you change at a time? What is the water temperature in your tank? How much circulation and aeration do you have? How much substrate and rock and what is the substrate material? Does water circulate around well or do you have dead spots or low flow problems?
If you use a filter sock (which I hate personally) how often do you empty and launder it? Is your skimmer producing skimmate, either wet and light colored or dry dark foam?

If you have test kits what are your pH, Nitrates and Phosphates. if you don't have a phosphate kit the LFS can probably do it for you but you really need the others.

Snails like Turbo snails will help rid the algae but they are not a cure. You need to find the source too. I have never had a crab that ate any form of algae (with the exception of emerald crabs and valonia or bubble algae) but they can be good detritus eaters which can lead to algae formation if not cleaned up. If its a real coarse bright green algae that looks like tiny feathers with a blue tint then it could be bryopsis and that can be kept in check with a lettuce nudibranch but they do not live long once the bryopsis is gone.
Another thing that may help but again is not a cure all is a small amount of Phosban or other GFO product in a filter bag in a medium to high flow area, just a little though at a time. Do you presently run carbon? It would be a good idea to have some carbon in a bag too or mix it with the GFO. Just throwing out ideas here......


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## stevew2405 (Jul 17, 2009)

i tested the water and my nitrates are high and i was told to get a better protien skimmer and a better filtration system


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## AZDesertRat (Apr 10, 2009)

Those will help but you need to find the source of the nitrates and cut it off or reduce it at the source. Over feeding, over stocked, disturbing the biological process as in stirring the sand bed or moving rocks around, poor aeration and circulation, lack of macroalgeas like chaetomorpha, lots of things can contribute to nitrates.


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## stevew2405 (Jul 17, 2009)

i was looking online and found this CPR Aquatics SR3 Protein Skimmer, Sump Model w/ Accela Pump


CPR Aquatics SR3 Protein Skimmer Aquarium Sump SR3 Skimmer Salt Water Saltwater

would this be a a better protien skimmer to get for my tank just wanted to get some feedback


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## salth2o (Aug 3, 2009)

stevew2405 said:


> i was looking online and found this CPR Aquatics SR3 Protein Skimmer, Sump Model w/ Accela Pump
> 
> 
> CPR Aquatics SR3 Protein Skimmer Aquarium Sump SR3 Skimmer Salt Water Saltwater
> ...


The CPR's are pretty good skimmers IMO...however I would agree with Desertrat that figuring out the source of the problem is equally important to solving it. You can skim all you want, but if you don't figure out what is creating the problem and learn from it, odds are you will either not solve it, or it will happen again. How often are you feeding? How long do you run your lights every day? Are they on timers? Do you use RO water for top offs and changes?


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## AZDesertRat (Apr 10, 2009)

The CPR you are linking to is designed to fit inside a sump, do you have a sump? If not you will need a hang on back style.


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## salth2o (Aug 3, 2009)

AZDesertRat said:


> The CPR you are linking to is designed to fit inside a sump, do you have a sump? If not you will need a hang on back style.


I could be wrong but the one he linked to is designed to fit inside the Oceanic Bio cubes.

"The CPR Aquatics SR3 Protein Skimmer is an in-sump skimmer that features a newly designed baffle system. Its narrow footprint is perfect for small sump spaces including the Bio-Cube 29 tank by Oceanic. It easily slides inside the middle chamber of the sump section of the BioCube 29 without any modifications. The lid closes as originally manufactured and the collection cup can be easily removed for cleaning through the rear access hatch."


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## AZDesertRat (Apr 10, 2009)

Must be pretty small, I didn't know there was that much room in an all in one tank sump area.
My nano is a plain old 16G bowfront with a modified AC 500 fuge on the back and a 96w powerquad PC over it. I am not a real fan of the self contained systems, they get to darn hot in Phoenix and often require extra fans if you use anything other than stock lighting.


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## Paul B (Aug 4, 2009)

Unfortunately Hair algae is a part of this hobby but it is not a disease and it can not be cured. It grows on healthy reefs all over the world. Of course we don't want it covering our corals but if you only see a little of it, don't worry about it. If it is growing all over the place you can not really control it with animals. The hair algae just comes out in a little while as algae fertilizer. This works in the sea where there is unlimited water volume to disapate the nutrients and most of that is much too deep for algae to grow. In the sea there are uncountable tangs to eat it diring the day and at night urchins crawl out from everywhere.
(I have been diving at night for many years and have seen this many times)
Algae actuallty makes the water better and if you do not see any algae at all, your water may not be as healthy as you believe it to be.
You can eliminate the hair algae but it is time consuming. It will leave on it's own as soon as it depletes the nutrients it is living on. When that happens, it will die overnight and you will think your hermit crabs or sea hair ate it all, they did not.
You can speed up the process if you manually remove the hair algae where you can and do not change the water. Yes I know what everyone will tell you but changing the water at this point will just fuel more algae. If you pull out the algae along with the incorporated nutrients, very soon the algae nutrients will be exhausted and the algae will die on it's own. Then you can change water and in the future, feed less, rinse frozen food and remove any detritus you can see.
This happens to new tanks and it is normal. Eventually the bacteria population in your tank will settle down and the correct types of bacteria will grow in sufficient numbers to control the nutrients to an extent that you barely have any hair algae.
My tank is 40 years old and I occasionally see some. It leaves on it's own and I consider it a good thing
Have a great day.
Paul


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## stevew2405 (Jul 17, 2009)

thanks for the information


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## Imaexpat2 (Jun 17, 2009)

Check this thread out...

http://www.aquariumforum.com/f13/green-hair-algea-3434.html


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## kind reefer (Apr 15, 2010)

The SR3 is a GREAT upgrade for the BC29 and it improves the quality of the tank. I run one on my BC29 and it fits perfectly inside the middle chamber. It is full of bubbles and I pull out nice dark foam. It is important to figure out why the algae is blooming in the tank. The skimmer upgrade will definately help, but if you continue your same patterns, nothing will get better. I suggest looking into your water source for high silicate and phosphate levels. Using RO/DI water is the best choice and can usually be purchased from the fish store. Good luck!


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## cocovi (Nov 22, 2010)

A SW tank should be approached as a system .

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## hayderrr (Jan 12, 2011)

Hello,
The easiest way to solve this problem is to get a power filter. The power filter is fundamental in the success of your aquarium; it's easy to use and easy to clean. The truth: if you have a power filter and maintain it your tank should almost be self-cleaning.

However, you must clean the filter often, meaning you should change the cartridges every three to four weeks. The cartridges are usually disposable, which means a no-hassle clean. Also, the cartridges are filled with carbon that remove impurities, odors, and discoloration. You'll know when to change the cartridges when the water flow from the filter has slowed down.

If cartridges are left in too long, the tank will start to look like a sewer, so a siphon and bucket may come in handy. The process is simple.

* First, insert the siphon head into the tank.
* Suck lightly on the hose end and drain the outcoming water into the bucket. Or if your siphon has a pump, squeeze it.
* Comb the siphon head over the rocks. Also, stir up the rocks to get any waste that has settled to the bottom. Should any gravel get stuck in the siphon head, lightly tap it against the glass and gravity will do the rest.
* Drain enough water to remove the waste.
* Replace the water and then replace the cartridges. 
thanks!!
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