Cyanobacteria and green hair algae attacking tank not sure what to do

[showard]

i have green hair algae all over my LR and cyano all over my LS, its like a thick brownish blanket with bubbles. I've been reccomended a sea hare for the hair algae but I'm not sure what to do about the cyano and how to keep all of it away. i feed every 3 days as well lightly.
tank specs:
-75 gallon
-marineland emperor 400 HOB
-eshopps 100 gallon skimmer in tank (sump is awkwardly baffled and the pump doesn't fit)
-amiracle sump 30 gallons
-2 65watt coralife atinics
-2 150 watt metal halides
-2 koralia circulation pumps the smaller ones
-70ish lbs of LR
-3inches of LS
-has been up for 3 months
-inline heater
-in-sump chiller
-thermostat to keep temperature at 78F-80F

Livestock:
-blue hippo tang (he is doing very well)
-4 chromis
-1 perculia clown and bubble tip
-1maroon clown (got him for free and he is a baby and he doesn't pick on anyone)
-3 snails
-3 hermit crabs
-peppermint shrimp
-red/yellow/white/purple sponges


Corals:
-purple monti cap
-zoas
-birdsnest frags
-purple kenya tree

 

[saltwaterB]

have you checked Phosphate and Nitrate levels???

And are you light bulbs older than 1 yr?

Both are things that can cause both algae to grow

 

[LoveTheReef]

If your tank is only 3 months old it is quite normal for there to be algae and diatom blooms; however since you already have corals, you'll need to control them before they suffocate and kill the corals.

I would not get a sea hare for a tank that young -- if your levels (Ammonia, Nitrites, Nitrates) are still fluctuating, it might stress out the sea hare and he might cause bigger issues (they're big and when die can introduce a lot of pollutants and toxins in your tank).

Another thing to mention is that you need more clean up crew (snails, hermits if you like them, etc) to keep up with the waste in a 75g tank; my personal preference is a combination of nerites, ceriths, astreas and trochus. Turbo snails will do a very good job at devouring the algae but they get pretty big and might knock your corals off the rock work.

So at this point, since your tank is still very new, I would do water changes, get rid of as much hair algae manually as you can, and add clean-up-crew to take care of the rest. If there are a lot of diatoms on the sand, you can also look into getting 3-4 conch's -- they're awesome at eating that stuff

Hope that helps!

- Archit

EDIT: Forgot to ask the big question -- are you using RODI water to make the saltwater and for top off?

 

[mnavick]

big question -- are you using RODI water to make the saltwater and for top off?

^This.

How often do you clean the filter pads in the Emperor?
Can be a massive nitrate factory if not cleaned "often".

 

[showard]

yes i am using ro/di to top off every couple of days and i do a 10-15% change weekly. thank you a bunch for responding as well! and don't conchs get huge?

 

[showard]

i clean the filter pads monthly in the 400

 

[showard]

Also I forgot to add I dont have the bio wheel in the emperor. Im just running the cartridges with activated carbon in one of them and the filter pads on both

 

[wpeterson]

You should post your Alk/Calc/mag levels. Most likely you have excess nutrients (phosphate/Nitrate), but improper levels of the fundamentals can result in growth of nuisance algae instead of Coraline algae and corals. For example, low nutrients but low magnesium can cause this.

The marineland filters may need to be changed as often as every two weeks. They have secondary spillways that only channel water when the filter is clogged - so if you see water flowing in the side channels vs. the primary outflow - check your filter. Also, if there is a large buildup of waste or a strong smell, you should be changing your filters more often.

If your supplement levels are high enough and your nutrients low enough, you might consider reducing your lighting cycle.

Good luck!

 

[wpeterson]

Also I forgot to add I dont have the bio wheel in the emperor. Im just running the cartridges with activated carbon in one of them and the filter pads on both

How much live rock and sand do you have in your tank? The bio wheels should only be needed in tanks without natural substrate for bacteria to grow (ie: minimal marine tank with fish only)

 

[reefkeeper2]

I got rid of dinos (a really really bad case) in less than two weeks with Cuprisorb. I read about it on RC and decided to try it. No one yet knows why it works (for some it doesn't) ,but the concensus is that it absorbs some trace metal that the dinos need. What is difficult is that you need a filter bag (doesn't come with the Cuprisorb)with very fine mesh, and getting water to flow thru that fine mesh bag can be difficult especially when it gets dirty. I tied the bag onto the end of my diatom filter. It kept the Cuprisorb suspended all the time and the bag never got clogged. I think that is why it worked so fast. If you decide to try it, use lots of fresh carbon to clean out the toxic organics as the dinos die and change it often. And stop your water changes until it's gone. Water changes supply trace elements and you want to starve it of trace elements.

 

[stingythingy45]

I'll just add.

"-eshopps 100 gallon skimmer in tank (sump is awkwardly baffled and the pump doesn't fit) "

You may have answered your own question with this.
I like a nice oversized skimmer to pull nutrients. If you starve it, it will disappear.
Make sure you're not overfeeding.

 

[showard]

so get a bigger skimmer? and ill post those soon

 

[delta]

I would post as much info you can. How old your tank is, your parameters (nitrate/phospahtes), maintenance schedule, age of lights, TDS, major changes, etc etc. The better picture you can paint the easier it is to get to the answer.