Green free floating algae is caused by too much direct sunlight and an over abundence of trapped Co2, very common in stagnate water. They are single celled flora that multiply in the water so water changes can be ineffective. 2 ways to get rid of them - Increase circulation dramatically with an o2 feed to reduce c02 while reducing or eliminating the light source - or run the tank water thru a UV sterilzer.
08TRDOFFROAD's 45 Gallon Build
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That is a logical explaination! But, I am confused how my tank would be suffering from an abundance of trapped CO2...My tank is open topped which should promote adequate oxygen exchange, I have both return lines and a MJ 1200 aggitating/breaking the water surface to further promote oxygen exchange, and I have a protein skimmer that is injecting the water with O2 as part of the process of foam fractioning....
Could my 2-150 DE MH lights just be too much for the tank? I am running them from 11 am until 7 pm. Would adding an air stone near the bottom in one corner help?
Would a filter sock be able to remove these free floating flora?
I may just have to start saving my pennies for a UV if the above solutions don't turn things around.
I went out of town for three days last weekend and drastically reduced the light cycle while I was gone to reduce evaporation. I saw no improvement in the water quality during that time, which makes me doubt that my problem is light related. Also as another bit of information, my tank gets zero direct sunlight.
Well, I have done pretty much everything and anything I can do to try to resolve the green water. I am running an air stone in my sump, and I have put two additional Koralia 4's in the tank to drastically increase water circulation!
Something of note...I have started tracking my PH the last few days. In the mornings before lights on it is around 7.8, then when the lights come on it increased to as high as 8.03, then after the lights go off before I went to bed it was back around 7.85...This is of course after I added the airstone in the sump and the two additional powerheads to increase my flow...why is it staying so low? I used quality aragonite sand and I have decent rock, I am using reef crystal salt and have never had any problems like this....I am baffled.
Otherone, How long after increasing my flow and adding an airstone to the sump will it take before I start seeing an improvement in the green free floating algae, if it is indeed due to excess carbon dioxide in the water?
Something of note...I have started tracking my PH the last few days. In the mornings before lights on it is around 7.8, then when the lights come on it increased to as high as 8.03, then after the lights go off before I went to bed it was back around 7.85...This is of course after I added the airstone in the sump and the two additional powerheads to increase my flow...why is it staying so low? I used quality aragonite sand and I have decent rock, I am using reef crystal salt and have never had any problems like this....I am baffled.
Otherone, How long after increasing my flow and adding an airstone to the sump will it take before I start seeing an improvement in the green free floating algae, if it is indeed due to excess carbon dioxide in the water?
here is what i would do to elevate your ph. make a diy kalk drip system. all u need is a bottle and a needle valve. drip kalk at night slowly.
this algae is usually caused by excess lighting combined with high nutrients in the tank. i would add 1 more airstone to help with c02 at night. i would also shorted the photo period by at least a few hours a day. how long are lights set to run now?
this algae is usually caused by excess lighting combined with high nutrients in the tank. i would add 1 more airstone to help with c02 at night. i would also shorted the photo period by at least a few hours a day. how long are lights set to run now?
Lights are run eight hours a day, from 11 am to 7 pm. Maybe cut it back to 4-5 hours to start?? Why would my PH be spiking during my photoperiod? Could it be because I have a fan blowing down on the water surface to help disipate heat from the halides, which is causing more efficient oxygen exchange?
the lights will cause the algae and corals to photosynthisize , the algae and corals will burn carbon dioxide and give off oxygen during the period, thus raising the ph. the opposite will happen at night depressing the ph. this is why we use macroalgae in the fuge with the light opposite our main lighting. try running the lights from 1pm to 6 pm. you could even just run the actinics.
I don't have actinics at the moment. Just the 150 W DE Halides with 14 k phoenix bulbs. I will try cutting back the light cycle to what you suggested to see if that will help turning things around, on top of the other things I am already doing.
