Algae dieing

[Canoe]

Don't understand why the algae is dieing.

History:
I had to quickly establish a FOWLR to rescue a pair of Ocellaris Clowns from a tank that was getting shut down. They were undersize from underfeeding.

In the middle of august, they went into:

• 46 gallon bowfront FOWLR
• barebottom with food-grade cutting board, sealed to bottom
• Coralife marine salt, with RO/DI water
• stock florscents, 12 hours on / 12 hours off
• base rock, guessing 15 pounds
• has a smaller canister filter filled with small round media for bacteria, kept in low light
• cycled for two weeks with BIO-Spira to get four strains of bacteria
• return-to-tank to PVC pipes that distribute return to three places at the back bottom of the tank
• sea-clone 100 hanging on tank, un-modded, well adjusted

Two auto-feeders, one flake, one pellet, to micro-feed four times a day.
Was populated with two Ocellaris, who fed out of the water column, getting a fair amount of exercise.
Added ten snails and ten hermits, only the female clown harassed them mercilessly hitting them with water from her mouth, her tail and hitting them with her tail, driving them into the glass and rock, until they were pinned under rock edges (barebottom).
Added a handful of larger shells for the hermits.

Went on holidays, supposed to be for 2 1/2 weeks. Stuck out of town for a month and a half before I could get back. (waiting for my turn at the sole machine shop in a small prairie town during harvest to get engine rebuilt to get home...)

Returned home to find the water level down between 1/8 and 1/4, skimmer died, water colourless, clear except for small particulate, and a wonderful assortment of green algae all over the rocks and much of the bottom. The clowns were pale. Added RO/DI water to top up. Clowns got their colour back overnight.

In the two months in this tank, the Clowns had grown much closer to a normal size. Much more rapidly than I'd ever expect.

Numbers were, and stayed:
salinity 1.022
temp 77F
nitrite fluctuated between zero and trace
nitrate fluctuated between zero and trace
phosphate 1.0
PH 8.0

[Canoe]

But I had to play with it.

Two weeks ago, I added:

• a small 1.25" Clarkii Clown
• a 3" Big Eyed Black-Barred Soldier Fish
• a 3" Lawnmower Blenny

The soldier alone eats four times what the two clowns did, so I had to up the food.

Since then, the green algae has largely died off and a maroon.algae has covered around 1/3 of the top of the rocks

Fish are a wonderful colour.

salinity 1.022
temp 77F
nitrite fluctuates between zero and trace
nitrate fluctuates between trace and 0.15
phosphate 1.3
PH 7.8


Water looks good.
I don't understand how the numbers can be so good with such a simple setup.
I checked the nitrite & nitrate against calibration samples. Test kit is good.

The Lawnmower Blenny is still finding algae to eat, but there's nowhere near the expanse available when I got him.

How do I get the various green algae back?

What to do about the PH?

[robt18]

Increased food is contributing to higher nitrates and phosphates, as evident in your tests. The levels may be testing low, but I'm sure lots of both of these are being largely consumed with the algae growth.

You can go with reactors or water changes as best options to reduce the levels, reactors being an easier long term solution. Also check your bulbs, if it's the algae I think it is then it loves high light and is having a great time wih a 12 hour photoperiod. A different, stronger light with more actinic that could be used for fewer hours a day could be a good option (Christmas is coming ).

Just my thoughts!

[Darth]

Increased food is contributing to higher nitrates and phosphates, as evident in your tests. The levels may be testing low, but I'm sure lots of both of these are being largely consumed with the algae growth.

You can go with reactors or water changes as best options to reduce the levels, reactors being an easier long term solution. Also check your bulbs, if it's the algae I think it is then it loves high light and is having a great time wih a 12 hour photoperiod. A different, stronger light with more actinic that could be used for fewer hours a day could be a good option (Christmas is coming ).

Just my thoughts!

I think he wants the algea back, not get rid of it, seems his lawnmower blenny is not gettiong enough food

[robt18]

I think he wants the algea back, not get rid of it, seems his lawnmower blenny is not gettiong enough food

Oops! After reading most of the two posts I figured it was an algae issue...

Stronger lights will grow more!

[Canoe]

It was growing fine, but died.

Can't figure out why the numbers seem so good...
This tank shouldn't be working this well?

[Darth]

It was growing fine, but died.

Can't figure out why the numbers seem so good...
This tank shouldn't be working this well?

check your test kits ,what are you using to to test, and why should the paramaters not be good on a simple set up? I don't get what you mean
if you want algae to grow try lower k lights and a longer photo period

[Papou]

The algae you have is consuming yor nutience and there's not enough to sustain algae growth feed more often longer photo period you can also add a low k light like Darth suggested

[Canoe]

I've checked the test kits against known sample, and the kits test good.

I have minimal rock, no skimmer (it died over two months ago) and was away for 1 month and a half without any water changes, so I'm expecting the nitrates to build up, but they show a little, then back down, repeating...
As the numbers are so good, I'm hesitant to do what I understand is supposed to be done, as "if it isn't broke, don't fix it".
The only negative is the algae isn't thriving, just after I added a Lawnmower Blenny thinking the algae was going good enough to keep it healthy.
Oh, and at 7.8, the PH is lower than what I understand is optimum.

The fish have good colour and are active.

So where the nutrients may be low, I'm not exporting any, and I'm feeding eight times a day.

I was planning to up the lighting from LFS stock lights to some LED pendants. I guess I'll do that upgrade sooner to see if it will bring back the algae.

[Papou]

Well buy the way it look nitrates - trace phos - trace and the algae dying off is ware you want to be people try hard to rid of algae that means your doing it right just don't forget your sand bed is going to absorb lots of nutrence once it can't absorb any more then your levals will spike. I would at least run the skimmer 

[Canoe]

Algae is slowly coming back. Enough there for the Lawnmower, without it taking over (yet).
Some algae and debris on the bare bottom.
No skimmer yet (deltec HOB ready to use).

salinity 1.023
temp varies between 76 and 78F as room temperature varies with winter's day vs. night
nitrite is trace
nitrate is 1 ppm
phosphate 3
PH 7.8

Best I can figure is the media in the canister filter has enough bacteria (started with the BIO-Spira) in it to handle things...

Added a two foot piece of 1/2" pvc with an air hose down it to help the water circulate more than the small canister filter pump provides; moves a surprising amount of water.
I have a larger canister filter being readied to use (needs a new power jack), so the tank will have proper flow.

[Darth]

you would be better off with some powerheads like koralias instead of the canister for flow

[Canoe]

you would be better off with some powerheads like koralias instead of the canister for flow

Planned from the start, I installed PVC returns in the tank with three outlets to take the return from the canister filter, functioning similar to a closed-loop. Each outlet can be aimed where needed. I'm intending a swirl from low-front to high-back, one from the left, one from the right, and one in the center. I'm working on a few ways to have that return to three outlets be randomized, so the swirl will originate from different directions, so it can incorporate a switching side-to-side flow component too.
One is channeling the return, be it a device that works by the force of the water flow or by a motor. The other is to feed the return to three small surge devices. The first is easy, but has moving parts. The second has the benefit of no moving parts and that an air-lift can run on UPS for power outages, feeding the surge devices, thereby providing both oxygen and some continued flow. The negative for the second is that the height of the water in the tank varies, as this is a sumpless tank. Coming along on controlling the speed and bubbles of the surge devices; construction with PVC, pop bottles and air hose... another hobby within the hobby...

[Canoe]

I was informed early this evening that I've likely been very lucky with the numbers, as my tank as too low flow as it stands right now, and the algae has likely been consuming the nitrates and phosphates that otherwise would have been a problem. The explanation I was given was much more detailed and very credible, but too complex for me to remember to recite here.

While I believed what I was doing was insufficient, I was very hesitant to do anything as the numbers made me feel "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". In short, I was instructed to go home and get the skimmer I was holding in reserve on the tank tonight, as I could be facing a tank crash at any time. I was also instructed to move ahead with my plans to improve the flow inside the tank, and to expect the numbers to change as the tank adjusts. Also to go with the normally expected and recommended 10% a week water change. With this, I'm told that the nitrite, which is currently showing a trace amount, should go to showing zero nitrite.