Algae free tank possible?

[sen5241b]

If I nuke the rock with bleach, rinse it with tap water, de-chlorinate it, rinse it again, gamma irradiate or UV sterilize my sand and add no slimy snails, is it possible to get an algae free tank? I know bleaching rock and de-chlorinating it has been done and it avoided a cycle because it removed anything living but has anyone got a 100% algae free tank going?

[jamesbuf]

Way too much overkill. Rinse your frozen food before feeding and use some GFO to get your phosphates down, and add a better skimmer. I guarantee the algae in your tank will die off.

[jason the filter freak]

algea free tank would look like crap... seriously. If you're talking about no hair algea, cyano, no stringy green crap, etc sure thats possible and doesn't require nearly the extremes you want to go to. I have a tank that has only green, pink, and purple calcium based algea. all i have it good flow, decent lighting (albeit an old 250 watt halide thats been due for a change for months), a fuge, a halfway decent clean up crew feeding every other day and a medium-heavy bio load with a HOB remora with a skimmer box running a mag 5 and 0 algea issues... did I mention I USE TAP WATER RIGHT FROM THE SINK, no boiling, no dechlorinator, no letting it sit, and no RO/DI.

[Coral Hind]

I have never had an algae free tank. I don't think anyone can achieve an algae free tank unless it is void of any livestock or lighting. It will be present in one form or another.

[L8 2 RISE]

impossible unless u have nothing but a tank running, this means no live rock, no fish, no sand, nothing, just a bare tank, pumps, with salt water running, including no light, if you add the light, I think you could end up with algae, add sand, fish, live rock, or anything TO the tank, and there WILL be algae, unavoidable IMO, just to what extent....

[treesprite]

When I had a tang I had no algae other than coraline and the hard green dots which were on the glass - is you tank big enough for one?

[sen5241b]

algea free tank would look like crap... seriously. If you're talking about no hair algea, cyano, no stringy green crap, etc sure thats possible and doesn't require nearly the extremes you want to go to. I have a tank that has only green, pink, and purple calcium based algea. all i have it good flow, decent lighting (albeit an old 250 watt halide thats been due for a change for months), a fuge, a halfway decent clean up crew feeding every other day and a medium-heavy bio load with a HOB remora with a skimmer box running a mag 5 and 0 algea issues... did I mention I USE TAP WATER RIGHT FROM THE SINK, no boiling, no dechlorinator, no letting it sit, and no RO/DI.

Wait a minute, you use plain old tap water and your name is "Jason the Filter Freak"?

[jamesbuf]

So are you talking about nuisance algae, or are you including coraline algae?

[jason the filter freak]

Wait a minute, you use plain old tap water and your name is "Jason the Filter Freak"?

 

lol jep, so does christina (mexicanjavafish) we live realatively close to each other though I've never had the tap water here analized but i've been doing it for 3 years now. I think RO/DI is such a ridiclous waste of water (in most cases). The board name comes from my first set up ever where I was running 3 cannister filters, 2 hob filters, 2 air driven sponge filters, an undergravel filter, and an aquaclear powerhead filter on my 55... I know better now.

 

NOTE: I'm not necessarly telling you to dump tap into your tank it may not be a good idea in your area, heck it might not be a good idea in my area but I'm doing well. I'm just saying it's one of the factors people often blame algea problems on.

 

P.S.:I'm also running an 18 watt Turbo twist sterilizer and a cannister filter (rena XP 4 with sponges and bio media). I have no algea eating fish in my system to speak of. I do water changes every 3 weeks about 5 gallons worth.

 

 

KEEP UP WITH YOUR SYSTEM... I know it's frustrating I had a ton of algea with my first two systems, but with better flow keeping detritus suspended, a decent skimmer, a fuge, highish quality lighting, UV sterilizer, and exp I have no unwanted algea to speak of. I'd say flow is KEY!

Good luck, don't give up.

[sen5241b]

I've seen the analysis for Arlington and DC water which have the same source and I wouldn't drink a drop of it. Its bad.

[zygote2k]

I've seen the analysis for Arlington and DC water which have the same source and I wouldn't drink a drop of it. Its bad.

I used to work for several LFS's in Fairfax County. In the spring and fall, when using dechlorinated tap water to do water changes, we would experience heavy fish mortality. I received a water quality report from the wastewater treatment plant that showed acceptable levels of NO3 as high as 40ppm as well as several other nasty elements. I have been drinking bottled water now for over 10 years. If fish don't live in it, I'm not drinking it and I'll only use bottled or filtered water for the fish tanks.

[MisterTang]

It depends on how many phosphates and algae-feeding nutrients are in the water. My water has such high phosphates that I have to use RO water, pass it through a de-ionizer, and STILL have to use PhosLock. Doing all this has made almost all my nuisance algae disappear... actually, the only nuisance stuff I really get now is in my sump.

[sen5241b]

What bothers me about my tap water is the radioactive crap is at the highest level allowed by law!

[SeanCallan]

What bothers me about my tap water is the radioactive crap is at the highest level allowed by law!

 

Definitely.

 

Using tap water is irresponsible in my mind and I would highly recommend against it. As a hobby we're not only trying to achieve a particular look but we're to some degree trying to mimic the Ocean to provide a home to these animals. Tap water is an unnecessary stress and factor when you're investing a bunch in a setup. There have been a number of studies lately of the DC Metro area's water which included pharmaceutical, fecal matter, and other waste products.

 

Definitely don't cut corners when the lives of animals in your care are at stake. I'm not a PETA freak or anything ( I can't stand them actually ) but theres no reason to endanger your livestock to save a buck.

 

As for no algae, read up on Zeovit, Brightwell, or NeoZeo.

Edited November 17, 2008 by SeanCallan

[reefmontalvo]

Beyond all that filtering no matter what you do or how you nuke your water, yoru still going to have some microscopic form of algae in there. Your even breathing them now as you type speak or anything. There just part of life.

[SeanCallan]

Beyond all that filtering no matter what you do or how you nuke your water, yoru still going to have some microscopic form of algae in there. Your even breathing them now as you type speak or anything. There just part of life.

 

We're breathing in algae right now?

[jason the filter freak]

 

Definitely.

 

Using tap water is irresponsible in my mind and I would highly recommend against it. As a hobby we're not only trying to achieve a particular look but we're to some degree trying to mimic the Ocean to provide a home to these animals. Tap water is an unnecessary stress and factor when you're investing a bunch in a setup. There have been a number of studies lately of the DC Metro area's water which included pharmaceutical, fecal matter, and other waste products.

 

 

Not trying to start an argument but can you actually prove this...? I own an RO/DI 6 stage set up but choose not to run it. I have 3 saltwater reefs running and 4 fresh water ones in the Baltimore metro area (I'm fairly sure WSSC supplies our water) that say tap water is working out just fine. The blanket statement that tap water isn't safe is not fair... this may be true about DC (I've been to a reefers house in DC and drunk tap water... won't ever do that again). I believe that in the grander scheme of things wasting water is irresponsible not saying everyone does it but the majority of people with Ro/DI setups that I've seen literally waste their waste water . A few have awesome ways of conserving it though.

 

I would bet that if you took ocean water and removed only the plankton and aglae and NaCl that it would be worse for you than tap, can't prove it just saying.

 

 

Back to the subject at hand sen help us out here, what is your flow like, name every piece of equipment running on your tank, and what is your bioload, lighting like, we may be able to come up with a solution for you.

Edited November 17, 2008 by jason the filter freak

[SeanCallan]

Not trying to start an argument but can you actually prove this...? I own an RO/DI 6 stage set up but choose not to run it. I have 3 saltwater reefs running and 4 fresh water ones in the Baltimore metro area (I'm fairly sure WSSC supplies our water) that say tap water is working out just fine. The blanket statement that tap water isn't safe is not fair... this may be true about DC (I've been to a reefers house in DC and drunk tap water... won't ever do that again). I believe that in the grander scheme of things wasting water is irresponsible not saying everyone does it but the majority of people with Ro/DI setups that I've seen literally waste their waste water . A few have awesome ways of conserving it though.

 

I would bet that if you took ocean water and removed only the plankton and aglae and NaCl that it would be worse for you than tap, can't prove it just saying.

Back to the subject at hand sen help us out here, what is your flow like, name every piece of equipment running on your tank, and what is your bioload, lighting like, we may be able to come up with a solution for you.

 

You're assuming that we all waste water from the RO/DI unit. You can save it in a bucket and use it for laundry, you can use it to water plants.

 

As for my statement, in college (GA) one of my biology labs had us testing local water and it had tons of crap in it. Just consider the pipes the water is traveling through and how much stuff it collects.

 

Have you actually been to a water treatment facility? I've had the honors of having been to two and if you think they're working magic behind the scenes to instantly make stuff disappear you may want to swing by your local one and have a look. The standards for drinkable water from the city/county are not particularly hard to meet, there are a lot of substances that are in the water whether you like or not.

 

Not sure how EVERY city works, but the majority rely on large reserves to hold the water which is exposed to the elements and anyone who might want to dump something in there.

 

Some of the facilities are even beginning to fill the reserves with large black balls (cheapest solution) to cut down on the amount of sunlight because they're having record amounts of algae and other bacterial blooms.

 

So there you have it, that is why I think unfiltered tap water is irresponsible for use in an aquarium, regardless of fresh or salt. If the counties themselves are taking steps to reduce the amount of algae and bacteria in their water reserves and you're not, you're introducing all of those same organisms into your tank.

 

If I had never ending resources I think a fun experiment would be 1 tank of RO/DI and 1 tank of tap water and then to measure the amount of TDS and other micro organism in the tank. I'll even wager money that the tap water setup would be more likely to experience algae blooms and a wider swing in chemical levels.

 

Also, didn't you just have your column tank crash for an unknown reason? How many crashes and how much live stock have you been through since using tap water compared to other reefers? I'm not saying a tank COULDN'T survive with tap water, but why subject your livestock to those risks? To me at least, my aquarium is more than a "cool" factor or a piece of art, it's a piece of the ocean and I try to make it sustainable and to provide the livestock with a quality home. That's half the reason I've gone over the fish list for my tank 10 times alone. Sure I can stock a tang and it would probably survive, but why am I going to stick something in my tank that isn't suited for it?

Edited November 17, 2008 by SeanCallan

[jason the filter freak]

 

You're assuming that we all waste water from the RO/DI unit. You can save it in a bucket and use it for laundry, you can use it to water plants.

 

Actually I stated the majority of people waste their waste water and that a few have good ways of conserving their water.

 

Also, didn't you just have your column tank crash for an unknown reason? How many crashes and how much live stock have you been through since using tap water compared to other reefers? I'm not saying a tank COULDN'T survive with tap water, but why subject your livestock to those risks? To me at least, my aquarium is more than a "cool" factor or a piece of art, it's a piece of the ocean and I try to make it sustainable and to provide the livestock with a quality home. That's half the reason I've gone over the fish list for my tank 10 times alone. Sure I can stock a tang and it would probably survive, but why am I going to stick something in my tank that isn't suited for it?

 

I haven't lost any livestock what so ever in the past year except for my lion which after talking with experts was determined to most likely be internal blockage or parasites and a piece of hammer and a pink leather both of which were not lost for unknown reasons but a tank move which nearly any one out there can tell you often causes some sort of loss or die back. Everything else is fantastic.

 

If we're to continue this can it be though pms or on another thread so we can get back to helping this member combat their algae problem

Edited November 17, 2008 by jason the filter freak

[SkiCurtis]

use R.O. DI water + tangs+a very good skimmer+no algae.

I have a 240 and no algae at all. except coralline and only stuff that grows on the acrylic.

[SeanCallan]

I haven't seen it mentioned, but another common thing I've seen in tanks with lots of algae is the exposure to natural sunlight which tends to facilitate the growth of nuisance algae.

[extreme_tooth_decay]

We're breathing in algae right now?

 

Don't forget fecal coliform!

 

Mythbusters

 

Link2

 

Gotta love those mythbusters.

 

mmm....fecal....

[reefmontalvo]

Don't forget fecal coliform!

 

Mythbusters

 

Link2

 

Gotta love those mythbusters.

 

mmm....fecal....

 

I knew somebody was bound to mention this. LOL

 

In any case I use tap water for top offs. The system is running fine I did notice an increase in nutrients. I'm combating this problem the natural way with bacteria additives. But I also don't just pour the tap water straight into the tank I allow the water to sit in a bucket and air out for a couple of days. The algae is then controlled again by natural means snails, tangs and anything else that is of a herbavore nature.