Algae-its causes and remedies

[smatter]

I "cooked" mine too. When did we start calling curing cooking? It was done in the tank in darkness with frequent water changes and detritus removal. Same thing right? Seems like it would have even been better as I had the skimmer in full swing too. Nothing touches the algae. If it is even algae at all. In the latest issue of FAMA in the Sand Mail column Goemans calls Derbesia(sp?) and Bryopsis cyanobacteria. This would explain why nothing wants to eat it.

[olsaltybastard]

I put mine in several containers inside the garage, and every week I would fill four buckets of salt water. Rock was removed from container, vigorously dunked in all four buckets (one at a time) to remove junk and such, then placed into a container with newly mixed salt water. I don't really know where the term "cooking" came from; it's a bit more involved than curing in the dark.

[ChuckG]

Smatter - how about a picture. Maybe we can determine what type of algae it is.

[smatter]

I'm pretty sure it is Derbesia. I will snap a pic as soon as I can locate the digi. It is probably in my teenaged daughters room under a pile of clothes somewhere.

[Thomas]

OSB,
I'm looking into a phosphate removing device. Can you tell me which one you are using and what media. I am also interested in pump selection and flow rate.
Thanks. I just started getting a carpet of short green algae on my Monti . I found also that my protein skimmer was malfunctioning. I got it back up and skimming the crap out of the water. I've cleaned it 4 times in the last two days. One other weird thing is my algae colony in the sump has diminished to nothing over the last couple of months. I do run a UV and I am wondering if this had an effect on the Chaeto.

[DaveK]

Most likely the problem was with the skimmer not working. You took out a lot of material. That may be all you need to do.

However, to answer your specific question, I prefer an iron based product, such as ROWAphos. It can be simple placed in the sump, where water can pass through it. Best results are obtained by using a "reactor", in other words a filter that forces water through the material.

When you use such a reactor, you want the flow to be moderate. You need to give the material time to do it's job. You can usually simply plumb the reactor using a T and valves to connect it to the main return line. You can also use another small pump, but there is really no need.

I'm not a fan of UV, but I don't think it would have any effect on Chaeto being grown in the sump. More likely would be the lower quality of water, due to the skimmer not working. Lighting could also be a factor.

[Thomas]

Update on the skimmer. I am still cleaning this thing daily. Unbelievable how much crap it's pulling out. I still have the algae on the Monti. I wonder if it's placement at the top of the tank is too much light? I wouldn't think so though seeing as how the lights are t-5 and PC.