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Help, my tank is turning green

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Adam Haycock View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Adam Haycock Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 07 2004 at 12:25pm

Have you noticed a lot of stuff dying on the new carribean rock? Perhaps the die-off caused an ammonia spike which led to algae growth.

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kfowler View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote kfowler Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 07 2004 at 1:16pm
We did when it was new but we hade it in another tank for about a week.  Doesn't it take around a week to "cure"?
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dianatabor View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote dianatabor Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 07 2004 at 3:32pm
I know that some of you will probably shoot me for what I'm about to say, but I'm basing this on personal experience, so I'm going to say it anyway...   

kfowler - I'm sorry that I didn't see your post earlier. I think I could have saved you a lot of frustration. I keep a product called Algone on hand for just such occasions. It's not an algaecide based on antibiotics or chemicals to kill algae. Instead, it's a pouch that you put in your filter that greatly inhibits algae growth by removing excess nutrients from the water while absorbing nitrates and reducing ammonia. You can go to http://www.algone.com to find out how it works and to http://www.algone.com/algone_and_reefs_pop.htm to read about it in reef tanks.

Originally posted by From http://www.Algone.com From http://www.Algone.com wrote:

Algone gradually balances the water column, avoiding the shock treatment of chemical products which often harm fish and other life forms.

Use of Algone will not deprive coralline algae of needed nutrients, because Algone treats the water for nitrogen compounds, and does not have any influence on trace elements (especially calcium) needed by the coralline algae.

Low nitrate levels will not only ensure the proper growth of coralline algae, but also of the symbiotic algae that lives inside the corals and invertebrates. Symbiotic algae provide nutrients to the host, allowing them to exist in low nutrient areas found at natural reefs. Corals can not survive without the symbiont, as they are not able to derive enough nutrients from the water.

Nutrient control is therefore essential. Competing micro-algae can be a challenge and a threat for the sensitive reef environment.

Algone will not deplete plants of vital nutrients or trace elements. Algone will not pose any harm to live rock, corals or inverts. Algone is 100% reef safe.

I don't use it constantly (though you can), but I always keep it on hand, just in case. I used it once after first setting up my tank, once after the long power outage, and a few times when I just went too long without changing my water. It works wonders very quickly and doesn't harm your corals, livestock, inverts, macroalgae, or coraline algae.

I highly recommend it for clearing up your tank completely and getting it back to a sparkling clean state that you can deal with. If you want, I can give you a pouch to try. You just place it in your filter.

Send me a PM if you're interested.
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dianatabor View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote dianatabor Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 07 2004 at 5:18pm
Has anyone else used Algone?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Carl Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 08 2004 at 10:01am

Diana, I have not used it but am an advocate of "whatever works for you".

KFowler, what part of the Valley are you in? If it would provide a comfort level for you and keep you in the hobby I am sure that someone will visit you for sure. Mark is famous for this. . I will also volunteer my time if needed, although there are many far more knowledgeable than I. However, when I first started I screwed many things up so you could say that I went to the school of hard knocks. I wish I had known about this group back then.

It sounds like you are on the right track though. Maybe a little guidance and encouragement is all that you need. To quote one of my favorite recurring movie characters, "You can dooo it!"

In Syracuse

"I believe that forgiving them is God's function. Our job is simply to arrange the meeting." - Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jfinch Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 08 2004 at 10:08am

Has anyone else used Algone?

Well since you're asking... I kinda view that sort of stuff as snake oil.  I'd have to see it to believe it.  I'm always skeptical of products that don't do a very good job explaining how/why they work.  Maybe Ryan Foote will try it out as you suggested?  No offence intended on my part, JMO.



Edited by jfinch
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote kfowler Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 08 2004 at 1:59pm
I live in Magna,  about 7700 West.  3500 S.  If anyone is willing I would love someone to come and give me all the advice they can give. Thanks to everyone who has given advice and helped already.   Roger and Kristy Fowler
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote rfoote Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 08 2004 at 2:08pm
I've looked at Algone, but it seems very suspect at best to me.  Not that it obviously hasn't worked for you and maybe I should give it a shot.  I guess I should have been more clear in my post - I wanna start over anyhow.  Wanna do things the way I should have/wanted to the first time.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote dianatabor Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 08 2004 at 3:30pm
I guess I can understand your skepticism. They don't really tell us what Algone is or how it works. I was actually suspicious as well, but my curiosity got the best of me after reading their long list testimonials (http://www.algone.com/algae_testimonials.htm). Who knows, it's probably something so cheap and obvious that if we knew what it was, we'd just make our own pouches. Anyway, I'd be very interested in knowing more about what it's actually doing with the water chemistry.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote sjlopez39 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 08 2004 at 9:39pm
If it works, my theory is Algone take me away.

Edited by sjlopez39
Keep your hands and arms inside the tank and enjoy the ride!

Steve
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote ssilcox Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 08 2004 at 9:47pm
 That's great Steve
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jfinch Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 08 2004 at 9:47pm

*shudder*  (picturing Steve in a bubble bath)

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote dianatabor Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 08 2004 at 9:52pm
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mark Peterson Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 09 2004 at 6:27am
Diana, What does it look like, not the pouch, but what's inside the pouch?

I suspect it is a combination of media we are already familiar with. These products remove phosphates silicates and nitrogen compounds (mostly ammonia) from the water, thus inhibiting algae growth. The pouch works like a charm in your HOB filter in the 17 gal. but would be much less effective in a 180 gal for example, unless 10 pouches were used at once!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mark Peterson Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 09 2004 at 6:38am
Originally posted by kfowler kfowler wrote:

We did when it was new but we hade it in another tank for about a week.  Doesn't it take around a week to "cure"?

"Curing" takes anywhere from a day to 4 months depending on the other variables in the tank. But as soon as you took it out of the water of one tank to place it into another tank, a "curing" process had to start all over again. I don't like the term "Curing" because that totally misses the point of what is actually happening.

I could go on and on with this, but it's all been written and discussed here before. Briefly it has to do with living organisms eating dead stuff that occurs because of the rock being removed from the water. The preventive measure would be to never remove it from water! A principle that is gaining more and more hobbyist followers as they acquire a true understanding of the life on and in LR.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote dianatabor Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 09 2004 at 1:23pm
Mark - I honestly haven't opened one of the pouches, so I don't know what they look like inside. Their instructions say to use one pouch for every 55 gallons. (Good for 1 - 55 gallons) They also have larger pouches for 125 gallons and larger. In a 180 gallon tank, you'd use 1 of the larger pouches or 4 of the regular pouches. In a 1,200 gallon tank, you would use 6 of the larger pouches, in case you were wondering.   
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Guests Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 10 2004 at 6:13pm

 A yellow tang and a couple of emerald crabs can clear up a lot of alge fairly quick

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Adam Haycock Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 10 2004 at 6:35pm

My small 24 gallon was starting to outbreak with hair algae, but is was gone in about a week after I added a snail/crab package from reeftopia.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote kfowler Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 14 2004 at 1:09pm

Ok here is the latest on our tank.  We did add an Algone Pouch.  It worked like a charm.  The tank is clearing up.  Before the pouch we also added a bunch of snails and crabs that also has helped.  We have added a refugium and changed out the sand.  I hope all will be well with the change.  Thanks to everyone for your advice!

Roger and Kristy

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mark Peterson Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 14 2004 at 1:46pm
After the pouch does it's job, watch carefully to see if the algae starts to come back where it had disappeared. Add more herbivores if needed.

Did you read this? green-haired mermaid, and other articles in the Sea Star Online.

P.S. I'm still interested in seeing what's in the Algone pouch. I'll bet we can get the stuff here in town for a fraction of the cost.

Edited by Mark Peterson
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