GHA Problem

[Travis1]

Hi Guys,

Im battling with a bit of GHA lately, My tank has been running for 4 months now ( Aquaria AMW 102)
not heavily stocked at all
1 percula
1 royal grama
COC

pin cushin
Toadstool
torch coral

All corals and fish are thriving at the moment. feedin once per day (Omega one Pellets) Light cylcle is roughly 8 hours per day.

Parameters are as follows:

pH - 8.4
Salinity - 1025
Calcium - 400
Alkalinity - 7.5dkh
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 0
Phosphate - 0 (tested again today as i thought it might be an issue)
Ammonia - 0
Temp 25.8 +-

I have done 1 10% water change since i have started up.
Running stock filter sponge, ceramic rings, activated carbed, DSB and Chaeto. stock Skimmer
Filter sponge is cleaned on a weekly basis.

Tank was filled with NSW.
Running synthetic rock.

Any suggestions are welcome.

 

[RiaanP]

with onnly 2 fish, I think you are overfeeding, although you think you are feeding lightly.

In a nano I got 3 fish. A got GHA in there, and I basically give nothing. Very difficult to feed a little bit.

 

[Juan27]

You have only done 1 10%WC in 4 months?
Also, with what water are you topping the evaporation up with?

 

[RiaanP]

should top up with RO.

If with tap water, that can very well explain your algae.

And a good water change, 30% would bring down your nutrient levels. Alternative, what filtration option do you use?

 

[Travis1]

Topping up with RO water, Reading of RO water is 0001. Topping up on a daily basis due to vast amounts of evaporation.
Over feeding is a possibility at the moment, as i do have a slight heavy hand, ( dont want them to starve, lol)
Currently running filter sponge, ceramic rings and carbon, Thats pretty much it at the moment.

 

[Travis1]

I have just Cleaned my tank, so corals are sulking a little, You can see GHA on the rock on the left, I have just taken out the rock on the right as it had trees's growing on it. Gave it a good scrubbing with a brush and RO water.

 

[459b]

Patience is the best weapon against gha.
Washing rocks from your tank with RO water isn't a good idea because you'll kill all the beneficial creatures on it. Returning it to the tank will then cause a nutrient spike and fuel gha.
Your gha isn't that bad at all. Maybe run some phosphate remover and clean filter sponges more frequently.

 

[PietL]

I'm still a bit of a noob, but have the same tank (same filtration setup and also run the lights for 8h) and had the same problem which I'm slowly winning, so here's my 2c's worth.
Doing weekly 10% water changes, feeding a bit less and cleaning the filter sponge at least twice a week made a big difference for me. I found that a lot of stuff gets stuck in that filter sponge which can lead to higher nutrients, so never neglect to clean the sponge regularly.
Hope this helps.

 

[Travis1]

Thanks guys. I will do a water change this weekend and feed less and see if it makes a difference.

 

[Travis1]

Hi Guys, Just an update on the GHA problem, I have reduced my light cycle, I have added Phosguard to the sump compartment ( even though test kit showed P04 to be zero) To my suprise, the phosguard pellets have turned yellow after 3 days, which is an indication of having P04 in the tank? How is this possible? Brand new salifert test kit?

 

[tekkengal]

The algae would have been masking the readings causing it to look like you have no po4. The same can happen with no3

 

[Juan27]

The phosphates get consumed by the GHA, that's why your test kit won't pick it up. The only real way to test for it is with a Hanna checker

 

[Travis1]

Thank you. what would you suggest? to keep using phosguard, oraybe to start dosing N03/P04 remover by red sea?

 

[tekkengal]

Keep using phosguard, it is working so no need to change.

 

[Travis1]

Awesome. Thanks for the help

 

[Juan27]

When I got back from December holiday, my tank was a mess with algae. Using phosguard and doing big water changes has killed off the algae. Just make sure on the TDS reading of your RO water, as you might actually be adding more phosphates to your system

 

[viper357]

When did you last wash your ceramic rings?

 

[Travis1]

Ceramic rings where washed about 3 weeks ago. how often should they be washed? any other substrate i can use other than ceramic rings?

 

[r0ckf1re]

Ceramic rings where washed about 3 weeks ago. how often should they be washed? any other substrate i can use other than ceramic rings?

Did you wash them in RO water.

I read somewhere that Seachem Matrix works well.

 

[Travis1]

Did you wash them in RO water.

I read somewhere that Seachem Matrix works well.

Yes, washed in RO water.