Amount of water changing to beat algae

I have a weak skimmer, light the tank for 12 hours, and probably overfeed. For some reason : , I have a film algae problem. I've been cutting down on the feeding, but I'm going to start some aggressive water changes to beat it. I have a 55 gal and do 5 gal changes at a time. How much is enough/too much?

 

What kind of water are you using? Also, what are your water parameters? Water flow? How old is the tank? You say you overfeed. What are you feeding and what/how often are you feeding the fish?

 

I'm using 4 stage RO/DI water with IO salt. I don't have a TDS meter but the thing is less than a year old so it should be ok. Ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate are all 0, pH is 8.2. I have 2 MJ 1200, one on all the time and the other on a wave timer on only during the day. The tank has been in its current location for about 4 months, but I've had the tank for over a year. I've cut down on feeding; I feed TetraMarine daily and an occasional frozen treat once or twice a week.

I'm thinking it's just my skimmer. It's not very good - Red Sea Prizm.

 

Is tetra marine a flake food... I'm probably starting a battle here, but I have heard and I agree with staying away from flake foods. With Nori sushi wrapper and spirulina powder out there and all the fresh seafood you can buy, why feed flake? To each his own though. Good luck with the slime. You say you're doing 11 percent water changes, I might kick it up to 20 if you wanted to get aggressive. If I'm wrong guys, please correct me. Just my opinion here and I learn it's wrong often, lol. GLTA

 

That all depends on the quality of the water coming out of your tap. I know some folks that go through membranes in as little as 3 months. What does the water coming out of the r.o. unit test at (ammonia, nitrates, phosphates, etc.)?

And yes, the skimmer you have isn't a very good one so if you can, replace it with a more efficient skimmer.

 

Agressive water changes will shock your fish and corals. Be careful and change the water moderately.

Go slow, let it grow.

 

Thanks rickzter. That's a good point. Do you think 20 percent is too aggressive? Would it matter if you were slowly removing the water on one end and putting it back on the other? Thanks for the input.

 

How big is the tank? 5%-15% of your water (depending on your tank) would be safe. Do it weekly. I dont know if others agree, but I take it slow on my tank. Just be careful not to change too much too fast.

 

I checked RO/DI water -
Ammonia - Nitrite - Nitrate: 0
Phosphates - .05
The kit said that PO4 reading is ok, so I don't still don't know what the matter is. I'm just going to keep water changing 11% once a week for a while and see what happens (and try to get a better skimmer).

To count my blessings, at least the glass is the only place the algae is, and not on my LR or gorgonians or anything.

 

Willie,

phosphates ate .05 might have an effect on your green algae. Your tank where do you have it in your house. If there is alot of direct(indirect) sun light hitting your tank this will also cause the problem. Myself not know of this set up my 90gal in my living room with two moon roofs and have direct light on my tank for about 4hours which is causing my issue. I have to put a beach towel up and it does go away. Check this out and your Phosphates and you will find your answer.