# RO Algae???



## 150EH (Dec 6, 2004)

I've just had my RO/DI holding tank up and running for 2 weeks and today was my second water change using the RO water, I forgot to turn on the heater in the holding tank so as the water came into the tank the temperature dropped from 77 to around 74 and the lower 10 inches of water got cloudy just like fog rolling in, but I was setting here typing away my advise on BBA and turned to see that some type of thread algae had attacked due to the cold water, I'm guessing the water came into the tank around 70 degree's or a little cooler as it was only a 40% water change. 

Any ideas why it happened???


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## msawdey (Apr 6, 2009)

Being that you are asking.. id even be afraid to reply! Your one of the many that i think very highly of on here!

I have never heard of lowering temp like that causing an algae break out.. at least not in my RO tanks. I keep my tanks about 78... and my RO when put in i probably around 70... never had this happen

Are you sure its not something coming off the plant itself?.... maybe its Aquarium SPIDERS!


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## RCode (Jan 8, 2011)

Check the ammonia levels... I have noticed this happen in my high light planted tanks at the start of them being cycled. I read once that hair algae (which it looks like).

I've combatted it by keeping the lights off for 2 days, and trying to remove any that you see. A toothbrush can really help fluff it off without hurting the plant.

If I'm wrong sorry...


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## 150EH (Dec 6, 2004)

Well I don't think it was algae and I used a bottle brush to get out most of it and it was thick and kinda gel like but I have no idea what it was, the little bit that was left in the tank is gone now that the temperature is back to 77 degrees.

msawday, I really appreciate the compliment but you know as much or more than I do!


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## HD Blazingwolf (May 12, 2011)

well i can tell u its not temp 
my water temps drop between 4-10 degrees depending on how accurate my hand is feeling and how close attention i pay when filling up my buckets.. never had that cause algae


is the RO water reconstituted before putting it in the tank or are you putting it straight in the tank then adding minerals? this i think is the key

RO is basically unliveable. it has no buffering capacity, no electrolytes and no oxygen until added. adding minerals before you pour it in the tank, having a powerhead in the holding tank to move the water and dissolve minerals plus add oxygen will probably make a huge difference

im basing everything i say off of previous reads as i've never used RO water


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## 150EH (Dec 6, 2004)

I have a pump in the holding tank and I have rigged a faucet so I can cycle any materials added to the water before adding the water to the tank, I raised the gH to 2.5 with 2 tablespoons of Equilibrium and the kH to 1 with a teaspoon of baking soda. I stick that short piece of cpvc into the elbow to circulate the water and then add minerals. Also it take no more than 10 minutes for 50 gallons of water to get pumped into the tank, the cold water sinks and this didn't happen until I restored flow and the water mixed.

I don't think it was algae but I really do think it was something that was liquid at 77 and gel at 70 degrees, it was too thick and white to be algae plus it was gel like in texture, also it had to be ejected from the spray bar and collected quickly on the tips od the plants. I was thinking it could be something like a protein film or something that gelled in the cool water but I really have no idea.


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## HD Blazingwolf (May 12, 2011)

First off. Im jealous. I have no spave for an awesome setup like that!

I recall somewhere that someone adding water to their tanks had a gel like substance that was stringy formed on the water surface and went away after a few minutes. No harm was done and no one could figure out what it was... 
.. otherwise it looks like youve got everything down pat

Im curious. What grass do u have that is legal? It kinda stuck out at me.. doesnt look like anything illegal just curious


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## msawdey (Apr 6, 2009)

+1 to this... i did not do any of this (DOH!) and it was causing huge problems. I now mix with a bit of tap to get O2 and minerals into the RO



HD Blazingwolf said:


> well i can tell u its not temp
> my water temps drop between 4-10 degrees depending on how accurate my hand is feeling and how close attention i pay when filling up my buckets.. never had that cause algae
> 
> 
> ...


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## 150EH (Dec 6, 2004)

HD Blazingwolf said:


> First off. Im jealous. I have no spave for an awesome setup like that!
> 
> I recall somewhere that someone adding water to their tanks had a gel like substance that was stringy formed on the water surface and went away after a few minutes. No harm was done and no one could figure out what it was...
> .. otherwise it looks like youve got everything down pat
> ...


Thanks, I'm really liking the setup and my tank is getting super clean, but the strings of mystery showed up so quickly it was strange but the left just as quick.

I owned a small landscape company and a supplier of perennials gave me the poster to put in my office so customers could see the different types of ornamental grasses in our area. But I put in the garage because I didn't want it in my office and I thought some people might find it offensive?



msawdey said:


> +1 to this... i did not do any of this (DOH!) and it was causing huge problems. I now mix with a bit of tap to get O2 and minerals into the RO


I went with Equilibrium and Baking Soda, I like all the controll and I had a bad problem with sediment and silicates so I thought it might be best to keep the untreated well water out of the tank all together, it's working.


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## HD Blazingwolf (May 12, 2011)

have you not found baking soda to be unreliable? i've heard it quickly leaves the water column and drops kh? around 5-7 days i hear

u may check into seachem alkalinity booster.. its a wonderful buffering product but completely unneccessary in my area


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## 150EH (Dec 6, 2004)

I haven't had a problem that I'm aware of but I'll need to check, I was going to use the alkalinity booster and someone suggested calcium carbonate from fleabay because it's cheap but both ways are probably cheap?


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## msawdey (Apr 6, 2009)

If i have learned 1 thing with keeping tanks, whenever i try to go cheap, i mess it up somehow.. ... which is why now use tap with RO


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## HD Blazingwolf (May 12, 2011)

Calcium carbonate would have been my next reccommendation. Or rocks such as dolomite. Having more than just calcium as a buffer is natural at the least dolomite is calcium magnesium carbonateOr (CaMg)(Co3)


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## Denis Onii (Jul 2, 2010)

interesting, and bizarre! 

In the wild, temperature and light period are the two most important "triggers" for algae changing behaviour, switching from sexual to asexual reproduction, spore germination etc In a tropical tank, where the temperature is fairly constant this has a negligable or non existent effect.

Maybe it was something that was already in your holding tank, or grew in there over the last couple of weeks? Result of a chemical reaction perhaps. The stringy stuff is most likely unrelated to the "fog rolling in", perhaps you didn't fully mix your RO remineralization powders and that's what you were seeing.


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## dr.tran (Oct 8, 2007)

Temperature's effect on algae and plants isn't quite the most expanded area of knowledge for the aquarium trade. I have seen certain plants have different colors when it was colder or warmer. It may of course because in the winter there is less sunlight and less light would make the plants get a darker color in order to absorb what ever light spectrum is available. Just a theory though.

Although temperature can have an effect on your algae, it is more likely there is something else underlining. I guess the best way to find out is if you do the water change again with the temperature drop and see if there is the same outcome. 

Rather right now, the best thing to do is to take care of what ever algae you have. Excel, cleaning, and H2O2 blasting. Very interesting thread. I am eager to see how this extrapolates.


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## 150EH (Dec 6, 2004)

Denis Onii said:


> interesting, and bizarre!
> 
> In the wild, temperature and light period are the two most important "triggers" for algae changing behavior, switching from sexual to asexual reproduction, spore germination etc In a tropical tank, where the temperature is fairly constant this has a negligable or non existent effect.
> 
> Maybe it was something that was already in your holding tank, or grew in there over the last couple of weeks? Result of a chemical reaction perhaps. The stringy stuff is most likely unrelated to the "fog rolling in", perhaps you didn't fully mix your RO remineralization powders and that's what you were seeing.


I'm not sure that it was anything to do with the holding tank or mixing, I run a 660 gph pump while adding gH/kH and the threads didn't appear until after the tank was full and I returned power to the filters to start circulating the water, now it was almost instant threads that were white in color and you could just watch them grow. I still think it was temp related with something that was dissolved at 77 degrees and after I removed it and the fish ate a bit the remainder was gone very quickly as it only took the tank 2 hours to get back up to temperature, but I don't think I'll ever know what it was.

It was definately not algae.


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## Denis Onii (Jul 2, 2010)

maybe it was something that grew in your filter inflow/outflow pipes, switching the filter off then back on was enough to dislodge it and send it into the tank


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## 150EH (Dec 6, 2004)

Maybe! I did another WC today but the water was pre-heated to 77 degrees, I didn't use any baking soda, but I added 3 tablespoons of Equilibrium just 5 minutes before the exchange. The water did cloud again and I was waiting for the white strands but nothing happened, so I have no idea.

I am having truoble getting my gH above 3 with Equilibrium.


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## HD Blazingwolf (May 12, 2011)

Im not sure but without kh gh isnt easy to rise if ur injecting c02 as come of the caclium might be converting to calcium carbonate. Its a slow process but does occur naturally in saltwater at least
Grabbing some cac03 should prevent that 
The cloud is from the equilibrium mixing with ro water.

I personally prefer gla aquariums gh booster over equilibrium.


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