The 2nd outbreak of algae

During the 2nd week of the tanks life, it went through a diatom bloom. It turned a really ugly brown and I thought there goes my idea of a nice clean tank. But with some good circulation, water maintenance and patience, the diatoms died out and the tank cleaned up.

I am now experiencing the 2nd algae invasion. This time it is a green slime algae that covers the sand bed and has started to creep up on the rocks. At the first signs of this algae, I wasn't to concerned as I thought my clean up crew should be able to handle it. Unfortunately, its not just about having a clean up crew and letting them get on with their business. A person will need the right cleanup crew to deal with the problem as well as provide a helping hand like Mother Nature does.

So I have 3 choices. I can treat the water with chemicals to get rid of the algae (not my preferred approach), I can expand on the clean up crew (this may not be enough on its own and can cause compatibility issues later on) or I can increase the flow in my tank (specifically on the substrate).

My current power head turns over the tanks water 20 times an hour. This is what most reefers require. However, the jet of water that it is shooting out is a very focused jet and I can't get it to "sweep" the gravel very nicely without creating a huge hole in the substrate. It is therefore recommended that a person gets a circulator that produces a wider stream. This stream will move a large mass of water and you will most likely prevent you from creating craters in your substrate.

That is the first option. Another option for movement is to add a 2nd power head that shoots water in the opposite direction to create a turbulence in the tank or just a 2nd stream to catch the dead spots. Most people put these alternating power heads on timers and try and create a sort of tidal action. The idea is that you have them on for 6 hours and off for another 6 while the other power head kicks in. It is even better if you create an overlap that will result in turbulence where the 2 streams meet. Have corals, I thought this is a no no, but I have been advised that the turbulence kicks up the substrate and some nutrients hiding in there for my corals to feed on. It will also help prevent the worry of gases building up in my substrate waiting to explode and kill all my inhabitants. So I ordered myself a Newave 1.6 adj to try and see if this will help.

New toy...