HOG 1x Problem

[trivodi]

Hi

I got a HOG 1X on my 20 gallon long reef tank and it has been running for about 5-6 weeks now however, I am not getting much growth in it.

I had the 0.5 which turned out to be too small for the tank so I got the 1x, the growth in the 0.5 was really good and this one for some reason doesn't want to grow much.

I had the 0.5 for about 6-8 weeks and was growing like crazy so I know what the growth should look like.

I think the problem with the 1x is that I am running the lights more then the algae needs but i am not sure. At first I ran them for about 16 maybe 18 hours and i was getting green algae only where the bubbles would come out. It grew yellow algae around the green algae but it was very thin. So I started turning the lights down an hour every day.

Now it grows algae in a few spots that is green but kind of thin and the rest of the scrubber is white with dark spots. By the way I did the whole thing with the cloth just like the directions said and it had some growth but most of it turned to yellow after I removed the cloth.

I am down to 7 hours a day and it has been there for about 6 days, I've been checking the algae every day and it seems to be staying the same. Its green but its not spreading. Its not filling up the scrubber like the 0.5 did.

This one is hooked up to a Tetra silent something, it is rated for 30-60 gallon tanks, it was the biggest one they got in the store. The pump got 2 outputs and they are both hooked together and go to the scrubber at full blast 24 hours a day.

I got a bunch of bubble algae and some ciyano, no hair algae in the tank any more.

Here is a video of the scrubber working and you can also see the algae inside

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PJA...ature=youtu.be

So I was wondering if anyone can advise me as to what is the best thing that I should do about getting more growth. I don't care if the algae ever gets super thick or it fills the entire scrubber but I need it to grow good enough so my phosphate goes down.

My main problem seems to be if I run the lights for a more than 7-8 hours the algae seems to turn yellow everywhere except where the bubbles come. However, 7-8 hours of light is not making green algae to spread everywhere.

My system is 20 gallon long, about 15 ponds of rock and around 40 pounds of sand. I got a few gallon sump with a small skimmer in it that I don't run now that i have the scrubber. I got 2 medium clowns that I feed about a 1/6 of a cube a day.

thanks

[SantaMonica]

Welcome.

What is happening is that the slime is growing fast and covering the rocks, and this is stopping green hair from attaching; then the strong bubbles are causing the slime to let go, and this is where the white surfaces remain.

So clean all the white surfaces in your sink with a toothbrush, then run for 18 hours. Should look much better in 7 to 10 days.

[trivodi]

will do

thanks

[trivodi]

Here is what the algae looks like after a week with the light on for 16 hours

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9G4R...ature=youtu.be

Should I run the light longer also should I clean it at all?

I am thinking of letting it go for another week with the lights for 16 hours

thanks for the help

[SantaMonica]

Looks good. Clean again with brush and run for 18 hours for another week.

[trivodi]

You mean scrub the entire thing with a brush even where the green algae is?

[SantaMonica]

With a toothbrush, yes.

[trivodi]

will do

thanks

[trivodi]

So I had it running for 18 hours and the algae started to turn yellow so i turned it down to 16 hours

here is what the algae looks now at 16 hours a day

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=na84...ature=youtu.be

It seems like it just doesn't want to spread everywhere it kind of looks like what it was 2 weeks ago.

Should I clean it or should I let it go longer.

Is there anything I can do to make it grow faster, I've been dosing 5 drops of iron weekly for the last 3 weeks but that doesn't seem to be helping much.
I didn't have this problem at all with HOG0.5, after I cleaned it once it grew algae crazy fast. It makes no sense why this one is not doing the same.

thanks for the help

[SantaMonica]

Do the opposite: Toothbrush all off the white surfaces, and go to 22 hours.

On an upflow scrubber, some types of yellow means it needs more light. This would make sense because if it's growing dark slime in some places, because that slime will let go and leave behind white patches like you have. Also reduce the airflow, because it is washing away that slime.

The HOG1x is actually doing what it's supposed to, causing more growth than the HOG.5 did, but the growth is probably slime and is getting washed away.

So do 22 hours, half the air flow, and see how it looks in 10 days.