algae

[zero power]

I have had my new system running for about 2 weeks.. it was crystal clear... filled with only rain water.  then I left to orlando for the weekend and when I came home it was all covered with algae.

Is this okay or should i do something about it..

[TCLynx]

Are there any fish in the system? Or are you cycling fishless?

Doesn't matter too much the solution is generally the same, Cover the tank to block out sunlight. If you have fish in there, definitely make sure you have extra aeration going and even if you don't have fish yet, extra aeration can help anyway. As the algae dies off, you might need to clean any screens or filters a bit extra cause they could get gunked up.

[zero power]

thank you.. I have fish in one tank.. I have a screen over it the whole time for shade.. plus it is inside of a screen enclosure..
I bought 4 plaquo algae eaters for each tank.

TCLynx said:

Are there any fish in the system? Or are you cycling fishless?

Doesn't matter too much the solution is generally the same, Cover the tank to block out sunlight. If you have fish in there, definitely make sure you have extra aeration going and even if you don't have fish yet, extra aeration can help anyway. As the algae dies off, you might need to clean any screens or filters a bit extra cause they could get gunked up.

[TCLynx]

You just might want to add something over the screen to block more light then at least for a while. For the first season of my system I kept Black fabric over the cover of my fish tanks/sump tanks. I didn't seal it down perfectly some some shafts of light made it into the tank so the fish could tell night from day but otherwise fish don't need sun.

Once the algae dies off you might be able to go back to just the screen but most people find they need to keep all open water well shaded to avoid algae and the pH/dissolved oxygen problems it can cause.