Hello. I have a 36g bow front saltwater tank. Fairly new at about three months old. I have 2 clowns, 2 firefish, a sailfish, and small blue damsel, and a banded shrimp and about 10 snails. Not sure what type. Google says tectus snails. I have red algae growing on the substrate and green on the rocks. My question is do I need more of a clean up crew or do I need to treat the tank? I also have algae hard algae frowning on the glass that a scrubber won’t remove. Feels like fine sandpaper. Any suggestions? Thank you in advance. Also tried to get rid of the red algae with a gravel siphon. No luck.
Algae
- Thread starter Jamie805
- Start date
Your tank is still fairly new and going through the “ugly phase.” This is completely normal.
The red algae on the sand is Cyanobacteria. You CUC will not eat this, there are very few things the *might* eat it. It will eventually go away as your filtration matures and you do regular water changes.
I can’t really tell what the green on the rocks is but would guess just typical film algae. Your CUC will eat this.
The hard algae in the glass is coralline algae and is desirable on rocks. You can remove it from the glass using either an old credit/debit card or a straight razor and gently scraping.
Something that can allow us to help you more is a bit more about your system.
What filtration are you using?
What lighting do you have?
Water are your parameters:
-ammonia
-nitrite
-nitrate
-phosphate
-alkalinity
-pH
-calcium
-magnesium
The red algae on the sand is Cyanobacteria. You CUC will not eat this, there are very few things the *might* eat it. It will eventually go away as your filtration matures and you do regular water changes.
I can’t really tell what the green on the rocks is but would guess just typical film algae. Your CUC will eat this.
The hard algae in the glass is coralline algae and is desirable on rocks. You can remove it from the glass using either an old credit/debit card or a straight razor and gently scraping.
Something that can allow us to help you more is a bit more about your system.
What filtration are you using?
What lighting do you have?
Water are your parameters:
-ammonia
-nitrite
-nitrate
-phosphate
-alkalinity
-pH
-calcium
-magnesium
Guygettnby
Well-known member
I would also ask about your flow? What kind of flow do you have going on in there? Dead spots will also help algea or bacteria (cyanobacteria) settle in spots.
They have products out there that will help remove the cyano, but I recommend you do it the proper way and get into the habit of proper husbandry. Figure out your issue in the 1st place and what actually caused it. You have a rather small tank and when things go bad, they go bad quickly. Keeping up with your nutrient export will help out alot. The more livestock you add, the better your filtration and husbandry will have to be.
They have products out there that will help remove the cyano, but I recommend you do it the proper way and get into the habit of proper husbandry. Figure out your issue in the 1st place and what actually caused it. You have a rather small tank and when things go bad, they go bad quickly. Keeping up with your nutrient export will help out alot. The more livestock you add, the better your filtration and husbandry will have to be.
Parameters:
Nitrite-0
Ammonia-0
Nitrate- <10
PH-8.0
Alkalinity-2.68
Calcium-400
Phosphate-2.5
No magnesium test. Looks like I’ll be getting one of those this week. All test except for calcium and phosphate are Red Sea. Others are api. HOB skimmer and marine land bio wheel 300. UV filter is my main source of flow but just ordered a Jebao DLW-5. Oase canister filter.
I know the flow is not even close to ideal. That is my next fix. Hopefully by this weekend it will be better.
Lighting is an AI BLADE GROW 21”. I have the white turned up because the wife and I like the look with more light. A 1 hr ramp up and down set for the sunset and sunrise controlled with the Mobius app and set to a template. Also have the moon setting activated.
Nitrite-0
Ammonia-0
Nitrate- <10
PH-8.0
Alkalinity-2.68
Calcium-400
Phosphate-2.5
No magnesium test. Looks like I’ll be getting one of those this week. All test except for calcium and phosphate are Red Sea. Others are api. HOB skimmer and marine land bio wheel 300. UV filter is my main source of flow but just ordered a Jebao DLW-5. Oase canister filter.
I know the flow is not even close to ideal. That is my next fix. Hopefully by this weekend it will be better.
Lighting is an AI BLADE GROW 21”. I have the white turned up because the wife and I like the look with more light. A 1 hr ramp up and down set for the sunset and sunrise controlled with the Mobius app and set to a template. Also have the moon setting activated.
Last edited:
I totally agree. I don’t want to use chemicals because to me Thats a bandaid and not a solution. We are adding a coral or two a week right now. Not going to add much more fish until we get the copepods established. We’ve added a couple jars so far but want to wait and add a couple more. I also want to remove my UV filter and put it into the water as I make it and not in the tank.
Guygettnby
Well-known member
You should slow down on adding anything new until you get your issue taken care of. Adding more will just make things worse for you. I would say you need to add a powerhead/wavemaker of some sort. I normally run 2 in my tanks, but I have run 1 single gyre in my IM 40g nuvo tank with great success.
Canister filters can work great if kept in check. Again it's all about the husbandry of your tank. Keeping up with the maintenance and even more so with a small tank. The bigger the tank, the easier it is to maintain IMO...
I personally have had great luck with jebao products. All besides the brand new MOW series. For the life of me I can't get them to pair together. For the money though, it's hard to beat them.
What brand skimmer are you using? Model?
Thank you for the info! I don’t know the model and I forgot the brand. Got it off marketplace for 10$.(picture below) I just ordered a Jebao wave maker DLW Series.
Attachments
Guygettnby
Well-known member
Jebao can be decent. I have never had any real issues. I have only had 1 small powered go bad on me after a few years of use. This was long ago.
Skimmers can be a touchy subject. Many believe one is not needed, while others swear by having them. I'm personally on the "swear by them" side of the fence. Having a decent quality skimmer can in fact help, even more so if you prolong your maintenance. I personally don't have the time to change water multiple times a week.
I'm a stickler on having good filtration. I can sometimes be lazy and prolong my maintenance for awhile. I will always recommend a decent skimmer, now decent doesn't mean the most expensive either. I'm a budget Reefer. Also I love to have a refugium on every tank if possible or needed. Many options available out their for HOB refugiums. Can even make your own from aquaclear HOB filters. Just Google that and millions of things pop up.
Ask many questions, do your research and above all have patience. You can turn that tank into a piece of living art and be addicted very quickly. That big tank bug will eventually bite you.
Guygettnby
Well-known member
Thank you for the information. My wave maker arrived today but unfortunately I work out of town and won’t be able to get it in until tomorrow. the skimmer didn’t come with instructions so I’m going off google. Seems to be working. Not sure what I’m supposed to look for in my parameters?
Here’s what you want to shoot for on water parameters.
www.bulkreefsupply.com
Reef Tank Water Parameters
Need to know reef tank water quality specs? Save this reef tank water parameters chart as a handy reference.
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So what’s the process of lowering phosphates?
At 2.5 your phosphates are definitely high. They can be lowered through water changes, using granular ferric oxide ("GFO"), the use of a refugium or macroalgae reactor, or the use of a liquid phosphate remover. I have never used a macroalgae reactor or liquid phosphate remover. I used to run GFO in a media reactor until I added a refugium. Since adding the refugium, I no longer need to run GFO.
Additionally, above you noted that your nitrates were zero. If that is the case, it's likely the imbalance in NO2 and PO4 (high phosphate and zero nitrate) are allowing the cyano to outcompete other organisms. You can do what I currently do, add nitrate by dosing a nitrate supplement.
Additionally, above you noted that your nitrates were zero. If that is the case, it's likely the imbalance in NO2 and PO4 (high phosphate and zero nitrate) are allowing the cyano to outcompete other organisms. You can do what I currently do, add nitrate by dosing a nitrate supplement.
My nitrates are in between 5 and 10. Nitrites are zero. The LFS didn’t have GFO in stock. The only thing they had was API phos-zorb. I figured better than nothing.
I don’t have a lot of room in my cabinet. What are your thoughts on a HOB Refugium?
Ok. No worries on the parameters. lol. I’ll due some research and maybe pose the question here in the forum. Thank you.
Guygettnby
Well-known member
HOB refugiums can work well. I have used them on several smaller tanks in the past, like biocubes and such. Have only had 1 actual name brand HOB refugium. The rest were made from aquaclear filters. Very simple to make those.
Many options out there for lights. Many are cheap and not much is really needed for such a small refugium. Have not used a HOB refugium in many years though, so I'm not sure what brands are really our there right now.
Refugiums also act as a good place to raise pods.
Many options out there for lights. Many are cheap and not much is really needed for such a small refugium. Have not used a HOB refugium in many years though, so I'm not sure what brands are really our there right now.
Refugiums also act as a good place to raise pods.
Guygettnby
Well-known member
HOB-R Hang-On-Back Refugium
Beneficial Biological Filtration & Microfauna Sanctuary Hang-On-Back Design Means No Plumbing Required Includes 110 GPH Sicce Pump Convenient Viewing Portal Intelligent Baffle Design Quick and Easy Maintenance The AquaReady Hang-On-Back Refugium is designed for supporting the growth of...
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