Another algea???

[rfraser]

I am showing no phosphate but this green algea is very persistent. I have to clean my glass every 2 days and now the substrate is getting heavy coated which I thought you were not supposed to distirbue. All other water test are excellent and it does not seem to be growing on the rocks. I have 10 hermit crabs and 2 snails. I would appreceiate any tips on what is the course of action to attack this green crap.

Here's a couple of pics.

Thanks,Rob.

 

[Travis L. Stevens]

Welcome to the wonderful world of Diatoms. Well, it could be the beginning of Dinoflagellates, too. Just treat it like any other algae; water changes and good husbandry. It will eventually go away as long as you aren't feeding it. Another thing you can do is get something that dwells in the sand such as Cerith or Nassarius Snails. They'll help keep the top layer of sand stirred.

 

[Southern Boy]

How old is your tank?And like Travis said,invest in some more clean-up crew.In my 180 I have close to 200 turbo snails and 150 blue legs.That is distributed between sump and display.Also like he said,it will pass.It's a stage we all go through!

 

[bertoni]

I suspect it's either dinoflagellates or cyanobacteria, because I thought diatoms were usually brownish, but the cure is about the same in any case.

I don't know of any species that will consume these films reliably. You might find an individual that does. Large cleanup crews tend to starve to death over time, maybe a year or so, so I'd avoid that approach in any case.

If the tank is new, you could ignore the stuff for a bit. Otherwise, this article has a lot of ideas:

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/august2003/chem.htm

It's written in terms of a nitrate problem, but the ideas all apply to this situation.

A GFO phosphate media like PhosBan or RowaPhos is another common approach.

 

[demonsp]

Better flow. Less light . And more snails. Look into other sand sifting critters. My daimond goby does great job keeping my substrate clean. The sand needs to be moved around to avoid algea and dead spots. Get about 5 more cierth snails. GL

 

[rfraser]

Thanks for the replies, you all seem to be on the same page.
Thanks again,Rob.