Cheap Phosphate Indicator

[Brian Prestwood]

Hey all

Aaron, formerly of AquaLife and whose advise I respect, told me that hard dark green algae (not light green coralline) that won't come off the glass without a blade is an indicator of high phosphates. This stuff can be distinguished from green coralline algae by the way it scrapes off with a blade. The green coraline algae tends to flake off like purple coralline algae. This stuff tends to peal or roll off.

Has anyone ever heard this before?

Do those of you with the verifably low (0.03 ppm or lower) phosphates ever get this algae on your glass?

Do those of you with verifiably high phosphates usually see this algae?

Aaron, learned anything new about this?

 

[H20Sidhe]

Brian,

As I mentioned at the DIY session, I have stubborn, stable high phosphate that I have not been able to budge lower or higher that 0.25 since I started testing it with Salifert test kit. [Still trying to get it down!]

I have never seen the algae you describe. I can't keep up with the pink coralline growing on my tank front & sides, and I have pink, purple & burgundy coralline on my rocks. I noticed yesterday a spot of pink coralline starting to grow on the shell of my strombus. But no hard dark green stuff.

 

[funman1]

I measure 0.0 phos, and even when I was running my phos ban reactor (just for good measure)
I have always had that Deep Dark green stuff you speak of.

Just my $0.02

~Steve~

 

[Brian Prestwood]

FWIW - I have it too and show zero on the Salifert test kit.

 

[boviac]

Ditto the last two... have it, zero on Salifert, and phos-ban rx running. Pain but a razor works wonderfuly. I can't ever imagine going non-glass at this point with how much I scrape mine. Then again it's only a 50 gal, therefore light-weight and still see-through... that is without the spotty green hard algae.
Also FWIW...