lime green alage

[KJHLCH]

My 20 h has been running for almost four weeks now. Everything seems ok such as PH, nitrate, nitrite. I have no live rock yet, just about 20 lbs of dry base rock. This morning I noticed spots of lime green alage starting on the sand. What could this be?

 

[bertoni]

That sounds like cyanobacteria. Such blooms are very common in new tanks. The sticky note at the top of the forum has links to a number of article on the subject. Sometimes, the problem goes away on its own as the tank matures.

 

[Duddly01]

Lime green is not likely cyanobacteria, though with a new tank it is probably coming soon. From my experience you will usually first get a brown daitom bloom followed shortly by the lime green algae, which is kind of almost as dusty as the brown algae, often on the rock, sand and glass. All of this is normal and will go away on its own over time. Windows with sunlight coming into the area of the tank can make it worst. A skimmer may help some.

 

[zma21]

I have lime green growing on my rock.....but it's coraline.

 

[Duddly01]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9252809#post9252809 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by zma21
I have lime green growing on my rock.....but it's coraline.

Good point. I have both green and purple coraline disks on the back wall and powerheads as well. But this new of a tank I doubt it is coraline algae.

 

[bertoni]

If it's a slimy coating, it could be dinoflagellates as well as cyanobacteria, with perhaps some diatoms mixed in, although diatoms are more likely tannish, I thought. Cyanobacteria and dinoflagellates come in many colors.

 

[Duddly01]

What my assumptions are based on are my quarantine tank I set up a few months back also went through this. Without LR or Live sand i wouldn't think it would be dinoflagellates, though I could be wrong.

In my 24DX nano I have several pieces of PVC and 1" of argonite sand for my quarantine. I am also using the bioballs for basic filtration and a UV sterilizer (its a quarantine after all). Within the first couple weeks of cycle I had a tan/brown diatom bloom. Shortly after that was the lime green algae bloom. They were both dusty and would come off the glass and pvc very easily. I had a window in the room with the quarantine tank with only blinds, I installed a thick curtain and this really helped. In my 50gal. I have had lots of fights with cyanobacteria, usually red, always slimy. I have a bad habit of overfeeding.