tons of algae but parameters are good??

S

superdave104

New member
i keep getting tons of slimy brown algae growing on everything. Also, i've noticed some red slime growing on a couple rocks:facepalm:.

my levels:
nitrite - 0
nitrate - 5ppm
phosphate - 0

i have a pretty heavy bio load so i assumed 5ppm wasnt horrible.

so why am i getting this stuff and why wont it go away??

my cleanup crew cant compete and whenever i clean the rocks or walls of the tank its back within a few hours...

cleanup crew is:
Cleaner shrimp
2x turbo snails
2x peppermint shrimp
diamond goby for the sand
1 hermit
 
How old is the tank?
Algae/cyano is VERY common in new tanks and will typically go away as the tank "matures" some provided you keep nutrient levels low (5ppm of nitrate is just fine)..
ANY level of nitrate/phosphate is enough to be "food" for algae..
I've been diving in some Florida springs and the hair algae is all over now.. Nitrate levels there have risen from roughly .3ppm to 1ppm due to the groundwater/fertilizers..

Can you provide pictures for algae identification?
Details on tank?
 
Last edited:
What is your TDS? Nitrates and Phosphates aren't the only Nutrients that can cause an algae outbreak, just the most common. Are you using RO, distilled, or tapwater? Some tapwater contains fertilizers which can sustain algae growth for extended periods, not to mention it is harmful to fish and coral.
 
mcgyvr said:
Guess what the N and P are in fertilizer... ;)
Click to expand...

I know what N is but always thought the P was potassium.

What springs did you dive? The majority of the well known springs are in my backyard. BTW aside from fertilizer run off, dairies have become a major contributor to groundwater problems in this area.
 
A sea K said:
I know what N is but always thought the P was potassium.

What springs did you dive? The majority of the well known springs are in my backyard. BTW aside from fertilizer run off, dairies have become a major contributor to groundwater problems in this area.
Click to expand...

potassium is the K in NPK fertilizer..

and I dove down into Blue Springs this summer and am returning over X mas time (but I think its closed then because of the Manatees coming in for the winter)

Blue Springs wasn't bad at all but the other I went to was Silver Springs or something like that (just went to swim/see that) but it was just 6-12" long hair algae over 50% of the swimming hole..

Blue Springs was like being in the bottom of a Cheerios bowl.. Just looking up seeing butts/round tubes.. But 50+ feet down in the spring was really kind of neat :)
 
I actually just switched tanks from a 40g to a 55. did about a 50% water change during the tank switch with RO water.

The original tank was set up just under a year ago. Ill get some pictures for you guys and post them in a few mins
 
ok here they are
 

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that popped up in one day. some of that looks like bubble algae. that doesnt need high nutrients to live. some looks like gha.
i would just add some more cuc, continue using gfo and wait it out and cut back on feeding your tank
but keeo this in mind your tank needs to be in balance in order to achieve success. each tank can have a different balance, just like each person can eat different foods and one can be skinny one can be fat. plus you don't need high nutrients for algae to grow. if the good things in your tank aren't using up the little nutrients you have in your tank algae will use them up instead.
 
hopefully it will pass. were going to pull out what we can and clean in some left over ro water i have made up if we can without causing much stress.
 
mcgyvr said:
potassium is the K in NPK fertilizer..

and I dove down into Blue Springs this summer and am returning over X mas time (but I think its closed then because of the Manatees coming in for the winter)

Blue Springs wasn't bad at all but the other I went to was Silver Springs or something like that (just went to swim/see that) but it was just 6-12" long hair algae over 50% of the swimming hole..

Blue Springs was like being in the bottom of a Cheerios bowl.. Just looking up seeing butts/round tubes.. But 50+ feet down in the spring was really kind of neat :)
Click to expand...


Awesome, there are actually several "blue springs" in my area but the most notable is the one just outside of a town called high springs. If this is the same then it is only 15 or so miles from the house.
 
A sea K said:
Awesome, there are actually several "blue springs" in my area but the most notable is the one just outside of a town called high springs. If this is the same then it is only 15 or so miles from the house.
Click to expand...

Blue Springs State Park.. In Orange City..
 
superdave104 said:
hopefully it will pass. were going to pull out what we can and clean in some left over ro water i have made up if we can without causing much stress.
Click to expand...

dont rinse live rock in ro water. unless you are trying to kill all the live stuff and bacteria on the rock. rinse in saltwater
 
anthonys51 said:
dont rinse live rock in ro water. unless you are trying to kill all the live stuff and bacteria on the rock. rinse in saltwater
Click to expand...

half of my rock isnt live. but how does the ro water kill it? the water i have is ro water ive bought and mixed salt into to top off the tank.
 
Your rocks and possibly also the sand ,leach phosphates.At first you will get a cyano bloom then after a while it will switch to green hair algae instead of cyano .After somme time(up to a year and a half) ,the rocks wil get slowly covered in a calcium layer from the water that will stop the rock from leaching phosphates and youl get rid of the algae without doing nothing.You can do nothing and let the nature to follow its course or you can add chemicals to kill the cyano or the GHA when the time comes.Its important to mantain a steady and a bit higher ph,stable alk and stable calcium so that the ,,cementing,,of the rocks with calcium goes well.If your ph and alk swings a lot then the layer of calcium deposited on the rock surface will melt and you will get cyano boom again until the layer is restored back.Any move you do can trigger this phenomenon because of swinging ph and alk and also if you add a new dry rock to an established aquarium,that rock will leak phosphates too until it gets covered by the calcium layer.
 
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