I bought ReefCleaner’s 55 g CUC but now also have a green algae ( I don’t think it is GHA) mostly growing on the glass. The rocks and sand don’t look bad. The Cerith snails make trails through the algae but still not getting ahead of it. I regularly scrape the glass but it grows back. I pulled some out of my overflow box and it is a very dark green. Phosphate is 0 and Nitrate 0.9 ppm. Now covering the tank for a few days to keep it dark and plan to scrape the glass and do a water change to hopefully remove dead algae. Any other suggestions appreciated!
Whats causing the algae growth
- Thread starter bcwalz
- Start date
Can you get a picture of the algae with more white/less blue light? It looks like normal film algae on the glass to me and I can't tell if there's something behind it since you mentioned pulling it off the overflow. The picture on the slide looks fuzzy on my monitor so, I really can't tell what it might be.
Some algal growth is normal, especially film algae on the glass. Even thought I have a good cleaning crew, I still have to clean my glass a couple times a week.
One thing is, a lot of nuisance algae issues can be cleared up by making sure your water parameters are in check. Good Alkalinity is one of those that really helped me with Cyanobacteria a while back. While you don't mention your Alk, Ca, Mg levels, one thing I noticed is your PO4 levels being zero.
Having PO4 and NO3 out of balance was another thing (probably the biggest thing) that contributed to my cyano issues. We do not want those two levels being at zero. Corals and desirable algal species need those in the proper balance to compete with nuisance algae. So, we want to target PO4 at 0.01 - 0.03 and NO3 at 1-10. I actually dose 2.5 ml of NO3 daily to my 40 breeder to maintain the levels.
I would not remove your corals unless, they are getting overgrown with algae and it is having a negative affect on them. I would slowly adjust your levels, manually remove algae as your can, perform weekly water changes and increase your clean up crew.
Some algal growth is normal, especially film algae on the glass. Even thought I have a good cleaning crew, I still have to clean my glass a couple times a week.
One thing is, a lot of nuisance algae issues can be cleared up by making sure your water parameters are in check. Good Alkalinity is one of those that really helped me with Cyanobacteria a while back. While you don't mention your Alk, Ca, Mg levels, one thing I noticed is your PO4 levels being zero.
Having PO4 and NO3 out of balance was another thing (probably the biggest thing) that contributed to my cyano issues. We do not want those two levels being at zero. Corals and desirable algal species need those in the proper balance to compete with nuisance algae. So, we want to target PO4 at 0.01 - 0.03 and NO3 at 1-10. I actually dose 2.5 ml of NO3 daily to my 40 breeder to maintain the levels.
I would not remove your corals unless, they are getting overgrown with algae and it is having a negative affect on them. I would slowly adjust your levels, manually remove algae as your can, perform weekly water changes and increase your clean up crew.
Thanks for the comments. See the additional pictures. I think that is a good description of it as film algae. The Alkalinity is 9.3.
I have two bags of ChemiPure Elite in the sump because Phos had been too high but I think it is overdoing it. Thanks for the comment about frequent scraping. Will keeping the tank in the dark for a few days knock back the algae or should I just figure on frequently scraping?
Also, would a water change help? I was doing changes about every two weeks and they did not seem to have a benefit. I have read elsewhere on this site that many aquarists very rarely do water changes.
I think I am still learning what are reasonable maintenance expectations!
I have two bags of ChemiPure Elite in the sump because Phos had been too high but I think it is overdoing it. Thanks for the comment about frequent scraping. Will keeping the tank in the dark for a few days knock back the algae or should I just figure on frequently scraping?
Also, would a water change help? I was doing changes about every two weeks and they did not seem to have a benefit. I have read elsewhere on this site that many aquarists very rarely do water changes.
I think I am still learning what are reasonable maintenance expectations!
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I think you just have normal film algae just like we all do. I don't think keeping it dark will help much, it will just come back when the lights come back on. The nitrates and phosphates are likely low in your water tests because the algae are consuming them. I would do smaller, more frequent water changes for a while.
And, remember, there are many ways to have a successful reef tank. No one way is perfect. What works for one person, may not work for another.
And, remember, there are many ways to have a successful reef tank. No one way is perfect. What works for one person, may not work for another.
