Trying to figure out exactly what kind of algae this is and what’s causing it. Tank is about 7-8 months old. I went through the ugly stage and thought I was pass it. It just started popping up about a week ago.
Algae
- Thread starter Isiah1820
- Start date
Maybe Diatoms or cyano. Give it a good flow. They will go away on their own don't worry just an ugly stage. Diatoms consume silicate and cyano can be fixed by good flow. So whatever it is, just needs good flow so place a water pump or wave maker
On your glass is a substance that is related to cyano called lyngbya. Reducing white light intensity will help with this and diatoms. You can easily shave it off the glass with an old credit card or similar device into net and discard. Sand bed looks like diatom even though tank is no longer newer.
Diatoms are a brown algae that typically appear in a reef tank that has just completed its cycle but they can also appear in an established reef tank. They can cover sand, rock, pumps, glass, you name it. Diatoms look ugly but in most cases they are harmless so the key is to not panic when they appear.
Diatoms feed mainly off of silicates but also consume dissolved organic compounds, phosphate and nitrates. Unfiltered tap water can contain silicates and is a good way to jump start a bloom if you use it to mix salt or to replace water that evaporated from the tank. With established tank, you can get a diatom bloom when using RODI if the cartridge that removes silicates expires.
For major outbreaks you may want to consider the three day blackout. To prevent their return, practice good aquarium maintenance by doing regular water changes, keep the substrate clean, don’t overfeed the fish, assure your skimmer is running at an optimal level and rinse out filter socks and sponges on a regular basis.
Some cleaner crew to help control it are : Cerith snails, Nerite snails and Trochus snails and also Astraea snails are effective at removing diatoms.
That could be it my mp10 crapped out on me I need a new part for it and haven’t ordered it yet. So I’m using a cheap power head from petco. And I noticed it’s mostly in the area in the picture so that’s probably a dead zone.
Thanks for the long form break down. I’m pin pointing it to the fact, my mp10 went down, so I’m using a cheap, pretty weak powehead now. And I probably need to replace my rodi filters it’s been a while. Water chemistry is in check so it has to be one of those issues.
Likely the issue but very easy to turn around
Similar threads
