Flaking on back of tank

lazarus

lazarus

Member
My tank is about 2 yrs old and since i have not cleaned the inside back...its got alot of growth. Lately, large flakes of algae have broken off, creating debris in the tank. I see no end to this and wonder what others have done about it. I thought messing with the back of the tank was taboo since most of the growth is beneficial?
 
bigarn

bigarn

Active Member
are these flakes coralline algae? if so, just scrape it off if you don't want it ... no harm done.
 
lazarus

lazarus

Member
These flakes have the density of flake food and are very dark green, nearly black. It seems to be growth on the back of the tank that, due to its own organic growth, tends to fall off the back and sway in the water current until it breaks free and floats away. Its not a huge problem yet....but I wonder if it affects water clarity to be in such heavy concentration.
 
metweezer

metweezer

Active Member
People are not scraping the back of their tanks because they want the coraline algae to grow on it. If you are not growing coraline algae (purple/pink) on the back of your tank then scrape it off as you do to the front and sides. Now why do you have green algae on the back of your tank? Are you using RO/DI water for water changes and topoffs? If not, you should. How is your tank set up? FO, FOWLR or do you have a reef setup? Do you have powerheads for flow? What are your water parameters?
 
lazarus

lazarus

Member
my tank is FOWLR, about 120g. These flakes are not purple although i have this growth as well, just not as robust. I do water changes every other week and top off with filtered tap water. I know this is frowned upon, but here in San Diego area it seems to be what most in the hobby do since we pull our salt water from Scripps, which purifies the ocean water, and it seems very stable. I rarely lose any fish...although I wish my corals would do better. In any event, still not sure what to do about the growth on the back. Thanks for any advice!
Oh yes I have powerheads in each corner of the tank.
 
bigarn

bigarn

Active Member
coralline could be that color also ... from the description that's what it sounds like to me.
 
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