is this good or bad algea?
- Thread starter j-j_02
- Start date
autofreak44
Active Member
it looks like either diatom or cyano. diatom isnt necessarily bad, but it is a sign of excess nutrients in the tank. best thing to do would be get some phosban and reduce feedings. my guess would be that its cyano by looking at the pic. if its cyano its bad, there are a few ways to get rid of it.. you can:
reduce feedings
make sure you are using ro/di water
use phosban/phosphate sponges
better your clean-up crew
also i believe cyano is photosynthetic so if you dont have any coral you can turn your lights off and leave em off untill all the cyano dies
good luck
reduce feedings
make sure you are using ro/di water
use phosban/phosphate sponges
better your clean-up crew
also i believe cyano is photosynthetic so if you dont have any coral you can turn your lights off and leave em off untill all the cyano dies
good luck
j-j_02
Member
thanx for the help. im sry i forgot to mention wats in the tank. i only got 3 damsles in a 55g tank with all dead rock. nothing special. but wen i feed them, they leave alot floating around so i scoop the excess with my net. so wat should i do? and i dnt know wat u mean wen u wer talkin useng phosban/phosphate sponges?
autofreak44
Active Member
Originally Posted by j-j_02
thanx for the help. im sry i forgot to mention wats in the tank. i only got 3 damsles in a 55g tank with all dead rock. nothing special. but wen i feed them, they leave alot floating around so i scoop the excess with my net. so wat should i do? and i dnt know wat u mean wen u wer talkin useng phosban/phosphate sponges?
ok lets see. first things first you may want to return the damsels, cycling with damsels is bad because it stresses the fish, and damsels are mean anyway so you wouldnt want them in your tank unless you realy liked them. also buy a little live rock so it can "seed" the dead rock with bacteria/algae. phosban/phosphate sponges are things people use to get rid of phosphates, which is what most algae feeds off of. removing the algaes food= removing the algae
tell me more about your tank, your water parameters, maybe some pictures would help so we can get your tank running smoothly.
thanx for the help. im sry i forgot to mention wats in the tank. i only got 3 damsles in a 55g tank with all dead rock. nothing special. but wen i feed them, they leave alot floating around so i scoop the excess with my net. so wat should i do? and i dnt know wat u mean wen u wer talkin useng phosban/phosphate sponges?
ok lets see. first things first you may want to return the damsels, cycling with damsels is bad because it stresses the fish, and damsels are mean anyway so you wouldnt want them in your tank unless you realy liked them. also buy a little live rock so it can "seed" the dead rock with bacteria/algae. phosban/phosphate sponges are things people use to get rid of phosphates, which is what most algae feeds off of. removing the algaes food= removing the algae
tell me more about your tank, your water parameters, maybe some pictures would help so we can get your tank running smoothly.
autofreak44
Active Member
i didnt realise you were talking about the lime green algae, it looks like green slime. also not beneficial. the best steps to take in order to remove it are the same steps for the diatom algae
autofreak44
Active Member
haha everything is confusing at first. thats a bummer that the shop wont take back the fish, try bringing them back to another store or something.
the best steps for you to do right now is:
reduce feedings a little, and go to your lfs and talk to them about products that reduce phosphates. also keep up on your 10% weekly water changes.
as for the damsels, try to find a new home for them, they arent a good choice for your tank as you probably already know.
what do you currently have for a clean up crew?
what are your water parameters?
the best steps for you to do right now is:
reduce feedings a little, and go to your lfs and talk to them about products that reduce phosphates. also keep up on your 10% weekly water changes.
as for the damsels, try to find a new home for them, they arent a good choice for your tank as you probably already know.
what do you currently have for a clean up crew?
what are your water parameters?
autofreak44
Active Member
Originally Posted by j-j_02
ok, im not exactly sure bout my parameters cuz i did them a couple days bak. phosphates, got it. i dnt got a clean up crew. (im new if u havent noticed). i usually do 30% water changes twice a week.
do you have all the testing kits you need (ph, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, phosphate?) there are more than that but those are the ones i would suggest. for a clean up crew, i would suggest 15 hermits, 5 turbo snails, 10 nassarius snails. that isnt a very large clean up crew, but its easier to add more crabs and snails as necessary rather than taking them back to the store. those will help you get the algae under control. for water changes since your tank is new, do 20% a week (10 gallons) and once you get your tank running smoothly you can do 10% a week. for feedings i feed once every 2 days, also make sure that you arent feeding too much, just feed enough so that they all get some and there isnt very much left over food on the substrate
well im tired if you have any more questions i will be back on tomorrow
ok, im not exactly sure bout my parameters cuz i did them a couple days bak. phosphates, got it. i dnt got a clean up crew. (im new if u havent noticed). i usually do 30% water changes twice a week.
do you have all the testing kits you need (ph, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, phosphate?) there are more than that but those are the ones i would suggest. for a clean up crew, i would suggest 15 hermits, 5 turbo snails, 10 nassarius snails. that isnt a very large clean up crew, but its easier to add more crabs and snails as necessary rather than taking them back to the store. those will help you get the algae under control. for water changes since your tank is new, do 20% a week (10 gallons) and once you get your tank running smoothly you can do 10% a week. for feedings i feed once every 2 days, also make sure that you arent feeding too much, just feed enough so that they all get some and there isnt very much left over food on the substrate
well im tired if you have any more questions i will be back on tomorrow
autofreak44
Active Member
yeah get that soon, byby
slowburn22
Member
The brown "algae" is diatoms like 44 said. Those are always going to show up in new tanks... Why are you telling him to take the damsels back??? They've been in there 3 weeks!?! Might as well at least let them cycle even if he is going to take them back somewhere... If they're blue/green chromis he wont even have to worry about them messing with new additions...
44 Is on point with seeding your dead rock with LR and with the 10% water changes... You dont need to do 30%, especially twice a week. If I was you I'd get a 5 gallon bucket and use that for weekly water changes. With your live rock and all putting you at more like 50 gallons - that makes 10%.
And did I read right that you dont have a clean up crew??? If thats the case, no wonder your having a phosphate issue. Phosphates come from excess nutrients in the water. Like all the uneaten food you talked about. I would recommend some nassarius snails for that. They bury themselves under the sand and when food hits the water its like night of the living dead. They're great for stirring the sand bed and picking up that uneaten food. Hermits are good too, but then you gotta deal with empty shells and them attacking snails etc etc... Still a good addition anyway - its really more of a personal preference. Some people dont like hermits.
Ok I'm done writing my book - hope this helped...
slowburn22
Member
autofreak44
Active Member
didnt know that it wasnt photosynthetic, thanks for the tip slowburn
slowburn22
Member
Originally Posted by autofreak44
didnt know that it wasnt photosynthetic, thanks for the tip slowburn
It had been a topic of debate for quite sometime - I may be wrong but I wanna say ReefkeeperZ did a mini study on it, could've been Bang; not sure. He tried reducing light / no light / and normal light with no change in growth rates on the bacteria. They should pin that thread if it isnt already. Glad to be the one to spread the word...