Is this alge bad?....... (1 Viewer)

[alstang1]

I have a dark maroon/purple alge growing on my sand bed in the display tank. It is forming into a hair type formation. I cleaned it all up last night and it was back today when I got off work. It is not the same color as the outbreak of coraline alge that I have seen in my tank in the past weeks. It is a harder purple. More of a maroon or red purple. Is this something I should worry about or no? I just added 9# of new synthetic sand to my sump, from a dry plastic bag that I bought at LFS. Could this be the reason for this outbreak of hair type alge? Should I act on this?

Al

 

[Guest]

I had the same problem. I got rid of it by getting more agressive with my skimming and fed less to my fish. It went away in 2-1/2 weeks.

 

[SeanB]

Sounds like cyano bacteria (AKA red slime algae). If so, follow vx's advice. There are products on the market that will get rid of it, but it will come back unless you deal with the symptoms - I'm dealing with it right now. I think it's because I had gotten a little lax on dumping my skimmer - shame on me.

 

[alstang1]

I have been cleaning the glass regularly, 10 gal water change per week, not really over feeding compared to what I have seen others feed. I am guessing it was the new sand I put in the sump, being that it started about 30 hours after I added the sand, a ricordia, and a star polyp.

I will order the chem pack tonight. They are on sale on the net for 3.99 each. Much better than the $11 you see them for at pet stores.

AL

 

[Guest]

My guess is that that sand you put in may have had phosphates in it. I have a cyano catastrophe myself, and my nitrates don't even show a reading on either one of my NO3 test kits. Their other source of nourishment is from phosphates, PO4. PO4 is common in household water supplies and you can get it from sand and salt as well. Did you switch salt brands? Do you use RO/DI? If I were you, I'd test your the new water before you add it in so you know whats going on. My water tested .25 ppm phosphates and the Cyano and Hair algea are blooming like crazy.

They make PO4 absorber stuff that you run like carbon, but I don't use it. HTH

 

[Trey]

If your problem is cyano bacteria (it sound like it to me), then there is either not enough water movement in your tank, or your nutrient level is too high in your water column, or both. When I have had this problem in the past, it was usually due to poor performance of my skimmer.

Cyano typically has a different mechanism than algae. It feeds on dissolved organics in the water. Good water movement to keep everything moving and aggressive skimmer are the best tools to manage cyano.

Good Luck,
Trey

 

[alstang1]

your nutrient level is too high in your water column,
Trey

Can you help me better understand this comment? I assume nutrient level means feeding in excess; not sure what the hell a water column is.

As far as the water flow, I have the following: 2 X Maxijet 1200 power head, 1 X 650 return pump being used as a power head in the main tank, 1 X 950 return pump pushing the skimmer water back to the tank. I am sure that is 4X what I need for a 75 G tank. Anyone got comments on that?


Al

 

[Guest]

lol.....water column is the water in your tank. the term column comes from the fact that any given area of water acts like a column because it is pressurized by all of the weight of the water that is directly on top of it. So, if you were to put side to side 6" pvc in your tank standing up from the sand bed, the water inside the pipes would behave the same, and have the same pressure as the if you removed the pvc. water column is just a term for the water in your tank.

 

[alstang1]

And the water flow I described is sufficient I am guessing?

Al

 

[Guest]

Essentially, get more powerheads, and get a better protein skimmer and you should be set! Also, make sure that you get as much detritus out of the substrate as you can on your next waterchange.

 

[yellowbelley]

is there anything that eats detritus?

 

[alstang1]

Anyone got a link to a salt water dictionary?

Al

 

[Trey]

Sorry, poor word choice. Nutrients is in reference to dissolved organics and as mentioned water column is in reference to the water.

Yes, nutrients typicaly come from feeding, but not necessarily from overfeeding. I feed my display tank heavily compared to most folks I know, and I usually have no problem with cyano. When I do have a problem, I can normally trace it to poor skimmer performance. If I take the skimmer apart and give it a good cleaning, the cyano will clear up in a few days.

My point with flow is mostly acedemic. I too have a large flow compared to most set-ups. The thing to look for with flow is current in the effected area. If areas of your tank were cyano is growing have adequate sweeping flows, then focus on your skimmer performance.

Trey

 

[SeanB]

your nutrient level is too high in your water column,
Trey

Can you help me better understand this comment? I assume nutrient level means feeding in excess; not sure what the hell a water column is.

As far as the water flow, I have the following: 2 X Maxijet 1200 power head, 1 X 650 return pump being used as a power head in the main tank, 1 X 950 return pump pushing the skimmer water back to the tank. I am sure that is 4X what I need for a 75 G tank. Anyone got comments on that?


Al

Actually, that is just about the right amount of circulation. The rule of thumb to make sure you have plenty of water flow is 10X you water volume per hour. Peronally, I don't include the return from my skimmer but even without that, if I'm using the correct numbers, you are right at 750 gph.

Having said that, it also depends on how that flow is used. I don't know what your setup is so I'll just use mine as an example. On my 75 gal, I have 1180 gph flow. I have all of my rockwork setup on the back of my tank. While I feel like I have enough spaces in the rock to allow water flow through the upper 75%, the bottom back portion behind the rocks may not be getting enough flow. The way the rocks are set up, I simply can't position any of my current powerheads to reach the lower portion behind the rocks. I either need to rearage my rock, which I really don't want to do, or get a smaller powerhead that will fit in the back as needed.

So, as Trey said, make sure you have good flow as well as volume and if so, look at your skimmer.