alge problem

[blackstrips85]

i was read was reading one of the other members problem with cyano, but i wanted to know what is the problem in my tank i bought a feather duster at a pet store and i noticed that it had small kind of alge but i paid no thought into in it. know that small alge is spreading . it had just been sticking to the sand but i dont want to go on to the rocks it look like red slime but just a greenish brown. i try to control it by covering it with more sand but a day later it is all back it will post a pic as soon it grows back (which will be not to long from now . :(

[GaryP]

Some cyano is a gree color. Red is the more common variety. Of course there is no way to tell what it is based on your description. If I had to guess I would say that it is a hair algae of some sort. If its growing then you probably have excess nutrients in your water, especially phosphates. Algae doesn't grow without fertilizer.

[blackstrips85]

oky thanks i just add kent phosphate spong . the alge is green at frist then its gets slimy on top and if you touch them they are really slime but i have a question would chem a clean kill it off.

[JeremyGlen]

It should cause it sounds like Cyano. It would help if you can post a pic. With the Chemi-Clean, follow the directions well and have lots of water mixed up cause your going to have to do water changes every other day or so.

[GaryP]

Chemi Clean will kill it temporarily, but unless you address the cause, it will just come back. Nuisance algae blooms are a symptom, not the disease. The disease is wter quality.

[blackstrips85]

i have not posted a pic but i will soon i have been to busy at school and now i am geting bact to it but i think that the phosphate spong is working . but i still have some it does not look as slimy but i think that i am still going to throw some chemi clean

[jigawig]

i have a huge brown algae problem...it's not the brown algae that comes with a new tank, but more slimey and very stringy. it is growing all over my live rock and sand. i have scrubbed it all off the rock stirred the sand and within a matter of hours it grows back. i have been doing 10% water changes with r/o water, am using phosban and reef carbon in my wet/dry, clean all my sponges if not once a week twice. i am at a loss for words as to how fast it grows back. my lights (2 150w hqi halides, and 2 80w actinics) stay on 12 hours and off 12 hours. i have a clam which is the reason for my light cycle. my nitrates are around 20 ppm. any help will be greatly appreciated. :unsure

[Ross]

Sounds like you have cyano. Treat with chemi-clean and keep up what your doing with the water changes every week! Also dont feed too much!

[Robert]

A good protein skimmer should help.

[Z4]

or try cutting back to 10 hrs of light..

[GaryP]

Sorry but I have to disagree with you Z4. Cutting back on light is rarely useful. Light is not the cause of algae blooms, nutrients are. Especially phosphates and nitrates. Besides, when you cut back your lights you are not only cutting back the lights to the problem algae, but the light to the benefical algaes and corals that are competing for the nutrients with the nuisance algae. Most tanks have an excess of nitrates, even if they are close to zero. The real culprit is usually phosphates. By removing phosphates with a combination of a phosphate absorber, carbon, skimming, mechanical filtration and siphoning you reduce the amount available for algal growth. Adding the appropriate grazer for the type of algae you have will remove the material that is already present. This is usually a combination of hermits and a variety of snails.

In ecology they talk about the "limiting nutrient." That is the nutrient whose concentration is the limiting factor in plant growth. While nitrates and light are necessary, they are rarely the limiting. Identifying and attacking the limiting nutrient is usually the key to controlling algae blooms. In aquariums that is almost always phosphate. We introduce phosphate in the form of food every time we feed the tank. That said, I AM NOT suggesting that you cut back on feeding. A lot of people are already underfeeding their tanks. However, you may want to consider how you are feeding though to make sure that uneaten food is not creating detritus that ends up contributing to phosphates.

Cyano is a little bit different situation because its not really an algae, but rather a photosynthetic bacteria. Check my post in Jeff's Cyano thread (are skimmers bad?).