Algae issue help!!

[Leonidas1453]

This thing can anybody help me to identify wat it is algae or cyano...n tell me how to deal with it...it just keeps coming back after I clean the sand bed...this issue started after i installed some new lights

 

[Hydrored]

Hard for me to tell, does it have air bubbles on it? does it also grow on the rocks? Is it there also at night?

 

[Leonidas1453]

Hard for me to tell, does it have air bubbles on it? does it also grow on the rocks? Is it there also at night?

Yaa it has air bubbles on n it grows on the rocks too abt the night I don't know haven't noticed...

 

[joe0813]

is it dusty looking? kind of looks like diatoms from this picture

 

[Leonidas1453]

is it dusty looking? kind of looks like diatoms from this picture

Yaa when I stir the sandbed to clean it...it settles down like dust...n again starts to grow the next day...

 

[joe0813]

Yaa when I stir the sandbed to clean it...it settles down like dust...n again starts to grow the next day...

Id say its diatoms then.

 

[Leonidas1453]

Id say its diatoms then.

How to get rid of it?? It really spoils the look of the whole tank....it keeps releasing airbubble n dust like stuff float on the surface of the water.....I seriously need some help

 

[joe0813]

How to get rid of it?? It really spoils the look of the whole tank....it keeps releasing airbubble n dust like stuff float on the surface of the water.....I seriously need some help

Ceriths, Nerites, Trochus and Astraea snails usually help out. But diatoms usually feed on silicates from the sand. How long has the tank been running.

 

[Leonidas1453]

Ceriths, Nerites, Trochus and Astraea snails usually help out. But diatoms usually feed on silicates from the sand. How long has the tank been running.

It's more than 9 months....there are are bubble inside the sand like it appears as gaps in the sand...this diatoms problem came after I changed my lighting upto that there was no problem

 

[Geckko]

It's more than 9 months....there are are bubble inside the sand like it appears as gaps in the sand...this diatoms problem came after I changed my lighting upto that there was no problem

I’m thinking diatoms too. Doesn’t look nasty like dinos. Probably a dumb question but do you use ro/di or tap for water changes?

 

[Leonidas1453]

I’m thinking diatoms too. Doesn’t look nasty like dinos. Probably a dumb question but do you use ro/di or tap for water changes?

I use tapwater....ik tap water may have silicates...which may cause it...but now wat shall I do?

 

[Hop2jr]

What are your water parameters? That will tell a lot.

 

[lapin]

I use tapwater....ik tap water may have silicates...which may cause it...but now wat shall I do?

If it is the tap water then you should think about getting an RO/DI unit . If the tank is small then maybe distilled water from the store.

 

[William Norman]

As Lapin said you need to get a better supply of water. If you have local fish stores near you they usually will sell rodi water to you. Worse case the big box pet stores sell jugs of it but it is more expensive. But in the short term it may help. If you are in an area that is in lock down, you can also look for a walmart that sells ro water by the jug or worse case as Lapin suggest distilled. Not the best but better than tap.

Once you have water ready I would try and siphon them out. Replace the water that is lost with fresh salt water and then go 3 days of darkness (wrap the tank in something if there is a lot of ambient light. especially if it gets sunlight).

Diatoms are photosynthetic and reproduce by cell division. So the more you are able to remove the less they are able to reproduce. You may need to do this cycle of siphoning and going dark a few times of 3 days on and 3 days off. If you have corals . If you just have fish you can turn off all the tanks like and you can go with ambient light for a while, but block out an sunlight.

Also get some CUC as Joe01813 suggests. Try to find pre- quarantined QT from a reputable source. (I QT everything wet going into my tank)

The good news is usually goes away as the tank matures. Its common and it is a issue that gets refereed to as part of the ugly period.

Do a search on diatoms on here and you find some more info.

How big is the tank, whats in it now and what are your parms ?

 

[Leonidas1453]

As Lapin said you need to get a better supply of water. If you have local fish stores near you they usually will sell rodi water to you. Worse case the big box pet stores sell jugs of it but it is more expensive. But in the short term it may help. If you are in an area that is in lock down, you can also look for a walmart that sells ro water by the jug or worse case as Lapin suggest distilled. Not the best but better than tap.

Once you have water ready I would try and siphon them out. Replace the water that is lost with fresh salt water and then go 3 days of darkness (wrap the tank in something if there is a lot of ambient light. especially if it gets sunlight).

Diatoms are photosynthetic and reproduce by cell division. So the more you are able to remove the less they are able to reproduce. You may need to do this cycle of siphoning and going dark a few times of 3 days on and 3 days off. If you have corals . If you just have fish you can turn off all the tanks like and you can go with ambient light for a while, but block out an sunlight.

Also get some CUC as Joe01813 suggests. Try to find pre- quarantined QT from a reputable source. (I QT everything wet going into my tank)

The good news is usually goes away as the tank matures. Its common and it is a issue that gets refereed to as part of the ugly period.

Do a search on diatoms on here and you find some more info.

How big is the tank, whats in it now and what are your parms ?

Thankya so much for the info...my nitrates r nil n ammonia r o.25 pH is around 8.2 I don't have a phosphate test kit I have a bubblemagus curve 5 n run carbon in bags n some mechanical filtration tats it....it's a 5 feet tank so 400litres of water...I didn't have the money to a get a to do unit tats why I went with tap water...I didn't have this issue until I put new lights...I have some 13 turbo snails...the fishes r doing well...ill try wat u said

 

[Geckko]

Are you saying you have zero nitrates and .25 ammonia? The algae might be the least of your concerns.

 

[Leonidas1453]

Are you saying you have zero nitrates and .25 ammonia? The algae might be the least of your concerns.

Yaa my nitrates n ammonia r really low but diatoms r not taking a name to leave

 

[William Norman]

Leonidas, if you don't have corals, just turn off your lights until you can get a better water source. The fish will be fine with just ambient light. If you do have any sunshine on the tank I would remove/find a way to stop that also. Read up on how to do a wet skim and how to lower ammonia. Ammonia should really be at 0 in a tank. How are you testing ?

When you do turn the light back on you should raise them slowly. I would start off with just low intensity blues for a week or 2, then add more intensity and then slowly add the intensity of whites. You want to see if the diatoms come back. If they do just lower everything and do water changes.

 

[NS Mike D]

fwiw NH3 at 0.25 with a cycled tank is likely test error (see threads confirming API reading 0.25 with syneye saying otherwise). As I have read, the API can have a green hue and not true yellow leading to a false reading.

There are a lot of posts that say so long as NH3 dropped and tank cycled, and no dead fish, ignore the NH3 test.

 

[NS Mike D]

I would argue with a 400l tank, if you plan on stocking it with corals, a reliable water source needs to be in your budget. (which often is an rodi unit)

Corals are expensive. So is buying water. Tap is cheap but it may have copper (fatal to corals) and lots of other stuff that can make the hobby unrewarding.