Algae question

[Fishingandreefing]

Tank is being up for almost a year. I got very little film algae on the glass but a lot on rocks. Any idea? I feed pretty heavily. Thx

 

[Jekyl]

Keep parameters in order and remove what you can by hand during water changes. Have a tank pic?

 

[Fishingandreefing]

Keep parameters in order and remove what you can by hand during water changes. Have a tank pic?

Cool. But why not on the glass?

 

[AlgaeBarn]

Tank is being up for almost a year. I got very little film algae on the glass but a lot on rocks. Any idea? I feed pretty heavily. Thx

as Jekyl mentioned pictures would be helpful as well as a list of your water parameters

 

[Fishingandreefing]

Was busy with work and everything. Finally just tested my water

Alk 7.4, phosphate .03 and nitrate is about 2.5-5ppm

hanna and salifert were used.

 

[AlgaeBarn]

Do you have a picture you could share with also? What type of lights are you running and how long and intense?

 

[Fishingandreefing]

I don’t have a picture now. Radions with diffusers at 20%. Coral labs 9-7pm.

also, lots of my mushrooms are shrinking and some had died.

 

[AlgaeBarn]

Cool. But why not on the glass?

It's just a film algae growing on the rocks and not hair algae? What kind of flow do you have hitting your rock work? Are the mushrooms dying because they are being covered?

 

[Azedenkae]

Could be something as simple as competition to be honest. If there are more algae on the rocks, they'd probably soak up nutrients better and reproduce/grow faster than algae on the glass.

It'd be the same concept why once one get an algae scrubber/etc. going then there's much less algae growing in a display while there is plenty of growth in the scrubber/etc.

 

[Fishingandreefing]

So here are some pictures. As far as nutrients, I am feeding them Red Sea energy daily and reef roids weekly. 10-15% water change daily.

 

[Jekyl]

Doesn't look bad. I can see the coraline starting to grow which means the end of the uglies is coming.

 

[Fishingandreefing]

Doesn't look bad. I can see the coraline starting to grow which means the end of the uglies is coming.

Any reasons why corral died and dying?

 

[Jekyl]

Radions at 20% seems really low to me. I've never owned them, however I'm sure that's really low par.

 

[Fishingandreefing]

Radions at 20% seems really low to me. I've never owned them, however I'm sure that's really low par.

20% give me about 50 par in the bottom of the tank. Most of my corals soft to lps so I don’t think low par was the problem

 

[AlgaeBarn]

What are you keeping your salinity at?

 

[Dan_P]

Cool. But why not on the glass?

Algae like all organisms flourish where conditions are optimal. The optimal conditions vary for each species, though maybe not much. Here is a few ideas why your question would be difficult to answer.

Light. The rock and sand surfaces are in direct line with the aquarium light but the light takes a more glancing angle on the glass. Sand and rock surfaces could be more brightly illuminated.

Surface Conditions. The adhesion between a settling microorganism and glass may not be as good as on rock and sand. A rough surface might make algae settling easier than on a smooth surface.

Bacteria Partners. Algae and bacteria may benefit each other. The bacterial biofilm on rock is probably much different than the one on glass that is regularly scraped, more nutrient rich.

Nutrient Concentration. Solid organic matter is more likely to accumulate on rock and sand than glass. This organic debris is digested by bacteria, the bacteria waste products feeding algae N and P.

Species Difference. Species differ in their ability to flourish under the same condition.

You can scrape glass but not rocks. Your glass maintenance routine may be hindering the algae.