Cyano?

[Big_Mclargehuge]

Hey. I've been having a really bad outbreak of algae for the last month or so. Some hair, some diatoms, and what looks to be cyano but I'm not sure. I did a water change, blew off the rocks, and syphoned the sand yesterday and this is what it looks like already. Not sure what is causing this. I don't feed very heavy. Tested my parameters and barely have any nitrates or phosphates showing. Lights run from 7 am to 1 am. With whites from noon to 6 pm. Blues the rest of the time. It's a biocube 32. Stock lighting, filter floss, 100 micron filter pad, carbon and uv sterilizer. RODI water from LFS. Tank is about 5 months old. Two clownfish, two blennies, and a pretty big CUC. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Nigel35]

Probably is cyano... If it blows off real easily with a baster then it most likely is cyano.

 

[Big_Mclargehuge]

Probably is cyano... If it blows off real easily with a baster then it most likely is cyano.

any tips? lol

 

[najer]

If your nitrates and phos are nil if is probably cyano, does it fade at night and come back with lights on, can you get more flow going?

 

[Nigel35]

Can you list your PM's? Could just be a cyclical thing. How often do you have your UV sterilizer on?

 

[MLE]

This is a normal part of a new tank, not to worry! These still look like diatoms to me. Newer tanks still have a lot to balance, and it is normal for them to go through the ugly algae phase after a few months. This was some solid advice I received from a fellow reefer:

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/nuisance-algea-help.266051/post-3179218

Hope that helps!

 

[Big_Mclargehuge]

If your nitrates and phos are nil if is probably cyano, does it fade at night and come back with lights on, can you get more flow going?

Doesnt seem to fade. I have my waver maker on full power. So right now I can't get anymore flow.

 

[Big_Mclargehuge]

This is a normal part of a new tank, not to worry! These still look like diatoms to me. Newer tanks still have a lot to balance, and it is normal for them to go through the ugly algae phase after a few months. This was some solid advice I received from a fellow reefer:

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/nuisance-algea-help.266051/post-3179218

Hope that helps!

Thanks. I know about ugly stages but wasnt sure if this fell into that. Thanks!

 

[Big_Mclargehuge]

Can you list your PM's? Could just be a cyclical thing. How often do you have your UV sterilizer on?

My PM's? I'm assuming you mean parameters? Nitrates are 0-5 ppm, phosphates are undetectable, alk 8.9, salinity 1.025. I run my UV sterilizer 24/7. I started it because i had a bad bacterial bloom and the tank was super cloudy. It worked really well so i havent turned it off.