Is this bad and hard to get rid of?

[Charles Belisle]

Been battling hair algae from cycling tank with high phosphates. Trying to get the phosphate level down and I noticed this new algae growth today. Is this stuff bad? How do I get rid of it? It is dark purple in color with a hint of brown.

 

[andrewey]

I'm guessing cyanobacteria. Depends on the setup, but generally reducing phosphate, manual removal, and time (if it's a new tank) will help to combat cyanobacteria. There are other factors at play including light/flow, but I don't want to bombard you right off the bat!

If you want to give a bit more detail about your setup, it's age, and your nutrient levels, it might help to give some more targeted advice

 

[Mastiffsrule]

Hi,

like you mentioned looks like gha and maybe cyano developing. Can you post all your numbers about water and lighting to see what we may need to adjust

 

[Charles Belisle]

Amm - 0.50 , Nitri - 0.0 Nitra - 0.2 - pho’s - was 2.0 - put medium in two days ago - tested last night between 0.5 and 1. Running two Vasprita 165 - 300w blue light is running 13 hours at 25% and whites 8.5 at 20%. Going to reduce running time day for blues to 10 hours and whites to 6.

 

[andrewey]

How old is your tank? What are you using to test your levels and what is the expiration of your test kits? Ammonia of 0.5, if accurate, is a problem.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Heavy cyano. Get a siphon ready and using a turkey baster gently blast loose and siphon up. Reduce white light intensity and treat with product called ChemiClean which destroys cyano.
In the mean time, lets look for the source. Review what causes this and try to eliminate:
- overfeeding
- use of tap water
- lack of water flow
- inadequate filtration
- lack of or no clean up crew

Let us know what filtration you are using, method of water flow, type of light and your. . . salinity-ph-temperature and feeding schedule.