Red Cyano algae in Macro Display tank?

mrjohnreed · Jul 23, 2020

my tank has been up for about 2 months or so now. I believe that I have cyano in the tank. Here are my parameters as of today.
Nitrate: 20ppm
Nitrite: 0
Ammonia: 0
Kh: 150 ppm
Calcium : 520

I have a clean up crew in the tank. I am dosing Chaetogrow and Calcium in the tank as follows:
Calcium: 5ml per day
Chaetogrow: 15ml twice a week

My green macros are growing and some of my reds are doing ok. I have attached a picture of the tank before and now.

Spare time · Jul 24, 2020

You can try some chemiclean. There are also bacterial additives to promote competition (eco balance, pns probio, waste away). If your phosphates are high that could be a problem too. The macro obviously likes phosphates but if they are persistently high then you could get cyano. Cyano gets nitrogen from the atmosphere so it is typically phosphate issues that lead to them.

Spare time · Jul 24, 2020

PS what are the birdsnest looking macros called?

Lasse · Jul 24, 2020

Your PO4 concentration?

Your Calcium is high (normally it should be between 400 - 440 mg/L) Why do you add Ca - you have no stony corals?

Its difficult to say from the picture - could be cyanobacteria, dinoflagellates, diatoms or something else. Cyanobacteria and dinoflagellates normally show up when either inorganic N (NH3/NH4, NO2 and NO3) is low or that PO4 is low. Diatoms - often in the start when PO4 is low.

Sincerely Lasse

Spare time · Jul 24, 2020

Lasse said:
Your PO4 concentration?

Your Calcium is high (normally it should be between 400 - 440 mg/L) Why do you add Ca - you have no stony corals?

Its difficult to say from the picture - could be cyanobacteria, dinoflagellates, diatoms or something else. Cyanobacteria and dinoflagellates normally show up when either inorganic N (NH3/NH4, NO2 and NO3) is low or that PO4 is low. Diatoms - often in the start when PO4 is low.

Sincerely Lasse