Sea Lettuce Turning to Jelly

[hannernanner]

New tank setup, refugium starter kit from Algae Barn. I've got a Kessil H80 on the "grow" setting running 10hrs at night. Tank is still cycling with lights off. There were some hiccups in getting my system up and running, much of which revolved around having to get a replacement return pump. So, this algae was in the sump with no flow for a few days (still heated). It's been a little over a week, and I can see that most of it is changing to a lighter color and some becoming a clear jelly slime. Seems like it's dying. Any idea why?

 

[Spare time]

Do you have any nitrate or phosphate? If the tank is brand new with no fish, you should not be running a refugium (or if you do, make sure to have greater than 0 nitrate and phosphate).

 

[hannernanner]

I have both actually. I’ve been throwing in a pinch of freeze dried shrimp every day to help with the cycle. Two days ago (haven’t measured again yet) nitrates were 5ppm and phosphates .1

 

[JGT]

Lighting in the sump?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Problem is nutrients. The lettuce grows at a faster rate than the chaeto taking all the nutrients and eventually weakens. Upon this, as they typically need oxygen as well. When sea lettuce dies , the bacteria takes up the oxygen to decompose it.

 

[hannernanner]

Lighting in the sump

Kessil H80, mounted ~8” from the water, spectrum is the “grow” setting, and I’ve been increasing the intensity a bit each night. It runs 10hrs.

 

[JGT]

That’s good, not lighting.

 

[hannernanner]

Problem is nutrients. The lettuce grows at a faster rate than the chaeto taking all the nutrients and eventually weakens. Upon this, as they typically need oxygen as well. When sea lettuce dies , the bacteria takes up the oxygen to decompose it.

Do you mean not enough nutrients or too many? I though 5ppm nitrates and .1 phosphates were actually quite high, especially the phosphates?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Do you mean not enough nutrients or too many? I though 5ppm nitrates and .1 phosphates were actually quite high, especially the phosphates?

Not enough. It absorbs it at a fast rate until there is insufficient as the chaeto also feeds on it. generally, if either nitrate or phosphate become excessively depleted in an aquarium, you eventually reach a point where many forms of coral, algae, bacteria and other microbes (zooplankton, for example) cannot eat enough to survive and reproduce. the sump will have less content especially where skimming is being done

 

[hannernanner]

Not enough. It absorbs it at a fast rate until there is insufficient as the chaeto also feeds on it. generally, if either nitrate or phosphate become excessively depleted in an aquarium, you eventually reach a point where many forms of coral, algae, bacteria and other microbes (zooplankton, for example) cannot eat enough to survive and reproduce. the sump will have less content especially where skimming is being done

Ok. My skimmer has not been fired up yet, and I just remeasured my nitrates. They’re now in the neighborhood of 25ppm. I’m not growing chaeto, only the lettuce. Are there other nutrients that could be missing?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Ok. My skimmer has not been fired up yet, and I just remeasured my nitrates. They’re now in the neighborhood of 25ppm. I’m not growing chaeto, only the lettuce. Are there other nutrients that could be missing?

I would imagine iron and manganese