Week 4 of tank cycle - Algae ID Help!

[nixon45]

Hey guys,

I am in week 5 of cycling my Fluval 13.5 and I have been getting quite a bit of algae that I am hoping for some ID and advice on. Some of it looks like green hair algae but there is starting to be quite a lot of red in my sand bed that I am concerned about. I am not knowledgable enough yet to determine if this would be something like Cyanobacteria or not so I was hoping to get some help! I do seem to have some nice coralline algae forming on my live rock.

I have about 8-10 lbs of live rock as well as live sand in this for the cycling process.

My parameters are as follows (tested last night).

Ph: 8.2
Ammonia: 0.25 (has been stuck at this for quite a while)
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 5.0
Phosphate: 0
Salinity: 1.027 (working to get this lowered slightly this week)

My questions are:

- Can anyone help me ID this based on the pictures
- How would I go about fixing this (if it needs fixing that is.)


Thank for any help in advance! I can take more pictures if needed.

 

[Tiger Brown]

Hi nixon (I am not a thief). The red does look like cyano bacteria but I wouldn't worry about it at this point, lots of tanks go through "the ugly phase" when first begun. If you'd like to look into the reasons for cyano and how to combat it I'd suggest doing a search on this site, you'll come away with a lot of great advice and information.

Curious if you are testing your ammonia with an API kit? If so they are notorious for reading trace amounts when there isn't any which could explain why you are stuck on that number. The Salifert is much more accurate.

 

[george1381]

It's all quite normal, we all want to find ways to cure these different problems and things to cure them with. The best ways to combat these issues in the beginning stages is to basically just put in place a good maintenance routine. I suggest your weekly or by weekly water changes. It will take care of itself.

 

[jaxredsoxfan]

I agree, relatively common in a new tank. Once everything stabalizes, should go away. You can siphon off what you can with water changes.

 

[george1381]

With a tank that small things can go bad really quick. Just try not to change things to often. A good and consistent routine should be at the top of the list.

 

[nixon45]

Thanks for the advice so far I really appreciate it!

I have been using the API test kit so I will go out and pick up a salifert kit tomorrow to double check!

I have been doing weekly water changes and I have been testing every 3 days so I have been pretty diligent so far and will keep on top of that!

 

[dwest]

Thanks for the advice so far I really appreciate it!

I have been using the API test kit so I will go out and pick up a salifert kit tomorrow to double check!

I have been doing weekly water changes and I have been testing every 3 days so I have been pretty diligent so far and will keep on top of that!

Weekly 10% water changes are perfect now. Maintain good water flow and be as patient as you can stand

 

[george1381]

We had a fire last May we lost everything along with my reef. Im getting my New Reefer 350 together in the next week or 2, so I will be right there with you going through " The Uglies"

 

[nixon45]

Curious if you are testing your ammonia with an API kit? If so they are notorious for reading trace amounts when there isn't any which could explain why you are stuck on that number. The Salifert is much more accurate.

Hey Tiger,

Thank you for the tip on the API test being off slightly. I picked up a Salifert kit and just tested the ammonia again.

The test reads 0! That is such a huge relief! Thank you again for the advice!

 

[Tiger Brown]

Hey Tiger,

Thank you for the tip on the API test being off slightly. I picked up a Salifert kit and just tested the ammonia again.

The test reads 0! That is such a huge relief! Thank you again for the advice!

So glad that helped you.