What is this red algae?

[Reef GE]

Please answer:

What is this? Serious?

Why now? I’ve had my tank 6 mo.

How to fix?

150 gal, 0 nitrates, .05 phophates, alk 8.0, salinity 1.025, reef tank with no recent changes, other than - did not run the refugium light for a couple days at full strength, recently removed quite a bit of chaeto (a week ago)

 

[homer1475]

Cyanobacteria.

I've had the best luck getting rid of it by increasing my nitrates over 5ppm.

 

[Subsea]

Zero nitrates is bad. It promotes nuisance algae at the expense of utility algae.

 

[Reef GE]

Zero nitrates is bad. It promotes nuisance algae at the expense of utility algae.

Im aware. 150 gal tank with very few fish due to corona (I live overseas). No matte what I feed them my numbers stay at zero. Testing with Ref Sea Nitrate Pro kit.

 

[Subsea]

Im aware. 150 gal tank with very few fish due to corona (I live overseas). No matte what I feed them my numbers stay at zero. Testing with Ref Sea Nitrate Pro kit.

When I grew macro commercially, I used ammonia to target feed nitrogen. On 55G macro growout tanks, I added 20ml of ammonia a day. It never measured, as it was consumed that fast.
If adding ammonia to a display tank, do so in an area with much circulation. There is a thread in the chemistry forum where OP drips ammonia.

Does anyone dose ammonia and/or how would one try?

So, after an interesting discussion on nitrate dosing and looking at my Walt Disney coral and seeing it slightly less colorful than I have seen it in others tanks, I have decided I want to learn about and then try dosing ammonia instead of buying 20 damsels. Nitrate additives I see abound and...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Dr. Jim]

When I grew macro commercially, I used ammonia to target feed nitrogen. On 55G macro growout tanks, I added 20ml of ammonia a day. It never measured, as it was consumed that fast.
If adding ammonia to a display tank, do so in an area with much circulation. There is a thread in the chemistry forum where OP drips ammonia.

Does anyone dose ammonia and/or how would one try?

So, after an interesting discussion on nitrate dosing and looking at my Walt Disney coral and seeing it slightly less colorful than I have seen it in others tanks, I have decided I want to learn about and then try dosing ammonia instead of buying 20 damsels. Nitrate additives I see abound and...

www.reef2reef.com

Are you saying ammonia will help to get rid of cyano?

 

[Dr. Jim]

Cyanobacteria.

I've had the best luck getting rid of it by increasing my nitrates over 5ppm.

Don't you want to lower nutrients to get rid of cyano?

 

[Subsea]

Don't you want to lower nutrients to get rid of cyano?

No. Cyno has multiple nutrient pathways for nitrogen & phosphate independent of bulk water chemistry. You need competitors like macro & coral to utilize other trace minerals at the expense of fueling cyno.

 

[Subsea]

Don't you want to lower nutrients to get rid of cyano?

Let’s get more specific with respect to nutrients. With respect to OP lab test, his nitrate is toooo low and depending on who you follow, his phosphate is marginally high. In this case, lowering nitrate as a nutrient would be bad. Anything above 5ppm is acceptable. PaulB & Mark Levenson run 50ppm of nitrate with outstanding display tanks.