think I got it this time , what is causing this mess

[dobz55]

Hi all can some one pls identify this algea and possably come up with causes and cures I do 25% water change every week this bloom erupted to it,s present state after last sats change,



ph 8.1
Alk 2.4
Ammonia 0.1ppm
Phosphate 0.2ppm
Nitrate 20ppm
Nitrite 0
SG 1.024
Hardness 140

[dobz55]

well i gota tell i be an aussie and i also visit the masa web site if i asked this quwstion there i would have at least recieved an answr, i caent figger out how to post pics there mbut posted these 5 hrs ago and still no help ouch

[zhenya]

Hi dobz55,

Sorry we weren't quick enough for you..
Anyway, I can;t identify your algae but from the water parameters you posted higher NO3 and PO4 levels first that jump at me. You also mentioned switching to different brand of salt.., which one is it? It would be helpfull if you posted if you use RO/DI water ir tap?

PS. When you posted your first post most people in US are asleep. ;)

[Reefland]

I know I was sleeping.

I agree with Gene, your nitrates and phosphates could be the cause. You should try some agressive water changes, using filtered water, and try to manually remove the algae as you go.

[tray262]

Hey looks like my tank did, I ran some of the phosban, triple the standard dosage like the instructions say "To clean up a existing tank that has algea problems." Also up the water changes too. Good Luck, been there, hell still there to a degree. lol. Take care.

[dobz55]

thanks guys sorry didnt mean to sound harsh I for get some times we are a small world , and some one some where is always asleep,as you can tell frustration is creeping in? I shall do an agressive water change tomorrow, sat our time I am going out to buy some NSW hope fully that shall help

[zhenya]

thanks guys sorry didnt mean to sound harsh I for get some times we are a small world , and some one some where is always asleep,as you can tell frustration is creeping in? I shall do an agressive water change tomorrow, sat our time I am going out to buy some NSW hope fully that shall help

I think that's a good plan. I can't forsee a problem with getting NSW living in Melbourne, and maybe if you have a public aquarium there they might let you have their filtered NSW for very little money. When I was using NSW I had to pay like 16.00 US dollars for a 4.4 gallon jug of it. If I lived in California I could have had it for much less but living in NJ it was getting real expensive, so I switched to Reef Crystals and so far everything had been real good.
Then again, all this synthetic salts are as good as the water you mixed it with, if tap( City water) water is lousy then you are in for some rough times if you don't have an RO/DI filter installed.
Stay with it, things should improve considerably once you switch over to NSW completely.
I have another question to ask you, do you use a skimmer on your tank?

[dobz55]

Okay just went and picked up 50 litres, (10 gallons) of NSW to start the change over, containers cost $17 aus and the water $10 aus, so $1 per gall although if I join the aquarium (LFS) club for $35 aus then they only charge $2 aus for 5 galls, and give you a discount on all further purchases, I shall change the whole 10 galls this week end then 10 for the next 4 weeks then go to my normal 5 gall changes , hope fully this will help

[Ninong]

It appears to be Cyanobacteria. Does it appear to be more dense after the lights have been on for a few hours and less dense just before the lights come on in the morning?

[dobz55]

I am not sure Ninong but I notice lots of air bubbles in it and I pulled some up last night and it comes of in skin like pieces like you are peeling back a piece of carpet or such

[Ninong]

It's probably Cyanobacteria. Make a point of looking at the tank when the lights first come on and then again a couple of hours later. You should notice a difference. Since it is photosynthetic, it will gain mass when exposed to light.

You if are interested in my thoughts on Cyanobacteria, just run an advanced search on the board using "cyanobacteria" as the "key word" and "Ninong" as the "user name." I have discussed this topic dozens of times over the past seven years.

[dobz55]

thanks ninong, how do I do the search, and I have just finished changing 50 litres of NSW it worked out to be almost a third of my tank, I also vaccumed the bed and scrubbed the rocks so I have re aquascaped again

[Ninong]

At the very top of the page, above the banner, click on "Search" and then, after the little pull-down window opens, click on "Advanced Search." Then simply fill in the blanks. I always change the option from "thread" to "post" so that I will get the individual posts I'm looking for an not an entire several-page thread.

[dobz55]

thanks Ninong I have done that and printed out your notes, i,ll see how I go now that I have some NSW in there

[dobz55]

buggar it,s back did the NSW 30% change yeaster day cleaned the rocks vaccumed obviously couldn,t get it all but it looked much better, 5 hours after lights on today it,s going berserk again NINONG read your notes but still confused what can I do help help help it looks disgusting, makes me want trps again never a prob with algea lol

[Ninong]

Of course it's back. A water change, even a 30% water change, won't make any difference. It has a very rapid rate of reproduction and it's in your system. You have to work on the underlying causes.

In the meantime, don't freak out over it. Take your time. Patience is a virtue in this hobby. Never act in haste unless you have a major catastrophe on your hands.

P.S. -- Please stop calling it "algae." It hasn't been classified as algae in decades.

[Ninong]

In case you're interested, there are 3,670,000 references to cyanobacteria on the web.

It's one of the earliest lifeforms on the planet, going back 3.8 billion years. You might say it's a survivor. And it's ubiquitous -- it's everywhere!

Do NOT treat it chemically. That's not only a waste of money, it can be dangerous.

It will eventually go away once the tank is mature and nutrient levels are under control. You could always stick some macroalgae in your tank to out-compete it but then you might not be able to get rid of the macroalgae.

[dobz55]

Thanks Mate appreciate it oh by the way as you know I don,t run a sump and have run a canister filter from the day I set up well after much podering and much advise I have this morning removed it I also removed all but one of my internal filters and bought 3 x 1000 lph power heads with the one remaining internal filter I have in theory 5000 lph turn over (I don,t believe that for a minute they say rated at 1000 but I don,t think that can be right) any way so now no canister (a possible contributer to Nitrates ) and plenty of water move ment I hope this helps.