Green tanks

[gallion]

My LFS guy says he has a marine biology degree etc. But his tanks look nasty. They have a lot of green alge. Is that normal? Our Petco saltwater tanks look so much cleaner. Just trying to decide if I need to buy from him. Sorry if this question offends anyone's tanks.

[Tamberav]

If you mean things like hair algae. It isn't normal to have a lot of it. It means he has too much phosphate/nitrate. His fish/inverts could still be healthy though.

[jestep]

There's also multiple types of tanks. High nutrient lagoonal tanks often have a lot of macro algaes, and they are also often more stable than super low nutrient systems. Not sure if that's whats going on but it is another possibility.

 

It's always been my policy to support local businesses and their owners long before mega corporations. But at the same time, if his livestock and conditions are really nasty, I would go elsewhere.