Frosted glass??

[kozik]

For the past month or so I’ve had this frosted glass kind of look, when I use my Tunze scraper it all comes off easily but 2 days later it will be back even with a 20% water change. I don’t see anything on the rock, pumps or anything like that just the glass.

 

Its an IM nuvo 20 I set it up September 1st 2018 so it’s about 5 months in. 

 

Is this just normal new tank symptoms or something else.

 

salinity 1.026

calcium 380 (Red Sea)

Phosphate 0 (Hanna)

Alkalinity 8.4

 

that’s all I’ve really tested so far.

 

corals and fish are doing fine, I’ve had a clown and damsel in there for about 2 months, clown was actually from a spec v I used to run so I’ve had it for almost a year and it’s still doing well. Acan and shrooms growing, my hammer had looked pissed off but that’s because I’ve been trying some new spots with it.

 

any ideas?

[Humblefish]

Looks like a film algae, which is usually just part of the uglies.

[kozik]

26 minutes ago, Humblefish said:

Looks like a film algae, which is usually just part of the uglies.

Reading about film algae it seems it’s phosphate based, since I’m at 0 phosphate and have GFO should I increase my GFO? Or is this a let it run its course kind of thing?

[Clown79]

Looks like an algae bloom.

 

Do you test nitrates and phos?

[kozik]

 

 

30 minutes ago, Clown79 said:

Looks like an algae bloom.

 

Do you test nitrates and phos?

Phosphates are 0

unfortunately don’t have a nitrate test right now, workin on it.

[Ramzman89]

I'm currently having the exact same issues. Everything inside tank is good but the film algae on glass. Easy to get off with mag but comes back in 3 days or so.

[Ramzman89]

My phos is 0 as well as nitrates.

[Humblefish]

1 hour ago, Ramzman89 said:

I'm currently having the exact same issues. Everything inside tank is good but the film algae on glass. Easy to get off with mag but comes back in 3 days or so.

^^ Some new tanks I've setup get film algae on the glass, others never do. Sometimes it happens within the first couple of months, other times it takes 5-6 months to occur. No rhyme or reason. It's extremely frustrating while its happening, but whatever is fueling it always seems to burn itself out after a couple of weeks.

[Tamberav]

8 hours ago, kozik said:

Reading about film algae it seems it’s phosphate based, since I’m at 0 phosphate and have GFO should I increase my GFO? Or is this a let it run its course kind of thing?

No. Running po4 and nitrate to 0 is bad bad bad.

 

I don't see the issue? My tanks grow film algae..I just clean it with a flipper. Isn't that why they sell such things? Seems like good snail and coral food to me. I clean mine twice a week unless lazy.

[kozik]

6 hours ago, Humblefish said:

^^ Some new tanks I've setup get film algae on the glass, others never do. Sometimes it happens within the first couple of months, other times it takes 5-6 months to occur. No rhyme or reason. It's extremely frustrating while its happening, but whatever is fueling it always seems to burn itself out after a couple of weeks.

It’s been running in my tank for a month now :S

 

35 minutes ago, Tamberav said:

No. Running po4 and nitrate to 0 is bad bad bad.

 

I don't see the issue? My tanks grow film algae..I just clean it with a flipper. Isn't that why they sell such things? Seems like good snail and coral food to me. I clean mine twice a week unless lazy.

I know po4 at 0 isn’t ideal my train of thought is that the reason it is 0 is because the film algae is feeding off of it. So if I increase my GFO I can starve it out, once gone then I could go back to regular GFO where hopefully I see some phosphate.

 

I don’t Mind cleaning the glass every now and again but I’m talking about clean today, tomorrow it’s already a little hazy, second day looking bad, third day I can’t even see parts of the tank. 

[mcarroll]

17 hours ago, kozik said:

Phosphate 0 (Hanna)

[...]

any ideas?

That's not good.

16 hours ago, kozik said:

since I’m at 0 phosphate and have GFO should I increase my GFO

What?   The GFO worked and gave you the "zero nutritents" you were hoping for.   

 

Removing the GFO is the correct action here. :-)

 

15 hours ago, kozik said:

unfortunately don’t have a nitrate test right now, workin on it.

LFS will test for you, if that helps.

 

6 hours ago, kozik said:

if I increase my GFO I can starve it out

A) There's a type of algae that will be favored under every type of nutrient conditions.  Starve one out, you'll have another....and it'll be worse.

B) There's nothing wrong with algae.  Every reef has a LARGE growing population of algae that is kept in check (to the point of invisibility in many cases) by a cleanup crew.

C) Your corals have the same dissolved-nutrient requirements as algae.  Starve the algae and you're starving your corals.

 

7 hours ago, kozik said:

I don’t Mind cleaning the glass every now and again but I’m talking about clean today, tomorrow it’s already a little hazy, second day looking bad, third day I can’t even see parts of the tank. 

In 5 months, you should have a population of coraline algae helping to use up nutrients.  I bet you have none.

 

You should also have some presence of green algae helping.  I bet you have none.

 

I can tell you have at least one snail by the tracks on the glass, but what is your total cleanup crew like?

 

With the glass clouding that quickly, your feeding may have a role too.  Can you tell us what you feed and how often?

 

But mostly it's the lack of all other algae that's giving this film algae (which I'd put under a microscope ASAP to see if it's diatoms or other) such a strong advantage.

 

So in a nutshell:

Remove the GFO and your tank should proceed on a more normal track. 

 

Green algae should grow. 

 

You should expand your CUC as needed to deal with it. 

 

You should deal with anything the CUC doesn't. 

 

It may help to see the tank with some coraline if you still have none....either a bottled product like that from ARCreef or scrapings from a mature tank.  Something.