Cyano growth in tank

[kevnick80]

Hi guys

 

Ive mentione this before but just want to show the extent of cyano growth in my tank. Has happened just over the last week. Seems like a lot. 
 

Should I be cleaning it up or just leave it and it will hopefully go away?

 

Temp 26

Salinity 1.025

Ammonia/nitrite 0

Nitrate 5-10 (can’t quite tell the colour with Salifert test kits)

Phosphate 0 or not detecting

Mg - 1380

Ca - 465

Alk - 12.8

pH - 8.3

 

 

[paulsz]

How long has the tank been running? 

 

That kind of looks like diatoms to me more than cyano. But I could be wrong. 

 

You could clean it up during the next water change.

 

Also, your Alk is pretty high at 12.8. Can I ask why it's so high?

[kevnick80]

3 minutes ago, paulsz said:

How long has the tank been running? 

 

That kind of looks like diatoms to me more than cyano. But I could be wrong. 

 

You could clean it up during the next water change.

 

Also, your Alk is pretty high at 12.8. Can I ask why it's so high?

I’m not sure why they are high. Is it because of the salt I use? I buy salt water from my LFS. They use D-D I believe. 

[kevnick80]

More photos with close ups

[Tired]

How long has the tank been up, what rock did you start with, and how did you cycle it? 

 

Undetectable phosphate is a bad thing. Photosynthetic organisms rely on phosphate to function, and will die if your levels stay like that for too long. Get it up, fast. Feed your corals, decrease water changes, aim for 0.05 phosphate at a minimum. There isn't a reasonable maximum you should have, either- high phosphate can encourage algae, but won't harm your corals.

[kevnick80]

2 minutes ago, Tired said:

How long has the tank been up, what rock did you start with, and how did you cycle it? 

 

Undetectable phosphate is a bad thing. Photosynthetic organisms rely on phosphate to function, and will die if your levels stay like that for too long. Get it up, fast. Feed your corals, decrease water changes, aim for 0.05 phosphate at a minimum. There isn't a reasonable maximum you should have, either- high phosphate can encourage algae, but won't harm your corals.

I know it’s a bad thing. I’ve been using Reef Roids to feed the corals. Should I increase this as have only been doing it every few days. 
 

The tank has been going for about six weeks. Cycled with ATM Colony. I have used TMC Eco Reef. 
 

Is feeding lots the only way to increase it?

 

But what should I do about the cyano or diatoms?

[seabass]

30 minutes ago, kevnick80 said:

I’ve been using Reef Roids to feed the corals.

The organics in Reef Roids can lead to cyano.  Take it easy.

 

33 minutes ago, kevnick80 said:

Is feeding lots the only way to increase it?

You could dose something like NeoPhos.  It's a cleaner option (no organics).  But don't get carried away with it.  Your new sand is probably currently binding the phosphate.  You don't want to swing phosphate levels too far the other way.  When dosing phosphate, I'd target detectable only (with a good low range phosphate kit).  Actually, I might not worry too much about it until a little later.

 

IMO, people can get carried away with phosphate removers (which do have their place).  It's just another thing to balance out.  Too bad there isn't a hobby test kit for dissolved organics.  That can often be more of a problem than phosphate.

 

32 minutes ago, kevnick80 said:

The tank has been going for about six weeks.

That timeline fits with paulsz's thought about diatoms.

 

41 minutes ago, kevnick80 said:

But what should I do about the cyano or diatoms?

If it's diatoms, they usually use up the available silicate and then die out on their own.  Cyano can be slightly more tricky; however, removing organics (detritus, excess food, fish waste, etc) usually helps.  Good flow, as well as mechanical filtration, activated carbon, and protein skimming can help too.

[KMitch]

Your tank is basically brand new. Give it time. Patience is key to success in this hobby. 
 

Until the 4-6 month mark, you can expect algae to come and go. I have a 9 month old tank and sometimes get a quick spurt of algae. 
 

Limit how much of the ReefRoids you put in the tank. Feeding the corals daily is not needed. 

[Tired]

Oh, you have a fairly new tank. That's pretty much why you have pest algae. Things have to stabilize and find their own balance, including the amount of algae on surfaces. Just keep your corals clean with a turkey baster, suck out any large mats of algae you see during water changes, and wait. It'll sort itself out.

 

Corals should generally only be fed every few days, excluding non-photosynthetic ones. They can't digest very fast, for one thing, so daily feeding can actually harm them. 

 

I do see some patches of coraline algae, which is a good sign. What kind of rock did you start with? 

[kevnick80]

16 hours ago, Tired said:

How long has the tank been up, what rock did you start with, and how did you cycle it? 

 

Undetectable phosphate is a bad thing. Photosynthetic organisms rely on phosphate to function, and will die if your levels stay like that for too long. Get it up, fast. Feed your corals, decrease water changes, aim for 0.05 phosphate at a minimum. There isn't a reasonable maximum you should have, either- high phosphate can encourage algae, but won't harm your corals.

I know it’s a bad thing. I’ve been using Reef Roids to feed the corals. Should I increase this as have only been doing it every few days. 
 

The tank has been going for about six weeks. Cycled with ATM Colony. I have used TMC Eco Reef. 
 

Is feeding lots the only way to increase it?

 

But what should I do about the cyano or diatoms?

[paulsz]

43 minutes ago, kevnick80 said:

Is feeding lots the only way to increase it?

 

no, you can dose it. There's a product called Seachem Phosphorus. Or Brightwell NeoPhos. I'm sure there are other products as well, but those are two that come up to mind. I use Seachem Phosphorus. It's a liquid and i just dose it to bring up the phophates. 

[Tired]

14 hours ago, Tired said:

Things have to stabilize and find their own balance, including the amount of algae on surfaces. Just keep your corals clean with a turkey baster, suck out any large mats of algae you see during water changes, and wait. It'll sort itself out.

Do nothing about the pest algae, except keeping your corals clean. Leave it alone. It'll go away on its own once the less invasive algaes start to crowd it out and your rock begins to mature. 

 

What's your current cleanup crew, and how big is the tank? May be worth adding a few more snails.

[kevnick80]

2 hours ago, Tired said:

Do nothing about the pest algae, except keeping your corals clean. Leave it alone. It'll go away on its own once the less invasive algaes start to crowd it out and your rock begins to mature. 

 

What's your current cleanup crew, and how big is the tank? May be worth adding a few more snails.

I’ve got one hermit, an emerald and a Pom Pom crab. Five snails. Tank is 12 gallon. 

[Tired]

What snails? 

 

The pom-pom is decorative only, not cleanup. 

[kevnick80]

9 hours ago, Tired said:

What snails? 

 

The pom-pom is decorative only, not cleanup. 

Cerith and nassarius

[Tired]

Nassarius are only to eat extra food, and don't do anything about algae. Under five cerith snails is probably not enough snails for a tank that size. You should get more. I like dwarf ceriths and nerites, and another couple regular ceriths could be good as well.