Pink algae covering the floor of my tank

[Cubeguy11]

Help! I have had a 20 gallon reef tank for about 3 months but recently this stringy pink algae has been covering the bottom of my tank. What is it and how to I get rid of it? 

[Tired]

Could be either cyano or dinos. 

 

Strain some tank water through a paper towel into a jar, cover, and shake. Leave it in the light for a few hours, and see what it does. Dinos will form strings. Hopefully it's cyano, because cyano is relatively easy to deal with and dinos are nasty. 

 

Check your parameters. You want a minimum of 0.03ppm phosphates, and 5-20ppm nitrates. Above that, you might have cyano. Below that, you're tempting dinos. Also, make sure your water starts at or near 0 TDS when it comes out of the RODI filter.

[Cubeguy11]

Ok so I am unable to test for phosphates right now but my nitrates are nearly 0. Also I use distilled water, does that affect anything? 

[Tired]

Distilled water should be fine also. Definitely do that test for dinos, pick yourself up a good phosphate test kit (not API!), and make sure your livestock is all getting plenty of food to help keep nutrients up.

[Cubeguy11]

Ok so now it’s been a few hours, the water that I left under the light has nothing visible in it. What does that mean?

[fenderchamp]

let's see some pictures of the rest of the tank please?

 

 

overheard "He's a lot of fun until he's not"

[Cubeguy11]

Here you go, you’ll notice I have a pair of clownfish a Kenya tree, a favia, and a few snails, all of which are doing quite well.

[OfficeReefer]

@Cubeguy11 This is cyanobacteria. It's not an algae at all

 

Try doing a 24 blackout period and readjust your lighting to 33%. I presume this is only about 20w lighting but you'll probably want lower lighting and to feed your corals from time to time to supplement. You'll also want to do 30% water change after the blackout. How long have you had this tank?

[OfficeReefer]

@CubeGuy Also, you might not want to use that space for your capnella or kenya tree. This stuff will spread rapidly and all over your aquascape leaving little room for other corals. You might wish to put this to the back corner and not touching your main rock work and switch with that green LPS coral (maybe) but not higher or center of the light since you'll be dimming it and want more par rating.

 

Do know that not all soft corals can be added to LPS, NPS and SPS tanks without concern. Some can be toxic to others, especially as they grow larger.

[Tired]

Figure out your water parameters, and add some cerith or other snails to stir the sand and eat the cyano. Cyano blooms are relatively common in new tanks. If you manage it with appropriate parameters and cleanup crew, and remove it during water changes (but not excess water changes!), it'll go away eventually. Do test your distilled water to make sure it's 0 TDS, just in case it's getting contaminated somewhere. 

[Cubeguy11]

Ok good to know, I will post I go after the water change and blackout.

[Cubeguy11]

Also I have had this tank for about 3 months.

[OfficeReefer]

@Cubeguy11 thanks for the update. This age is the potential ugly phase, which could last for a month or up to six or so as the tank gets dialed in more and biodiversity takes hold. I do believe @Tired is on to to something with testing your water source (with your tools/kit as well as with a water quality report). The cerith snails are useful for turning over the sand and keeping detritus buildup at bay. It's important to test your water regularly and at source for the following

 

1. Temp (76-80F)
2. pH (don't chase it, just try to keep it stable near 8.2-8.4 range)
3. Nitrates (recommend no more than 3ppm, otherwise do a water change and dose vinegar or NoPOx)
4. Phosphates (preferably less than 1ppm, if more you'll probably need to dose the same)
5. Alkalinity (you'll want to test for this very regularly and keep it towards 8.8-9 to avoid pH swings)
6. Calcium (420-440 ppm is recommended)
7. Magnesium (1280-1340 ppm is ideal and typically should be tested when you suspect alkalinity and pH swings)

There are plenty of other things to test for but I know I wouldn't look for them at this stage. Focus on good flow too, maybe a small powerhead and ensure you keep any filter media clean. This is a known source of nitrates and an easy one to stay on top off. Good luck with your tank!

[Cubeguy11]

That you @OfficeReefer it will be a few days until my next update as I ordered the phosphate and TDS kits online so it will take a few days to get here, I will also check out cerith snails and will probably get a few for my tank.

[Tired]

I'd mostly agree with those stats, but trying to have <3ppm nitrates in a new tank seems like a good way to wind up with 0 nitrates, and I can't think of any corals that are appropriate for a new tank and would demand nitrates that low. Keeping nutrients lower can help against pest algae, but it can also wind up hindering beneficial algae and lengthening the ugly phase. Better to let the algae run semi-wild than to stretch things out, I'd think.

 

I would personally suggest more like 5-10ppm nitrates. Though, really, you just need some. Not 0, not a ton. 

[MinnFish]

@Tired. Good advice. I would like to add biodiversity is key. You need to have a balance, but you want the good to out compete the bad. Everything in your tank is competing for their share of the tank space. It's an ongoing and endless battle both in our tank and the ocean. Not only are you in need of snails, but pods, micro algae, worms, good healthy bacteria, etc. You need a military in your arsenal, LOL. Attacks will come from land, sea and air. Army, Navy, Marine, Air Force and don't forget the Coast Guard. And always keep you a reserve force.  So, yes too little phosphate or nitrate can be a problem. It's all about balance. Sometimes it takes months or years to strike that balance. Until, then it's that blind date. You don't want to talk about. He or she, is only pretty after the lights goes off. LOL. Remember never chase numbers, what works for me. Might not work for you. Example, some of our members only water change once a month or more. And have some of the most beautiful tanks. Some can't go a week without a change. Some can use water from the ocean, someone a mile away can't. It will be that special girl or guy; it just has to grow up.

[OfficeReefer]

13 hours ago, Tired said:

I'd mostly agree with those stats, but trying to have <3ppm nitrates in a new tank seems like a good way to wind up with 0 nitrates, and I can't think of any corals that are appropriate for a new tank and would demand nitrates that low. Keeping nutrients lower can help against pest algae, but it can also wind up hindering beneficial algae and lengthening the ugly phase. Better to let the algae run semi-wild than to stretch things out, I'd think.

 

I would personally suggest more like 5-10ppm nitrates. Though, really, you just need some. Not 0, not a ton. 

Understood. I shared the 3ppm as it was on the RS Nitrate Pro kit I was looking at earlier and the color compare wheel it comes with only goes to 2 or 4ppm, which you don't want. I find that by this time, you've already got a nitrate problem. Take the advice or leave it but you'll find elevated nitrates invites unwanted problems. I'm not advocating for removing all of them but do keep them in check.

[Cubeguy11]

Sorry it has taken so long to respond but I can now say that after a blackout, lots of gravel vacuuming and some annoyed nassarius snails I can finally say that I think the Cyanobacteria is gone. As for TDS I got 1ppm after testing my water although I’m not sure how correct that is as I did pour the water into a cup to do the test so I might try and repeat it a few times just to make sure is wasn’t residue in the cup. I ordered a phosphate test online and it hasn’t arrived yet but it should by the end of the week. One thing I noticed though were these little bits of green stuff on my rocks here and there, what do they mean?

 

edit my light isn’t actually very blue, it just shows up like that in pictures for some reason.

 

images:

 

[Tired]

That would be green algae growing on your rocks. That's a good thing- it means the tank's maturity is advancing. 

[Cubeguy11]

16 hours ago, Tired said:

That would be green algae growing on your rocks. That's a good thing- it means the tank's maturity is advancing. 

Alright good, thanks for your help with getting this whole thing under control!

[Cubeguy11]

Actually wait (sorry I’m asking so much stuff but I really want to make sure that this is over) I’m now seeing some stringy stuff on the glass of my tank. Is it a cause for concern? Should I do something or will it go away on its own?

[Tired]

Probably the start of hair algae on the glass. Again, normal- new tanks get all sorts of algae on everything for awhile. You can wipe it away so it doesn't obstruct your view. If any long, thick tufts of it develop on the rocks, pull those out by hand, as snails can't eat it once it gets very long. 

[Reefkid88]

First I would work on biodiversity. Microbacter7 from Brightwell Aquatics,get some pods to get poo and waste. Possibly phyto to help keep the pods fat and happy,get a good sand cleaning and poo eating clean up crew. 

 

 Then,focus on getting and keep your parameters stable. Instability is newer tanks what hurts the most. 

 

 Don't chase parameters either. If you can get them within reasonable range,then just keep them within range. 

 

 There are hundreds of threads on this forum I think you would benefit from reading to further your knowledge on biodiversity and stability of a tank as well as all the types of algae and problems that newer tanks go thru. 

[Cubeguy11]

31 minutes ago, Reefkid88 said:

First I would work on biodiversity. Microbacter7 from Brightwell Aquatics,get some pods to get poo and waste. Possibly phyto to help keep the pods fat and happy,get a good sand cleaning and poo eating clean up crew. 

Ok so starting from the beginning, as far as cleanup crew goes I currently have 2 turbo snails and 3 nassarius snails. As well as getting pods and phyto would you recommend anything else to complete the cleanup crew?

[Reefkid88]

So what I would do is go to @johnmaloney website,reefcleaners. Go thru all of his clean up crew listings and read the description of everything and get what you need to have a diverse CUC. I suggest a little of everything honestly.