Red Algae EVERYWHERE!!!

[sstanle4]

Ok we have this red algae EVERYWHERE!!! What does it come from and how do we get rid of it? All of our water parameters good cause we ae cycling to tank right now. Please help us it is getting worse and worse everyday.

 

[Adio800]

To much nutrients

 

[Rutrag]

That is the dreaded cyanobacteria. It's generally due to high nitrates and / or phosphates in your water. Are you using RODI water or tap? Limiting your photoperiod and feeding while increasing circulation will probably help. When you do water changes, suck out as much as possible with your siphon. It's a long hard battle, but it can be won. Some folks have used Chemiclean to kill it successfully (not me), but you really need to determine the source of the problem and eliminate it or it will likely just come back.

 

[sstanle4]

We are using RODI water so I know that there is no phospates in it. Yes our nitrate is high but it has to be to cycle the tank right? Amonia is 0, nitrite is about .5, and nitrate is about 10 or 12.

 

[sstanle4]

and btw we do not have anything in the tank but just a pep shrimp right now. No hermit crabs or clownfish

 

[carey]

How long have you been cycling the tank? What did you use to cycle? If youre at the end of your cycle, which it looks like you are I would wait it out a few more days for the nitrite to drop to 0. If it were my tank, after the cycle I would dose with chemiclean and then about a day later do the massive water change that you do at the completion of the cycle normally and suck up any red that might be left over.

 

[sstanle4]

Well what happend was our tank crashed so we got already cycled water from our LFS and we have had this water in the tank for about a week now

 

[mr_X]

no such thing as cycled water. 99% of bacteria resides on surfaces. if your LFS told you to get some cycled water from them, they are either misinformed or lying. turn off those lights for one thing. you have nothing in the tank that needs light, except the cyanobacteria.
i agree with carey. use the chemiclean and do some large water changes after. leave the lights off until you are ready to add photosynthetic creatures.
how did the tank crash the first time? have you corrected that issue?

 

[sstanle4]

Yes there is cycled water. The water came directly from one of their soft coral tanks. It is doing a mini cycle right now. The first time we had some type of parasite in the water or something that killed everything in the tank. That is when we took all the water out and put the new cycled water from the LFS in it.

 

[mr_X]

no. there is no cycled water. the mini cycle is from the crash, not from some water. you are misinformed.

 

[Feelthereefer]

+1 on the fact that there is no cycled water that can be purchsed if there was why would anyone ever cycle tank lol.. Just slow down and take the advice that is given here results will be good and find a new lfs..

 

[sstanle4]

the water from the crash is no longer in the tank though. we started completely over with this new water. and instead of having to go through the entire process again, they gave us a headstart with some of their water that already had bacteria and stuff in it. which is why our tank is now cycling again. and why our nitrates are high.

 

[melosu58]

I agree that there is no such thing as cycled water. As mentioned above the nitrifying bacteria resides on surfaces. Test your PWC water to make sure you are not adding phosphates and nitrates to your tank. I would siphon out as much of that as you can. We do have a great article about it in our SW articles section.

 

[carey]

You will have to add an ammonia source to get it going. The water alone can't do that. The nitrates that youre getting are from the water, not the bacteria on your rock or other hard surfaces. If you put in fresh salt water now you would be back to 0 nitrates. You want the ammonia to convert to nitrites and THOSE to convert to your very own nitrates.

 

[sstanle4]

You will have to add an ammonia source to get it going. The water alone can't do that. The nitrates that youre getting are from the water, not the bacteria on your rock or other hard surfaces. If you put in fresh salt water now you would be back to 0 nitrates. You want the ammonia to convert to nitrites and THOSE to convert to your very own nitrates.

the ammonia was high. but it has come down and the nitrates and nitrites have risen. now the nitrite is beginning to come down and nitrate is still rising. am i correct in saying this is what is supposed to be happening during a normal cycle?

 

[carey]

I'm not sure how you got high ammonia readings if you used cycled water. lol Nitrates are the end result of the nitrogen cycle. But either way, if you had a ammonia spike and then nitrite spike then yes you are cycling correctly.

 

[sstanle4]

Thank you

 

[David S]

Sounds like you've had a lot of die off from your rock as you seem to be nearing the end of the cycle,if you emptied the water from your tank and added fresh salt water,just to be certain add an ammonia source(fish food will do)and check your readings again,as for the cyano as Mr X has said turn off your lights.I would also keep a close eye on your readings because if you didnt add any ammonia there might be something rotting in you rock which may have been the original problem and killing your fish

 

[sstanle4]

Ok well when we do this treatment of chemiclean do we need to take our pep shrimp out?

 

[carey]

No. It is invert and fish safe. Just follow the directions and it should be gone in about a day or so.