SW algea ID

Tommy Gun · 11-09-2006, 07:56 PM

Hey everyone!

So, I understand that my SW tank is working its way through the various stages of algea and while i do periodically clean off the front and side glass of my tank of algea, I do not normally touch the back of the tank. For a long time, I had 'hair algea' of a dark green color, but this has subsided into a form of algea that is not 'hairy' but more smooth looking and in brighter green and purple colors. There are also a BUNCH of bubbles on the back of my tank and I am not sure that this is bubble algea or just air that has gotten trapped by the algea (I had some air bubble issues with my last couple of water changes due to my skimmer...). Here is a pic of the bubbles:

As you can see, the algea looks more like a topographical map rather than hair algea and there are bubbles all over. I do not have bubbles on ANY other surface other than the back glass on the tank (painted black). I think the colors are sort of cool for now, but I am leery to 'pop' the bubbles in case this leads to a big outbreak of algea as I have read can happen in some posts and replies by others on this site.

I also have this really bright green algea growing on the front and sides of my tank's glass. This algea looks exactly like it is a grass stain and while it is hard to get a good pic, here is one anyways:

This algea is a bit harder to clean off, but the streaks through it are actually more from my hermit crabs rather than from me trying to clean it off with a scraping blade. I do not know if this is because the algea is thick enough or if a hermit crab can just naturally climb glass, but I have found my larger hermit crab sitting about three quarters of the way up the glass a lot lately.

So, my question is am I having a problem with this algea or is this a natural type thing that will pass or occur without me having to worry about it?

gm333 · 11-09-2006, 10:53 PM

Ithought it was a green variety of coralline, I have that in my tank as well, I just scrape it off the sides and front and let the snails take care of the back. there is some on my overflow, but it has not taken over my tank.

Tommy Gun · 11-09-2006, 11:05 PM

Thanks for the input gm!

I also have this algea much more pronounced near my overflow and actually the higher I look at the back of the tank, the more red/purple the algea gets so I am assuming that it likes light and wants to stay closer to it.

Do you think I should or could scrape off those bubbles from the back of the tank? That is the part that is most distracting and bothersome to me right now.

gm333 · 11-09-2006, 11:18 PM

I know about the bubbles, let my water get too low the other day and the pump reminded me not to forget again all the hair algae in my tank has bubbles in it(looks awful) Its up to you whether to leave it or not, I use to just scrape it off, now that I have a ton of snails they keep it down for me.

FreshyFresh86 · 11-10-2006, 02:48 AM

are your bubbles purple/blueish color?

kilsbypearl · 11-21-2006, 05:48 PM

Hey well i am glad you put this thread on...
I was just about to do the same...We have had hair algea for a bit now and the bubbles on the back were just air bubbles...we also had a problem with green algea! You will feel the difference if the bubbles are green algea bubbles they will feel hard and are not too delicate and you will notice they will grow. I think you just have air bubbles attached to the hair algea.
And we also had that bright limish green algea on the glass...in the front and on the sides for a while too...It seemed very hard to scrap off. I think there is a special sponge you can purchase at a store but we kept using our regular magnetic cleaner.....and finally we didn't have a problem with it. This is about a week maybe two...
BUT now we have this horrible brown algea growing and I mean its horrible, all over and looks slimmy, we have done a water change a few times etc. not sure what happened?????
We don't mind hair algea... I think we are planning on getting a turbo snail for that sorta thing...But I am lost on that as well. I wish we had our digital camera so I could down load a picture... it was stolen a little while back

So let me know on any updates if that is part of the cycle or what? we have had our tank for over a year and a bit now, so I will keep watching for new posts!
thanks!

Tommy Gun · 11-21-2006, 11:06 PM

The bubbles in my algea are more clear than anything when I look at them from the side of the tank, however they do appear to be purple if I am looking at them from the front of the tank. I think that is just the bubbles picking up the color of the algea behind it which is a very deep purple (I actually am starting to like it now!)

I was told, and this may have come from someone on this site, that the bubbles are more from the algea letting oxygen out and it getting trapped. I have popped some of the bubbles and they return eventually, but only on the glass at the back of my tank.

I think the brown algea could be very likely cynobacteria, but that is pure speculation on my part, but based upon what I have seen of the slimey junk in a FW tank. My algea is purple, like I said, and it does not seem to be moving towads my rock or substrate but sticking to only the back glass (it is a painted black background) and nothing else. The reason I was slightly worried was because the fish that are algea eaters (angels) do not touch the stuff at all but stick to a patch of similar algea that is green in the extreme top of the tank in the back. I havent scraped any off as of yet and I am waiting for my water change to do it so I can better control how much gets loose into the water.

Other than that, I decided not to scrape any of the lime green algea, like kilsbypearl describes, from one side of my tank. It is actually not growing on any other area of my tank and is not covering any bigger of an area on that one side of the glass. I think that algea was more of a phase type thing than anything else. It is hard to scrape off and I could only remove it with a scraper blade tool and it was always quick to start floating in the water. None of my magnets had much affect on it at all.

I did do a complete water test tonight and my levels looked like this:

Ammonia - 0 without even a change in color of the water in the tube

NitrItes - 0 again without a change in color other than the slight pinkish hue that the chemicals turn it instantly

NitrAtes - Between 10 and 20 ppm...keeping in mind that my next water change is about two days late

Ph - 8.3 to 8.5 (basically the same as usual)

Phosphates - 1.0 to 2.5 which is the highest I have seen so far but it is important to know that I am currently without all but one tiny hermit crab (scarlet reef hermit) and so any food that hits the bottom is usually there to stay until I clean it out. I am worried about this PO4 number because of the algea growth I have but I am not sure how to reduce it other than getting some hermits and feeding less. I was told the other day that my live sand is going to add phosphates to the water once it is fully cured, which I do not know why that would be or if it is even true at all.

kilsbypearl · 11-22-2006, 01:32 AM

I went and looked this one up and got some suggestions about some of your issues...similar to mine!

Green hair algea needs light, nitrates and phosphates to live. This can be introduced by some sea salts and tap water. As well as at the end of the nitrogen cycling process...some say carbon aids it and some say it fights it!
They suggest to:

1 Test your water...phosphates will probably be above 0.5mg/L ( so it doesn't surprise me that yours were high, I haven't checked mine yet so mine should be about there as well)

2 Buy RO or RO/DI water only for water changes...which I am sure would get expensive lol

3 Purchase a Nitate sponge because it will reduce nitrates and some phosphates

4 You could try mangroves...but they need space above the tank? So not sure if thats something very practical?

5 Blue Spotted Red leg Hermit crabs are to be the best for this problem, there was nothing but raves about this guy!

6 Turbo snails, Trochus, Astraea snails which also help with the brown algea!

7 Buy a phosphate Remover...not sure how that chemical will effect the tank?

8 A Bristle Star, Bristle worms and cucumbers will help eat excess nutrients in the tank which will also help!

Well thats all their suggestions hope that helps! i know it gave me some good tips to start thinking about.

Tommy Gun · 11-22-2006, 07:31 PM

Thanks for that info Kilsbypearl!

I am using all RO water and it is really not as expensive as you may think to buy your own RO filtration unit for your house. Mine cost just over $125 and is rated at 25 gallons per day, which it does not do because of the pressure and other factors of my house's water sytem. It does get very close to it though and I can make 30 gallons in about a day and a half, which fills the garbage can that I have set up to hold the water. The only costly thing really is if you have to pay for your own city water, like I do, but two water changes a month only cost me about $15 more a month than I was using before.

I also have just done my first water change using a new salt. I was using Kent's Sea Salt, but I am now using Instant Ocean Reef Crystals. I dont know if you had been following some of my first posts to this site, but I was having troubles with my skimmer making too many micro bubbles for about two days after a water change. I completed this water change about an hour ago with the new salt and my skimmer is on and I am not getting the millions of bubbles like I had before. I am hoping that this was just a problem with the salt I was using before. This new salt also has A LOT less phosphates in it. Well, I should prefice that statement by saying that I made two five gallon pails of saltwater, using RO water and tested them for Ph, nitrates, and phosphates to compare them. The new Instant Ocean Reef Salts are much lower in the phosphates and nitrates and the Ph was the same with both. I do not know if that is an accurate test system or not, but it did build my confidence in my decision to make the switch.

I am, and basically have been since I joined this site and read some of the posts by everyone here, very much more in favor of not using any chemicals to improve my water quality like a phosphate or nitrate treatment. I am usually opposed to putting in any chemicals to be honest, but I am going to ask tonight about some other chemicals that may help me improve my system's ability to grow corals and coraline algea like the purple up product I hear about often. Right now though, I am not using any sort of mechanical filter BUT I am really starting to think about getting one. I scraped off a BUNCH of the algea on the back of my tank and the problem now is obviously that I have no affective way to get the smaller particles of floating algea out of the tank. A filter may help me out with that as well as give me a way to incorporate some activated charcoal into my system. I really think that carbon filters are a good thing, but the charcoal does not have a long life and needs to be changed regularly.

kilsbypearl · 11-23-2006, 07:31 PM

Hello

Yes, they did also mention if your protein skimmer isn't working it could also be influencing everything as well as creating small bubbles...so that makes sense.
I also agree with you on chemical treatments...I myself am not a fan of it either. I haven't been on the forum long enough to know your thoughts on that issue, sorry...I would not have suggested it

I will try to be a little more up and up on those things next time

But yeah, we just bought some astrea snails ( 10 @ $3.00 each) and some algea hermit crabs...they were about $2.00 each and we bought about five of them. that should do the trick! We also wanted to add a larger fish to our tank and so we decided to go with the Fox Face. He also eats green hair algea...similar a lot in the ways of yellow Tangs which I love.
on a good note

The pet store we normally deal with which have been doing salt water for years and years...they actually specialize in basically only salt water says that it is a good sign for all these algeas...it means the tank is healthy and going through the normal process's etc.
Its just a matter of being on top of it!