Green Algae?

lickyricky · Aug 2, 2012

So my tank has been up an running for exactly one month now. Just recently, I started seeing green algae form on the very tops of the live rock closes to the lights. Well, this morning, it seems to have covered the entire top part of all the rock! is this normal? Its a 30 gallon and I have 10 snails. Please help

ritter6788 · Aug 2, 2012

It is a normal part of the cycle. If it doesn't do away with good water parameters you may have an issue. What are you using for source water?

lickyricky · Aug 2, 2012

ritter6788 said:
It is a normal part of the cycle. If it doesn't do away with good water parameters you may have an issue. What are you using for source water?

pre mixed Salt Water from the LFS

ritter6788 · Aug 2, 2012

lickyricky said:
pre mixed Salt Water from the LFS

Depending on your LFS you may want to test it for phosphates with a low range test like the Hanna Checker. I wouldn't put a drop of water from our LFS in my tank but not all LFS are as bad as ours here. I'm not putting down your LFS either but it's common for many not to change RO/DI filters or membranes regularly. Phosphates in your source water will cause an increase in algae growth.

lickyricky · Aug 2, 2012

do you think that I need more snails?

ritter6788 · Aug 2, 2012

lickyricky said:
do you think that I need more snails?

No. Your tank is either too young and the algae will pass or you need to find out the source of what's fueling the algae. Either overfeeding, bad source water, lack of nutrient export. Are you running a skimmer?

lickyricky · Aug 2, 2012

ritter6788 said:
No. Your tank is either too young and the algae will pass or you need to find out the source of what's fueling the algae. Either overfeeding, bad source water, lack of nutrient export. Are you running a skimmer?

yes, I am running the rather small one for the Biocube and it seems to be removing some yucky junk. I feed my 3 fish a small portion of frozen food in the morning and 4-8 very small pellets in the evening (although the clown is a pig and eats most of those). The water from my LFS is always perfect when I test it.