My very green tank. Lighting too strong?? Help please.

[peterhos]

Morning All Have attached 2 pictures. My tank is 10 months old. Started with dry rock. Phosphate 0.12, nitrates 12 to 14. 6 fish, about 15 various snails. 3 shrimp. Everyone is happy and healthy but under only white light the tank looks awfully green to me. Should I tone down the white light or will that make no difference? No hair algae, just a very short layer of turf (??) algae. Zoa frags spreading slowly, not much luck with other corals. Lighting is TMC ilumenair 900+. The PAR map on their site shows large PAR numbers, but I am confused. I am unlikely to get hold of a PAR meter, so do the pictures suggest anything? Many thanks.

 

[Doctorgori]

Actually that stuff doesn’t scare me much, IMO you are FAR from the panic zone

…IMO thats easily CUC material… its when it gets long and fuzzy that become a concern …

My prescription? Take 2 urchins and call me in the morning.

 

[peterhos]

Actually that stuff doesn’t scare me much, IMO you are FAR from the panic zone

…IMO thats easily CUC material… its when it gets long and fuzzy that become a concern …

My prescription? Take 2 urchins and call me in the morning.

Thank you Doctor. I may need a strong drink to help with taking 2 urchins.

 

[Doctorgori]

Thank you Doctor. I may need a strong drink to help with taking 2 urchins.

Ha ha …seriously tho I’d make urchins mandatory for every CUC nothing cleans rocks better and/or is less picky…urchins leave a rock bare, including coraline algae

 

[exnisstech]

Turn on some blue lights and you won't even see it

 

[Doctorgori]

Turn on some blue lights and you won't even see it

Exactly, (thats a good one!)
……
but in the same breath some people believe it “whiter light” that actually causes the algae, and that is misapplied logic… I ran 6500K tanks for years, focus on nutrient/algae control, not light wavelength … sure a white or “blurple” bulb grows green stuff better than blue, but thats not where the issue is….

 

[peterhos]

Turn on some blue lights and you won't even see it

Thank you. The white only was for the photo, but, yes I do run blue and a red and violet channel so we never see a green tank. My problem is not understanding PAR levels in practice. If there is a superhero reading this, the TMC website has a PAR map for the ilumenair 900 + I have. But, are those numbers true/too high/too low. I have been fidgeting with the light levels over the last few weeks … anything obvious strike you?

 

[exnisstech]

Exactly, (thats a good one!)
……
but in the same breath some people believe it “whiter light” that actually causes the algae, and that is misapplied logic… I ran 6500K tanks for years, focus on nutrient/algae control, not light wavelength … sure a white or “blurple” bulb grows green stuff better than blue, but thats not where the issue is….

Just to clarify for the OP the green in my tank is there even today it's just not visible under blues. Sorry if you knew that and I misunderstood.

Just taken using a flashlight but yet when I get home the lights will be on and I won't see it

 

[peterhos]

Just to clarify for the OP the green in my tank is there even today it's just not visible under blues. Sorry if you knew that and I misunderstood.

Just taken using a flashlight but yet when I get home the lights will be on and I won't see it

To be fair, the green looks like a healthy colour, but I want my coralline to get a move on….

 

[Subsea]

Morning All Have attached 2 pictures. My tank is 10 months old. Started with dry rock. Phosphate 0.12, nitrates 12 to 14. 6 fish, about 15 various snails. 3 shrimp. Everyone is happy and healthy but under only white light the tank looks awfully green to me. Should I tone down the white light or will that make no difference? No hair algae, just a very short layer of turf (??) algae. Zoa frags spreading slowly, not much luck with other corals. Lighting is TMC ilumenair 900+. The PAR map on their site shows large PAR numbers, but I am confused. I am unlikely to get hold of a PAR meter, so do the pictures suggest anything? Many thanks.

Your lighting looks fine. If you think your white color is too green then increase blue spectrum.

 

[Nate Chalk]

That's perfect. Eventually it'll be purple with coralline. You are doing well. Keep it up!

 

[exnisstech]

To be fair, the green looks like a healthy colour, but I want my coralline to get a move on….

Understood. This is my first time starting with dry rock barebottom up so I'm happy to have the green invisible under blue light algae as apposed to some of the alternatives that I've dealt with in the past.
Have you seeded for coralline? I'm only about 4 months in and have coralline coming on but I added some frags and snails that had coralline on them.

 

[Doctorgori]

Understood. This is my first time starting with dry rock barebottom up so I'm happy to have the green invisible under blue light algae as apposed to some of the alternatives that I've dealt with in the past.
Have you seeded for coralline? I'm only about 4 months in and have coralline coming on but I added some frags and snails that had coralline on them.

Not taking the OP’s thread sideways, but sorta related is; I’m not quite sure exactly how algae finds its way into tanks, but it surely does…
Coralline might need a ride, but the greens stuff must be air born … what always intrigued me was how saltwater algae's “spores”? finds their way to containers that had nothing more than Instant Ocean with tap…and in places like Ohio 100’s of miles from the ocean

certainly that green stuff in the OP’s tank is of that sort…

 

[bobnicaragua]

I would add some real live rock, along with a bunch of snails. Urchins work, but they’re like mini bulldozers.

 

[peterhos]

Your lighting looks fine. If you think your white color is too green then increase blue spectrum.

Thank you. Will do. That green all looks a bit ‘freshwatery’ for me.

 

[peterhos]

That's perfect. Eventually it'll be purple with coralline. You are doing well. Keep it up!

Thank you. One needs encouragement in this hobby…

 

[peterhos]

I would add some real live rock, along with a bunch of snails. Urchins work, but they’re like mini bulldozers.

Almost impossible to get live rock here. 20 years ago that was easy…

 

[peterhos]

Not taking the OP’s thread sideways, but sorta related is; I’m not quite sure exactly how algae finds its way into tanks, but it surely does…
Coralline might need a ride, but the greens stuff must be air born … what always intrigued me was how saltwater algae's “spores”? finds their way to containers that had nothing more than Instant Ocean with tap…and in places like Ohio 100’s of miles from the ocean

certainly that green stuff in the OP’s tank is of that sort…

Maybe this stuff, and much else in nature, just lies dormant until the magic rains come. The dry rock I started with had been in the store for months, but maybe every frag contains all sorts …

 

[bobnicaragua]

Almost impossible to get live rock here. 20 years ago that was easy…

Yeah, I started my current tank using live rock from tank tear downs that I got at the local fish store. Also had a reefer give me a small piece of his rock and a little substrate to throw in.

 

[Doctorgori]

Thank you. Will do. That green all looks a bit ‘freshwatery’ for me.

I’ve always said this but you can sorta gage a tanks age and health by algae type …. I won’t walk it through but that stuff is a indication that the tank is on track, IMO the “final stage” and “good” stage is when you gotta scrape lil pink specks and lil hard green specks off your glass daily… The pink coralline is a indication your 2 part strategy is on point, that hard green stuff (whatever it is, but it’s similar to the FW type) is a indicator of good water quality (again its flat circular hard green specks)