green algae?

[dzeadow]

I would post a pic of this but my photobucket account is acting screwy right now. But my tank finished its cycle about 10 days ago.. and I have green algae growing on some rocks. It's not hair algae mind you, just some stuff coating the entire rock on one rock, and lightly covering another. I have a nova extreme t5 4x24 on my 45g cube. I was wondering since people didn't think very highly of this fixture if the bulbs are what causing this or something in the water.. or just normal post cycle stuff? My readings are all 0 as well as phosphates. I've been doing 5g water changes just about every other day thinking this may help, but it's still there. Do I need to add more CUC? TIA

[Billybeau1]

Your tank is awful young to be developing green microalgae. Where did you get the rock from ?

[bertoni]

Moved to New to the Hobby for more views.

Is this a film that breaks up easily, or does it have more structure?

[uscharalph]

You're going to go through several stages of algae. Just make sure you use RO for top-off and RO based for water changes.

[dzeadow]

The rock was lace rock I bought from Acrylic Tank Manufacturers in Las Vegas when I was down there. They had it in their tanks and it looked fine. Plus I bought about 5 or so lbs of LR from Premium Aquatics. The algae itself doesn't come off just by scraping it with my fingernail and doesn't really feel "slimy" to the touch. I use RO/DI water from a 75gpd unit I bought from PurelyH2O.

[dzeadow]

Maybe this will help. photobuck finally got on track this morning:

http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n43/dzeadow/algae.jpg

[dzeadow]

bump

[dzeadow]

bump.. any help?

[Nanemene]

I've got algae of a similar color on my back glass. It hasn't seemed to harm anything at all, and it's been there for months. It's mixed in with coraline. I'd not worry unless it spreads fast and won't stop.

[bertoni]

That looks like green coralline to me. Is it rock-like? Does a chunk fizz in vinegar?

[dzeadow]

does green coralline take only a few days to cover a rock? Cuz that's all the time it took.. I actually turned the rock over thinking it was nuisance algae (probably not a good idea) and then it just took over on that side.. really weird. I don't have any vinegar to test it with...

[bertoni]

Well, if it's rock-like, it's probably coralline. I don't think I'd worry, in any case. Most tanks have algal blooms.

[jmarti705]

well if your cycling then i wouldnt would look at the water quality, i dont think your suppose to have an algae bloom during cycling

[demonsp]

You say 10 days ago? Then how long was total cycle ? And this just appeared and wasnt on whene you purchased?
Also your water readings would help ALOT along with the water source ?

[dzeadow]

As said earlier, all readings are 0. The rock was a beige color when purchased now green. The water source is RO/DI water from a 75 gpd unit purchased from PurelyH2O. Sounds like most of my readings would be 0 though since the algae would be using it all? Maybe I'm just over feeding or need to put a phosguard filter or something on.. I'll be traveling to a nearby city this weekend and picking up some more CUC since mine's pretty limited for the size tank. The snails and crabs I do have are rotating by this rock constantly eating the green stuff.. they just don't put a dent in it.

[dzeadow]

And the cycle took about 4 weeks. I started it in a rubbermaid container w/ the live rock and the lace rock, and after I got the tank setup and moved it in there to finish the cycle.