algae growth on my zoa and star polyps

[grdpder]

Hi -

I have some green algae growth on my zoa and green star polyps.

I attached several pics (not the greatest quality) and hope someone can help. If you see the zoa, I hope you can spot the green sort of fuzzy growth on the bottom.

What is it? What can caused it? What can I do to stop/kill it?

Also, there is a small growth on my polyps. As you can see on the bottom of the rock, it's hard to see it, but, its growth sort of cover over the bottom and the polyps there do not come out. I just noticed this yesterday.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. By the way, last night, I made a 40% water change...

Thanks in advance.

 

[PRC]

You need to give us a rundown of all your equipment (lights, powerheads, etc) and water paramaters before we could make suggestions as to what is causing the algae.

As far as the pictures, my eyes are just too old to see it.

 

[grdpder]

You need to give us a rundown of all your equipment (lights, powerheads, etc) and water paramaters before we could make suggestions as to what is causing the algae.

As far as the pictures, my eyes are just too old to see it.

Here are my water parameters using the a dip stick test water kit. I just made a water 40% water change last night.

Nitrate - 40
Nitrite - 0
Alkalinity - 300
PH - 8.4
Chlorine - 0
Salinity - 1.024
Temperature - 76

Any help and thoughts would be great.

Thanks in advance.

 

[MushroomXombies]

Your nitrates are high after a 40% change.

1. What do you have for live stock and how much and how often do you feed
2. What do you use for filtration? do you have a skimmer?
3. Are you using RO water?

 

[dcantucson]

I don't know, but to me that algae doesn't look bad at all.

 

[grdpder]

Your nitrates are high after a 40% change.

1. What do you have for live stock and how much and how often do you feed
2. What do you use for filtration? do you have a skimmer?
3. Are you using RO water?

1. I have about 60 lbs fiji live rocks and feed them twice a day. Now, I do sometimes
have a tendency to feed them a bit more than they need. A bad habit that I need to
correct.
2. I have a built in filter and do not use a skimmer.
3. I am using tap water and use Instant Ocean sea salt to mix. I do a 30% water
change every two weeks.

I did go to my LFS and the guy told me he thinks I might have too much phosphates. I bought the Chemi-Pure Filter Nylon bag and placed it into my filter. Let's see if it does the job.

 

[grdpder]

I don't know, but to me that algae doesn't look bad at all.

Thanks...I just don't want to see the algae overtake my polyps and zoa...

I will test my water parameters again in a bit.

 

[ErinCahir]

You should be using RODI water... not tap water.

And maybe I missed it but do you have fish? I think that's what mushroom meant by livestock.

 

[grdpder]

You should be using RODI water... not tap water.

And maybe I missed it but do you have fish? I think that's what mushroom meant by livestock.

Oops, I miss read it...yes, you are right, livestock instead of live rock...lol
That's what I get for rushing all day...:lol:

1 - orange-spotted goby
1 - firefly goby
1 - bicolor blenny
1 - green chromis
4 - peppermint shrimp
1 - color banded shrimp
1 - cleaner shrimp
5 - red leg hermit crab
1 - blue leg hermit crab

 

[MushroomXombies]

I would cut back on the feeding. I feed my fish every other day.

Like Erin said, start using RO or distilled. Tap is full of nasty stuff.

Get yourself a skimmer. Its the best piece of filtration you can have (in my opinion)

As soon as you start exporting waste as fast as you import it, you will see your Nitrates drop. You should see a huge improvement just by adjusting your feeding schedule and using better water.

 

[grdpder]

I would cut back on the feeding. I feed my fish every other day.

Like Erin said, start using RO or distilled. Tap is full of nasty stuff.

Get yourself a skimmer. Its the best piece of filtration you can have (in my opinion)

As soon as you start exporting waste as fast as you import it, you will see your Nitrates drop. You should see a huge improvement just by adjusting your feeding schedule and using better water.

yes, i will try your recommendation about feeding every other day.

as far as my tap water, i do have a filtration system underneath my sink...so i think i am good on that.

the way my tank is set up, i can't add a skimmer onto it, unless i do some mods. i have a jebo 375 tank and the way it is made, i can't simply add one. i knew that when i purchased the tank. i thought doing my bi-weekly water changes would be fine. of course, i still can add one, but only after i take out the filtration system and buy a new external filter (bio wheel) or doing some mods to the tank.

thanks for your help...yes that's to everyone that gave their 2 cents.

really am enjoying my tank immensely.

 

[Bifferwine]

Your nitrates are a bit high, and that will contribute to nitrate growth. Ideally, you want to get them down to below 20. Nitrates above 20 can start to hurt inverts and corals.

It's good that you are using a filtration system for your water. It sounds like you may be overfeeding. I agree with what others have suggested -- cut back on the amount and frequency of feeding. Bump up your water changes in the meantime. You can do them 2 or 3 times a week until you get your nitrates down to a more acceptable level. Good luck, and keep us posted how it goes!

Overall, you don't have a lot of algae, and it's much easier to get control over it before it takes over your whole tank.

 

[grdpder]

Your nitrates are a bit high, and that will contribute to nitrate growth. Ideally, you want to get them down to below 20. Nitrates above 20 can start to hurt inverts and corals.

It's good that you are using a filtration system for your water. It sounds like you may be overfeeding. I agree with what others have suggested -- cut back on the amount and frequency of feeding. Bump up your water changes in the meantime. You can do them 2 or 3 times a week until you get your nitrates down to a more acceptable level. Good luck, and keep us posted how it goes!

Overall, you don't have a lot of algae, and it's much easier to get control over it before it takes over your whole tank.

thanks for your advice. i will do another water change tomorrow. i'm learning from everyone on this forum. water change and cut back on the feeding should do the job...crossing my fingers...

Thanks!

 

[Dana42078]

id def cut back that feeding. I have more in my tank and i skip a day or 2 inbetween feeding them. it keeps my param's good and keeps the fish hungry and active when i do feed. You should see my pep shrimp. When i put ANY food into the tank he goes ape shit. He steals from my corals when i feed those too. My mandarian comes right to the eye dropper for food when its time. Best thing ive learned, KEEP A JOURNAL! Everything you do with your tank should be logged. Just my 2 cents...I may be a newb but im learning.