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Algae and Nitrates

R

RFD4

How does the Nitrate level affect algae- I have algae build up daily on my tank I don't know why? My Nitrate are fluctuating between 5ppm and 40 ppm- I am doing water changes weekly- rest of parms are fine- I have a CUC 10 crabs and 10 snails nassarius. I also have a starry blenny which I thought grazed on Algae- what am I missing?

34 G solana- 2 months old but LR and LS where both cycled for 10 months-

Live stock

Fish

Bangai and PJ cardinal- pair of Clowns- Starry Blenny and Yellow gobie

Coral
RBTA
Dendro
Superman Monti
Candy Cane
Red Macro
Assorted zoos about 8 frags
2 Acan- both 5 heads
Ric
Sm torch and Frog spawn


Filter

LR, LS supplement Chempure

Lighting
blue LEd 24/ 7 150W MH 6 hours per day

think I got everything
 
redfishbluefish

redfishbluefish

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
What are you doing for a water source....RO/DI?

What are you doing for filtration?...if you tell me canister filter....BINGO!
 
R

RFD4

Tap for water source - Solana is AIO- three chambers - skimmer- chemipure- return pump- sand bed is about 3"
 
S

SWITCH420

more then likely its the tap water. i use tap for the last 2 years but in the last few weeks i have been getting bad outbreaks in my smaller tanks.my 90 with the turf scrubber is doing great. also i might finally get a ro/di but they are so slow and wasteful have to see..
 
9supratt4

9supratt4

The relationship between Nitrates and algae, is that algae feeds off of your nitrates and phosphates. To rid yourself on algae, you need to rid yourself of nitrates and phosphates. Tap water can contain N&P, as well as a lot of other minerals and chemicals that you don't want.
 
R

reseter5

Guest
Oh yes. Tap water. The enemy. So easy to use yet full of garbage. It was my downfall till I got my rodi. Only way to go. Downside is you need to do as big of a water change as possible. 90 to 100 %. To get the levels down to tolerable levels. I am sure your phosphates are thru the roof with the tap water. At least that's what's fueled my saltwater sod farm
 
SirFragalot

SirFragalot

reseter5 said:
Oh yes. Tap water. The enemy. So easy to use yet full of garbage. It was my downfall till I got my rodi. Only way to go. Downside is you need to do as big of a water change as possible. 90 to 100 %. To get the levels down to tolerable levels. I am sure your phosphates are thru the roof with the tap water. At least that's what's fueled my saltwater sod farm
Click to expand...

;D nice
 
R

RFD4

Thanks all- I am doing the RO just waiting for a part for my system- my Phosphates are at 5ppm and Nitrate at 40 ppm- I am using a MH with LEd on the 34G and have an LED fixture coming on Saturday for my 14G- once the RO is done all I need is an ATO an then I can start to look at the wonderful world of I want a new tank
 
JRWOHLER

JRWOHLER

I will also point out that you have 6 fish in a 34G tank.
If that is not overstocked it is close and you have to feed more then your biological filters can probably handle. That plus tap water makes a murky situation.

Make sure you stir up your tank before water changes to get out as much crap as possible.
More water changes as percentage the better...to remove as much of the organics as you can.
Plus using a turkey baster should help get rid of the organics in the rocks.

With that bio load you likely will to stay aggressive or fall behind.
 
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