Algae For dummies

Hello all
firstly let me say what a great and helpful site this is.
Could someone please do a algae for dummies.
EG: Does a new/ transfered tank have an algae cycle it has to go through.
EG: starts with
1)Brown algae /diatoms (for how long and how intense)
2)Green algae (does brown turn green or is it overgrown by green)
how many diferent types of green bright / Hair
3)Red algae (Does it allways follow green or can it come at any time)
does it allway turn to slime algae.
Causes = is it allways blamed on nitrates and phosphates.
All tanks go through the diatom alge stage (Could someone explane this in depth a little)
I recon someone could answer these and more in one good thread or point us dummies in the right direction.
thanks all

 

Good question! Add me to the list of dummies who would like more insight into this.

 

There's not actually an easy answer so I don't know if I can make it simple. Let's see if I can explain the initial cycle a little bit and then people can ask questions. Hopefully, by the end it will make sense.

What is the cause of the initial algae cycle Typically, people put live rock in that is not fully cured. There are algaes/sponges/worms etc. that die and rot during this process producing Ammonia. The Ammonia Oxidizing bacteria will go through a population explosion. They need a few things including Ammonia, Carbon, phosphates, and living space. Now they have them all. Even if you filled the tank with RO/DI water that is 100% phosphate free, there's still plenty of phosphates as phosphates naturally adsorb to CaCO3 which is what your LR is made of. A bacterium doesn't have a mouth so it utilizes enzymes to literally make a soup and they are able to liberate the adsorbed phosphates right off of the LR or LS.

The end product of this population explosion is Nitrites and a lot of phosphates as the Ammonia Oxidizing bacteria start starving to death. The phosphates were originally chemically bound to the CaCO3 and not bio-available but now they are.....but not for long. Now Nitrite Oxidizing bacteria are going through a population explosion and are grabbing the phosphates like white on rice. Some of the phosphates might have been nabbed by algaes but not too much because bacteria are more efficient. The Nitrites will slowly go down and the end result will be Nitrates and a lot of bio-available phosphates as the Nitrite Oxidizing bacteria die off.

So what are you left with after the initial cycle? Quick answer is Nitrates and phosphates....BOTH OF WHICH ARE ALGAE FOOD. If you have algae spores in your tank, you're going to get algae.

Brown diatom algae occurs when there are silicates present in the water or in the pore space of the LR. Diatoms grow, utilize all of the silicates and disappear if your top-off water or water change water is free of silicates. Additionally, many people will grow Scypha sponges that will also aborb Silica in your overflows, sumps, etc. Diatoms don't turn to green algae, it is usually just starved out by more efficient critters like sponges or starved out due to lack of Silica added to the tank.

There are MANY forms of green algae....I don't know how many in total.

Red algae (I'll assume you are talking about cyanobacteria vs Rhodophyta) can grow anytime there's phosphates, nitrates, and light.

Not all tanks go through a diatom stage. I just set up a new mantis tank about 3 weeks ago with 100% pure RO/DI water, rock that didn't have Silica in it, etc.

 

Great post Curtis. 8)
What kind of rock did you use in your Mantis tank?

 

Many people have a moral issue with how I treat my rock. Let's leave it at, it didn't have any silicates nor die-off.

 

Ok.
What is your take on silicate pads?

 

They are awesome for the initial cycle if you are using RO/DI water as well. If you don't have access to RO/DI water, I prefer Rowaphos, Phosban, and other Iron based phosphate removers that also remove Silicates.

 

Good to know, thanks.
I used a phosban reactor for a while and found that you really have to rinse that stuff or else your tank starts looking like red ale. I started switching out floss on the output to reduce the red and that helped but got tired of the whole thing eventually.

I could see using it on a 'as-needed' basis if you are diligent about testing for phosphates.

 

I talked with a Rowaphos rep a few years ago when their instruction manual said, "Do NOT rinse". About the same time this happened, phosban came out with their reactor and people started using Rowaphos in it. The rep told me that if you are using it in a reactor, make sure you run it into a bucket until the water is 100% clear. Their "Do not rinse" instruction assumed you were going to throw the bag in your sump.

Likewise, I spoke with a Phosban rep and they said that you have to be careful at how much water pressure you use because their product is easily friable and can leak into the tank.

 

Ah that rings a big bell. I recall doing this. I still felt the need to use floss even after adjusting the flow rate per instructions.

Anyway, back to algae - I bet your post will help them. Let's see where they go from here.