sen5241b June 8, 2011 Share June 8, 2011 How can I have Red and Green cyano growing all over my 20G long tank but phosphates and nitrates test for zero? It has 2 clowns, 1 tail spot blenny, a small green clown goby and a shrimp. This tank is 2 years old and never had trate problems until a few months ago they started and then got worse and worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbashaw June 8, 2011 Share June 8, 2011 Here's a paragraph from an article I read recently.... "One final interesting note is that because slime algae consume nitrates, often when aquarists perform nitrate tests, the readings come up as normal. Don't be deceived. If you were to remove the algae temporarily before putting into action any of the above solutions, in all likelihood you will see a rise in the nitrate levels in the aquarium. It's like a Catch 22. The nitrates have actually been there all along, but unreadable as the algae is feeding on it, therefore the nitrates appear to be in check. This applies to many other forms of algae as well!" The full article is here. http://saltaquarium.about.com/od/diatomandslimemicroalgae/a/redslimealgae_2.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocko918 June 8, 2011 Share June 8, 2011 (edited) How old are your bulbs? Edited June 8, 2011 by rocko918 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sen5241b June 8, 2011 Author Share June 8, 2011 How old are your bulbs? Very old. I keep hearing that old bulbs alone can cause alage growth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocko918 June 8, 2011 Share June 8, 2011 (edited) Very old. I keep hearing that old bulbs alone can cause alage growth. Yes they can. I would replace your bulbs. Edited June 8, 2011 by rocko918 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason the filter freak June 8, 2011 Share June 8, 2011 the typical easy fixes are: install or increase fuge capacity increase or redirect flow feed tank less often, fish except the most demanding eaters only need to be fed every other day at most in an established tank change out old bulbs increase cleaner crew even if certian hermits will or won't eat slim algae and cyano, their walking across the rocks will dislodge algae putting it into the water column allowing for mechincal filtration to remove it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treesprite June 9, 2011 Share June 9, 2011 Lights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefoholic June 9, 2011 Share June 9, 2011 Lights +1 Cut back on feeding +1 Also, I would try to clean it by hand as much as possible... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k June 9, 2011 Share June 9, 2011 cyano bacteria have the ability to live on sulfur when there is a lack of NO3 and PO4. They're very resilient. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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