# Black algee



## Guest (Apr 30, 2004)

i have some on my river rocks and the tops of my plastic plants and other decor. its not too bad, i just rub it off every month or so. i was just wondering why i get it. im using regular flouresant lights from target because my Ps like the dim light. i used to get it with coralife bulbs too. i run them on a timer for 10 hours a day. should i just cut down on the time?

thanks guys


----------



## mori0174 (Mar 31, 2004)

Is the tank in direct sunlight at all? That might have something to do with it.


----------



## Guest (Apr 30, 2004)

It may have to do with the nitrate load in the tank's water, also.


----------



## Guest (Apr 30, 2004)

no the tank is not in any sunlight. i use a wet/dry sump filter on my tank but i clean my bio filtration stuff to keep the nitrates down. i dont have a test kit for nitrates. only ammonia and nitrites...they are always 0 ppm. should i clean my bio material more often to reduce the nitrates?


----------



## Guest (Apr 30, 2004)

piranhadaddy said:


> should i clean my bio material more often to reduce the nitrates?


No, that won't make much of a dent in your level of Nitrates. Nitrate (NO3) is a chemcial dissloved in the water.

Nitrates are the end product of oxidized ammonia (NH3). Nothing actually takes them out of the water except performing water changes. Plants also will use a certain amount of Nitrate, hence the growth of algae when the levels are high.


----------



## mori0174 (Mar 31, 2004)

true that.


----------



## Guest (May 1, 2004)

wont the nitrifying bacteria produce nitrates? so if i destroy some of the biological filter in my wet/dry......wont that reduce the nitrates being produced?

and like i mentioned before.....i dont even know if my nitrates are high.

are high nitrates harmful other than the algae it causes? ive always read that ammonia and nitrites are toxic and nitrates are non toxic.....


----------



## Guest (May 1, 2004)

Anyone? DonH? other mad scientist dudes?????? id like to understand this nitrate thing better......


----------



## alexm (Aug 18, 2003)

piranhadaddy said:


> wont the nitrifying bacteria produce nitrates? so if i destroy some of the biological filter in my wet/dry......wont that reduce the nitrates being produced?
> 
> and like i mentioned before.....i dont even know if my nitrates are high.
> 
> are high nitrates harmful other than the algae it causes? ive always read that ammonia and nitrites are toxic and nitrates are non toxic.....


The nitrogen cycle goes:-

Ammonia (NH4) -> Nitrite (NO2) -> Nitrate (N03)

Don't kill off nitrifying bacteria - you will lower nitrates produced BUT you will end up with loads of ammonia or nitrite which is more harmful!

You have to let the cycle keep going so that Ammonia and Nitrite are always zero. Regular water changes then reduce the final product (nitrates). Plants (inc algae) use up some nitrates, but the best way is to perform regular water changes so there isn't enough nitrates left to propmote algae growth.


----------



## Guest (May 1, 2004)

alexm said:


> Ammonia (NH4) -> Nitrite (NO2) -> Nitrate (N03)
> 
> Don't kill off nitrifying bacteria - you will lower nitrates produced BUT you will end up with loads of ammonia or nitrite which is more harmful!
> 
> You have to let the cycle keep going so that Ammonia and Nitrite are always zero. Regular water changes then reduce the final product (nitrates). Plants (inc algae) use up some nitrates, but the best way is to perform regular water changes so there isn't enough nitrates left to propmote algae growth.


 Excellent post









Although Nitrates are not toxic in the sense that ammonia is toxic, they do have a deleterious effect on the fishes' health and behavior when they reach very high levels.


----------



## Guest (May 2, 2004)

thanks guys. thats what ive been thinking. other people have made it seem like nitrates are something to try to get rid of. i dont think i even had a problem with it. i do weekly water changes and my ammonia and nitrites are zero so im just gonna keep on keepin on.


----------



## Husky_Jim (May 26, 2003)

alexm said:


> The nitrogen cycle goes:-
> 
> Ammonia (NH4) -> Nitrite (NO2) -> Nitrate (N03)
> 
> ...


 I totally agree with Alex!


----------

