Algae id HELP!!

[peiloy3196]

Ok so this strange algae started showing up on a couple pieces of live rock a few weeks ago. It then spread to the shells of my snails and now is getting worse. I have no idea what it is so have no idea how to treat it.

I have tried 3 days of no light with no help. I have scrubbed it off the rock and it has come right back. Siphoned it off also.

My tank parameters are

Alk 8
Calc 440
Mag 1350
Nitrates 0 on API test kit
Nitrites 0 API
Amonia 0 API
Phosphates 0 seachem.

I run carbon and change every other week. I also run phosban, both phosban and carbon are run in their own reactor. I am really stumped here and would appreciate any help to get this out before it gets out of hand.

Here are some pictures:
http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/ae2/Peiloy/Tank%20Algae/IMG_0803.jpg
http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/ae2/Peiloy/Tank%20Algae/IMG_0804.jpg
http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/ae2/Peiloy/Tank%20Algae/IMG_0805.jpg

http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/ae2/Peiloy/Tank%20Algae/IMG_0803.jpg
http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/ae2/Peiloy/Tank%20Algae/IMG_0804.jpg
http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/ae2/Peiloy/Tank%20Algae/IMG_0805.jpg

[reefgems]

for me the best thing to control algae is quarantine and manual removal/biological
we are past qt here
looks like its not gonna be able to be manually removed
so i would say biological control, do you have any crabs in there, blue legs, scarlets, emeralds? (maybe your snails do not like to eat this particular type and crabs would) i would add some emerald crabs but a variety might have a better chance for success
good luck

[peiloy3196]

I have blue leg hermits but they dont go near it at all from what I see. I do not have any other options in terms of crabs at my disposal. Is ther any other way to control or get rid of this?

[peiloy3196]

Ttt

[John Zillmer]

You might try posting those pics in the macroalgae forum. Officially, I don't think that forum is supposed to be for threads regarding nuisance algae control, but people post such things there all the time, and the people that hang out there seem to be pretty knowledgeable and helpful with such problems.

[cx-k]

It's not algae. It's cyano bacteria. There is a simple cure, go to your LFS and they should have Chemiclean red slime remover.

[peiloy3196]

Oh I forgot to add that to the list. Tried Chemiclean already and it did nothing. So its either not cyano or it is just resistant to chemiclean. I know that the pics dont show it too well but it is almost like a cottony growth.

[Frick-n-Frags]

that does look like cyano all in those zoanthids in that one pic.

maybe time for some maintenance.....

ps: the "it came right back after scrubbing" is a good indicator you have some micro-something growing. even turf takes a few days to regrow, like a lawn. and the red micro stuff is usually cyano.

[peiloy3196]

Thanks for letting me know. What do you suggest other than what i have done already?
I do 10% water changes once a month. Maybe once every 2 weeks?
I feed once a day. Should I cut back on that?
Also should I change my lighting cycle?

[Frick-n-Frags]

it's thee olde nutrient game.

nutrients out > nutrients in = starving algae. it has been covered exhaustively. cut feeding, siphon more junk out, check makeup water for high TDS or nitrates/phosphates, maybe run aPO4 remover, etc.

cyano is the best nutrient indicator there is. it shows up fast and often pinpoints the problem. for example, a big worm dies in a rock..the rock is a red fuzzball for a couple of weeks for no apparent reason. there was another person just posting a thread where cyano was all on the sand after a tank move. if that was the old sand, you can see the major disruption and dieoff would grow cyano on the surface as the nutrients leached out of the sand. if it shows up on everything at once, you know you have water column issues which may be from something rotting in the sump or whatever..