need help with snot/jelly algae on rocks

[krak256]

I've been having some issues with a light brown snot/jelly like algae on my rocks for the past few weeks. ive been doing my weekly water changes of 10g and also replaced my GFO. ive also been siphoning out the algae, but it keeps coming back. when i touch it, its slimy, almost jelly like. it sometimes has bubbles in it and will come rise off the rocks, looking like snot.

some info on my tank:
70g with 20g sump
running GFO and carbon

I need to post up my parameters, but 2 weeks ago, i used the hanna phosphate meter and it said i had 0 phosphates. my RO/DI was testing around 10-20, but i changed the filters and its back down to 0.

any idea what the algae is and how to get rid of it?

[t4zalews]

pictures would help out a lot...are there bubbles that form with the algae, or is it just brown. Is it hair like? Does it go away at night and return when the main lights are on?

[Uncle Salty 05]

Do a search on dinoflagellates.

[krak256]

i will take a pic and post params when i get home tonight. aren't dinos only supposed to be on the sandbed, and are usually darker brown in color?

[krak256]

here are the pics. the algae is less brown now:

http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w278/krak256/DSC_0732.jpg

http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w278/krak256/DSC_0734.jpg

http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w278/krak256/DSC_0735.jpg

http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w278/krak256/DSC_0736.jpg

http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w278/krak256/DSC_0737.jpg

I will post up parameters soon. any idea from the pics?

[apt220]

As said before, dinoflagellates. Snotty type. You may end up getting the brown stringy stuff later that is not only confined to the sandbed. Sorry. Good luck and don't give up.

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-05/eb/index.php

[krak256]

crap. my api test kit comes up with these params:

Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0
Ammonia: 0
PH: 8.4

what the heck then?

[Uncle Salty 05]

Unfortunately PH test kits aren't very accurate.
Double check your PH with a monitor.
Are you topping off with kalkwasser?

[krak256]

Unfortunately PH test kits aren't very accurate.
Double check your PH with a monitor.
Are you topping off with kalkwasser?

do you mean that API test kits aren't accurate? i didn't mean to say PH was phosphates. in fact, when i tested with a hanna kit, it said 0, but im assuming its off due to algae growth.

no, i use an alk and calc doser. my alk is a bit high, around 12 while calc is 500.

[krak256]

if all my parameters are showing 0, why am I having algae issues? what should I do to get rid of the dinos?

[nanojg]

Do they disapear when lights go out? Maintaining a high ph helps with dino's. I did a kalk slurry a couple times a day when i had them, went away pretty quick, i think i was lucky.

[Uncle Salty 05]

if all my parameters are showing 0, why am I having algae issues? what should I do to get rid of the dinos?

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-11/rhf/index.php

[krak256]

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-11/rhf/index.php

thanks for the link. it says to raise PH to 8.4 or higher. my PH is already at 8.4. the other recommendations for GFO and carbon, i already do as well.

i'm curious as to whats causing it though. my parameters appear to be in check

[Uncle Salty 05]

Is that 8.4 PH reading from a test kit? If so it needs to be verified by a calibrated monitor.
They were probably hitchhiking on a piece of LR. They are very prolific little buggers.
If you are not replacing evaporation with saturated kalkwasser I think you should try it.
Once you get your PH up to 8.5-8.6 do a three consecutive day lights out treatment and continue with the kalkwasser.
Siphon out as much as possible during water changes.

[apt220]

Just curious, did you start any GFO or carbon in the last 2 weeks?

[Reefsnob]

I love it! "Snot Algea" is hilarious. A tissue and strong blow usually fixes my problems.

BTW are you doesing any Carbon? (Vodka ect.)

[krak256]

Just curious, did you start any GFO or carbon in the last 2 weeks?

no i didnt. i did replenish with a new batch tho.

also, i am not vodka dosing.

salty, u mentioned that it the dinos hitchhiked? wouldnt it just die off if my tank is clean? or maybe my API test kit is old/bad?

[krak256]

is my test kit inaccurate? im surprised im having this algae issue if my params are in check

[Uncle Salty 05]

PH test kits give you a ballpark result they are usually not precise.
Dinos are very hardy and opportunistic, even in good conditions they can and do proliferate.
Replacing evaporation with saturated lime water (kalkwasser) is your best defense.

[Elysia]

Don't get caught up on your water parameters being "fine" or "perfect" now. As you yourself mentioned, the algae is being fueled and is depleting the excess nitrogen/phosphates/silica.

This is why some people use algae as part of their filtration system -- it utilizes organic material in the water and grows, and reefers export the organics by harvesting (i.e. removing) some of the algae.

[krak256]

i read in one of the articles linked that algae is partially fueled by iron content. i'm wondering if this has anything to do with an old pump i used to mix saltwater. it was having issues and when i opened it up, there was some blackish/brown residue near the impeller. i was able to fix it and used it again. it still kept stopping several times in the process, over the course of 2 months, so i used it for about 8 water changes.

is it possible that the pump was breaking down and leeching minerals into my water? when i googled snot algae, i read a post on the seachem forums of someone that had a similar issue and cited iron as a cause. they used seachems cuprisorb as a means to remove the iron in the water. i just ordered a 250ml jar of it to try it out.

[krak256]

bump

[battplus]

I have had this problem too, eventually it burns itself out, try increasing flow to that area, it will help prevent the algae from building up and will assist in removing it from that area. Could be a flow issue anyway?

[krak256]

i dont think its a flow issue. i have 2 mp40s running on almost max on a 70g tank

[battplus]

Well that would eliminate flow issues!!!!! You can check that one off the list.

[FlammySnake]

I've seen dinos in even the cleanest systems. Black-out, minimal water change following manual removal helped a friend and myself in his tank. And this was after he switched tanks and we cleaned rocks and on and on....... Bad times man, bad times.

[krak256]

thanks for the recommendation uncle salty. it seems from the articles I'm reading, PH needs to be bumped up to 8.5 and lighting reduced down to 4 hrs a day after a day of lights out.

is there another way to bump up PH without kalk? baking soda correct?

[jp634]

try turning down you light to just 2 to 3 hours a day for a week and increase your mag

[krak256]

try turning down you light to just 2 to 3 hours a day for a week and increase your mag

why increase the mag? and to what level?

[krak256]

bump

[mgraf]

I had dinos or snot, whatever you want to call it. I tried lights out for 3 days, I bumped my ph up and held it for a couple weeks. Nothing, didn't work. I have an algae scrubber, and it began to grow the stuff like you wouldn't believe. What finally worked for clearing up my DT was a combo of High PH, Shortening my light cycle by alot, I vacumed areas of my sand bed with each water change, Weekly water changes, and most effective for me was cleaning the stuff off of my algae scrubber every other day. The stuff grew back so quick, if I didn't clean it off it was like it just kept spreading to my DT. Once I began to clean it off every other day it starved itself out of my DT. Now, I still have it growing on my scrubber, but am beginning to see green algae grow again and hope it will take over the snot on my scrubber as well. I feel, that a little algae is always good, but finding the right balance is a constant battle!

Just my .02
Hope it may help you somehow!
Matt