What algae is this and how do I get rid of it?

[ClownsRCoo]

I have been battling this algae for a while now. Its a light brown algae that grows long and stringy. Its slimy and so far my GFO doesnt seem to be making a dent in it. I had my tank pretty much under control a few months ago while running GFO but my coral colors looked pale so I wanted to run no GFO for a few weeks to see what would happen. Well in that time this stuff started to take off and now even bringing the GFO back online isnt helping to get rid of it.

Im honestly not even sure exactly what it is.


http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h182/cshunka/90%20Gallon%20Aquarium/Algae1_zps439b2399.jpg (http://s64.photobucket.com/user/cshunka/media/90%20Gallon%20Aquarium/Algae1_zps439b2399.jpg.html)

[ClownsRCoo]

bump

[jared355]

Looks like dinoflagellate to me! It's a pain in the @ss. If that's what it is you have to suction it all off multiple times a week and do more water changes then usual. The key to it is sucking it off and reducing nutrients. That's what worked for me! If you go to grab it and it pretty much falls apart that's what it is.

[wildman926]

Looks like dinoflagellate to me! It's a pain in the @ss. If that's what it is you have to suction it all off multiple times a week and do more water changes then usual. The key to it is sucking it off and reducing nutrients. That's what worked for me! If you go to grab it and it pretty much falls apart that's what it is.

X2 - The trapped bubbles give it away.

You have a nutrient export issue. Among the water changes and siphoning off, decrease feeding levels and lighting time.

How are you removing nitrates and phosphates?

[ClownsRCoo]

Well both register at 0 but I know for Phosphates that pretty much means nothing. I have tried to hold my siphone up to it to try to suck it off the rocks and it wont come off but if you take a tooth brush and scrub the rocks first it comes off and is free floating in tons of tiny pieces and you can siphon it out of the water then.

For nitrate reduction that is handled by my skimmer and Chaeto and for Phosphates I run about a cup of GFO and my Chaeto.

I really dont think I feed too much at all. I dont have any food that goes uneaten and I only feed once a day. My lighting cycle runs for a total of 11hrs but almost 3-4 of that is slow ramp-up/down and moon lights.

I have been pretty good in doing water changes but have been trying smaller weekly ones vs larger ones every 2 weeks mainly for temp consistency. Im in Tx and its in the 90 now and my saltwater is stored in the garage sitting at a high temp. Im trying to still achieve the target water change amount but limit my temp fluctuations. I guess i need to slowly up my GFO but like i mentioned earlier i feel like my coral coloration starts to suffer. Im not sure how to reach a happy medium.

[Chargers]

I've had this same algae for about 2 months. Every few weeks I would brush it off with a toothbrush then w.c. but it always came back in a few days. I was pretty sure it was diatomes and would go away on its own. Looks like I need to start getting more aggressive with the siphoning

[ClownsRCoo]

Anyone else have tips or comments for me

[whiteshark]

Are you using an RO/DI?

[ClownsRCoo]

Yes I am

[bglegs]

Some have had good luck using hydrogen peroxide.Dose 1ml per 10 gals,with lights out for 4 days.But if you have high nutrients they will come back.

[oscarinw]

Do a search for dynoflagellate control. I have read that a spike on magnesium might be able to help. I had them for a while but with consistent water changes they went away.

[wildman926]

How old is the tank?

Lights out for 72 hours. Make sure you have a good skimmer, and do a water change after. I say this as when they die, they will foul the tank.

Ever consider running an ATS to remove nutrients naturally?

[ClownsRCoo]

The tank has been running since Nov 2013. I think my cheap skimmer has a lot to do with it. I have plans to replace it hopefully soon with a Lifereef skimmer that will be more than adequate for my tank. I do weekly water changes so Im def not slouching on my routine.

I have thought of an ATS but honestly i dont know how they function. My guess is its like macro algae in that you are growing algae to try to out consume the nuisance algae in your tank for phosphates, etc?

[wildman926]

I have thought of an ATS but honestly i dont know how they function. My guess is its like macro algae in that you are growing algae to try to out consume the nuisance algae in your tank for phosphates, etc?

Yes, that is the concept and works very well. There are youtube videos actually documenting progress when using ATS for nutrient export. You just maintain them as you would your skimmer, cleaning them once every 1-2 weeks. Cleaning/removing the algae physically removes the nitrate/phosphates, etc. The algae acts as a sponge removing them from the water column. If you don't clean/maintain them, then you will see issues like those that don't clean them, such as yellow tank water, no nitrate/phosphate reduction, etc., because like sponges, the algae can only hold so much nutrients. Also, when the growth gets too thick, the underlying algae starts dying, and detaching, releasing back into the water column what it took out. HTH

[Chargers]

My tank was started around 8 months ago, and used ro/di from the start, nitrates 0. Pretty sure I had dyno for 2 months with the bubbles, then 2 weeks ago I started getting small patches of cyno on the sand.

I just started the 3 days no light, covered with towels, then 25% water change after. Then cut back the 9.5 hours of light to 8 hours. If I need to do another w.c. then try the 3 day lights out again in a few days after

[glweek]

How did it go?