Algae and can't get it under control

Spartanman22 · 12/20/2007, 03:05 PM

I have this dark brown algae that gets all over my rocks and sand. It is slimy, in the areas of high flow it is string, and it has buble that form under it. I've tried siphoning it all out, i've cut the lighting hours to 6 hours a day(which seemed to help and was almost gone but i got some more light demanding corals and thought six hours a day of light would kill them so i quite that method). What can i do to get rid off it?

NirvanaFan · 12/20/2007, 03:10 PM

It sounds more like cyanobacteria than algae. You should be able to do a search and pull up some pics to compare yours with.

arctictwist · 12/20/2007, 03:12 PM

i was told its a problem with phosphates. Water changes can help and a refugium.

Sk8r · 12/20/2007, 03:14 PM

First, are your new corals in good condition? Let them acclimate first. It is cyano, pretty surely, not algae.

Then turn your lights out for 3 days, totally, the 4th use only actinic, and 5th, full light. Do this once a month for a few months and you'll see the stuff disappear slowly.

Spartanman22 · 12/20/2007, 03:16 PM

well my corals i doing fine but if i am going to turn my lights off wont they die?

arctictwist · 12/20/2007, 03:19 PM

no, theyll be ok for a few days. I thought that to, then someone pointed out htat they have clouds in the tropics. lol. Its funny how you just dont think of little things like that.

NirvanaFan · 12/20/2007, 03:23 PM

You can also try to increase your flow in the tank. What kind of foods do you feed and how often? Not overfeeding and re-arranging my powerheads made my cyano dissapear.

Also, the food that I made (shrimp, scallop, clam, etc) I started to rinse off in tank or RO water. I think that helped make a difference too.

Spartanman22 · 12/20/2007, 03:26 PM

i feed very sparringly i feed a frozen cube of meaty foods once a week and flake like 2 or 3 times a week and even if i have sps i will be fine to turn the lights out because i just got a fairly large birdsnest that is doing good and i dont want him to die.

dileggi · 12/20/2007, 04:44 PM

Sounds like Cyano to me as well as I am having that exact same problem now. I was told to keep up with water changes, add a skimmer and phosphate reactor.

I just ordered the reactor and skimmer last night. I've tried siphoning as well, and after about two hours all looked great. Then, the next day it looked as though I hadn't done squat.

saltycreefer · 12/20/2007, 04:48 PM

Sounds like dinoflagellates. Tough to get rid of. I'd search the forum .

dileggi · 12/20/2007, 04:59 PM

There is a post on here called Brown Algae????. I started the thread yesterday. Someone posted a picture of their tank on there and it looked exactly like what I thought was brown algae, which turned out to be cyano. Maybe you could check out that thread and check out the pic's that someone put on there to compare.

12/20/2007, 03:05 PM	#1
Spartanman22 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Oswego Posts: 1,314	Algae and can't get it under control I have this dark brown algae that gets all over my rocks and sand. It is slimy, in the areas of high flow it is string, and it has buble that form under it. I've tried siphoning it all out, i've cut the lighting hours to 6 hours a day(which seemed to help and was almost gone but i got some more light demanding corals and thought six hours a day of light would kill them so i quite that method). What can i do to get rid off it?

12/20/2007, 03:14 PM	#4
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	First, are your new corals in good condition? Let them acclimate first. It is cyano, pretty surely, not algae. Then turn your lights out for 3 days, totally, the 4th use only actinic, and 5th, full light. Do this once a month for a few months and you'll see the stuff disappear slowly. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

12/20/2007, 04:44 PM	#9
dileggi Premium Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: S. Philly PA Posts: 1,171	Sounds like Cyano to me as well as I am having that exact same problem now. I was told to keep up with water changes, add a skimmer and phosphate reactor. I just ordered the reactor and skimmer last night. I've tried siphoning as well, and after about two hours all looked great. Then, the next day it looked as though I hadn't done squat. __________________ Eric "The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled, was convincing the world he didn't exist." - Usual Suspects Current Tank Info: 90g w/30g sump; skimmer; 2x175w MH & 2x super white actinic...3g w/.5g fuge 1x150w MH Viper

12/20/2007, 04:48 PM	#10
saltycreefer Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Fairfield,CT Posts: 1,696	Sounds like dinoflagellates. Tough to get rid of. I'd search the forum . __________________ I love being a turtle!!! Current Tank Info: Got out of tanks for a little while.

12/20/2007, 04:59 PM	#11
dileggi Premium Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: S. Philly PA Posts: 1,171	There is a post on here called Brown Algae????. I started the thread yesterday. Someone posted a picture of their tank on there and it looked exactly like what I thought was brown algae, which turned out to be cyano. Maybe you could check out that thread and check out the pic's that someone put on there to compare. __________________ Eric "The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled, was convincing the world he didn't exist." - Usual Suspects Current Tank Info: 90g w/30g sump; skimmer; 2x175w MH & 2x super white actinic...3g w/.5g fuge 1x150w MH Viper

12/20/2007, 03:10 PM	#2
NirvanaFan Reef Ninja Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Rochester, NY Posts: 4,280	It sounds more like cyanobacteria than algae. You should be able to do a search and pull up some pics to compare yours with.

12/20/2007, 03:12 PM	#3
arctictwist Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: CT Posts: 818	i was told its a problem with phosphates. Water changes can help and a refugium.

12/20/2007, 03:16 PM	#5
Spartanman22 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Oswego Posts: 1,314	well my corals i doing fine but if i am going to turn my lights off wont they die?

12/20/2007, 03:19 PM	#6
arctictwist Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: CT Posts: 818	no, theyll be ok for a few days. I thought that to, then someone pointed out htat they have clouds in the tropics. lol. Its funny how you just dont think of little things like that.

12/20/2007, 03:23 PM	#7
NirvanaFan Reef Ninja Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Rochester, NY Posts: 4,280	You can also try to increase your flow in the tank. What kind of foods do you feed and how often? Not overfeeding and re-arranging my powerheads made my cyano dissapear. Also, the food that I made (shrimp, scallop, clam, etc) I started to rinse off in tank or RO water. I think that helped make a difference too.

12/20/2007, 03:26 PM	#8
Spartanman22 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Oswego Posts: 1,314	i feed very sparringly i feed a frozen cube of meaty foods once a week and flake like 2 or 3 times a week and even if i have sps i will be fine to turn the lights out because i just got a fairly large birdsnest that is doing good and i dont want him to die.