Algae !?? AHH Pics help!

Shnabbles · 12/06/2007, 04:27 PM

Can someone please tell me what this algae is... and how the heck i can get rid of it?? Iv been doing water changes, stirring it up, cutting back the lights... nothing helps... i only feed alittle bit once a day so i dont think its over feeding... i use RO/DI water with 0 TDS... I do not have a phosphate test.... I do have chaeto growing in my fuge... I dont belive flow is a problem i have a Reeflo barracuda in the basement for my return pump and i have 2 Tunze 6000's in the tank.

My guess is diatoms but i cant get rid of them!

m2434 · 12/06/2007, 05:14 PM

Holy moly thats a lot of cyano.

Shnabbles · 12/06/2007, 05:16 PM

Its brown... isnt cyano red?

m2434 · 12/06/2007, 05:20 PM

Can be red too...

m2434 · 12/06/2007, 05:26 PM

This thread may help some...
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...postid=8399777

melev · 12/06/2007, 05:28 PM

It could also be dinoflagellates, but it is hard to see in that image. Does it look like this? Brown and stringy?

Shnabbles · 12/06/2007, 05:29 PM

I meant the algae i have is brown... it is not red.... can Cyano be brown?

Shnabbles · 12/06/2007, 05:30 PM

no its definently not dinoflagellates... thank god

melev · 12/06/2007, 05:31 PM

If it is cyano bacteria, you can siphon it out, put more flow in that area with a powerhead, keep the tank dark for 3 days, or treat with Chemi-Clean or Blue Life's Red Slime Control.

Shnabbles · 12/06/2007, 05:34 PM

I honestly dont believe this is Cyano iv had Cyano its red stringy and forms a mat over the sand... this is brown very short strings... and its not really putting a mat over the sand

melev · 12/06/2007, 05:36 PM

So you think it is just a bunch of diatoms? Do you have a clean up crew? And by any chance, did you recently add some type of Phosban product to your tank?

Shnabbles · 12/06/2007, 05:41 PM

i think its diatoms cause its brown... i do have a clean up crew they dont seem to be doing to much on the sand... my brittle star isnt touching it... i have not added any type of phosban product... iv been trying heavy water changes... iv tried stirring it up...

when i had cyano i turned the light out for 3 days then cut my lights back and that cleared up... i tried cutting the lights off on this stuff and have 2 days of no lights it was still as strong and thick as before.... it does subside when lights are out but as soon as the lights come back on boom its back...

i have started keeping the light on my chaeto on 24 hours a day to see if that helps... so far i see alittle less of some green hair algae i had... but this stuff seems thicker

m2434 · 12/06/2007, 05:54 PM

Diatoms are very light brown... not dark and slimy like that. Cyano can come in many shapes sizes and colors.

Shnabbles · 12/06/2007, 05:57 PM

alright ill try treating it like its cyano... it cant hurt right

Shnabbles · 12/06/2007, 06:19 PM

There does seem to be little air bubbles on this algae that is on the rocks... make any difference?

otiso777 · 12/06/2007, 06:21 PM

Definitely looks like cyano. It can come in all kinds of colors.

m2434 · 12/06/2007, 06:22 PM

If it's diatoms the coloration of your photo is way off on my screen also, diatoms tend to be more "dusty". Both have bubbles. I've had many types of cyano and it looks exactly like the brown velvet like stuff I had on some rocks and sand a while back. It was growing in a shaded low flow area of my tank. Siphoned it up, added some changed my GFO and redirected the flow some and it never came back. I have also had brown stringy stuff and some black discoloration on some rocks. Cyano is highly variable and actually means blue-green algae although it rarely is. More often it is black, red, brown etc.... Sometimes it is stringy, but other times its more like a mat. Regardless it's a pain. Diatoms tend to go away on their own fairly quickly and while I do get them occasionally, they are never persistent. I think if you try to siphon it, you'll find that it is almost like a film, all stuck together.

Regardless, the treatment for almost any persistent nuisance algae is essentially the same.

melev · 12/06/2007, 06:54 PM

Does this tank get any direct sunlight now that we are in a new season? Any windows nearby?

Shnabbles · 12/06/2007, 07:03 PM

There is no direct sunlight... with the tank but i did notice this all starting right about the normal time day light savings would of been... so i adjusted my light timers accordingly....

i am going to try 3 days of no lights and some heavy water changes and see if this helps

melev · 12/06/2007, 07:07 PM

Check your water change water for any possible culprits.

Shnabbles · 12/08/2007, 12:35 PM

The water sitting in my holding tank has a TDS of 4... but the water coming out of my RO/DI is 0.... how can i fix this?

Also the filters on my ro/di are about 9 months old and have had plenty of use since they are the ones that were used to fill the tank and keep up with about 3-4 gallons a day of evaporation... i am still getting 0 TDS though... could this also be a culprit?

Craig Lambert · 12/08/2007, 12:51 PM

I would check the tds meter on tap water just to make sure the meter is working. If rodi tests 0, and your holding tank shows tds of 4, I would wonder if something is leaching from the material your holding tank is made of. Is it "food grade" material?

melev · 12/08/2007, 02:29 PM

Your holding tank may need a thorough cleaning. When was that done last?

Shnabbles · 12/08/2007, 04:21 PM

I have never wiped down the inside of the holding tank... tanks been up 8 months...

I also just checked my nitrates and they were less then 10... any clues?

Thizzelle686 · 12/08/2007, 05:16 PM

Have you considered a sand sifting goby?

12/06/2007, 04:27 PM	#1
Shnabbles Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Clayton, DE Posts: 1,316	Algae !?? AHH Pics help! Can someone please tell me what this algae is... and how the heck i can get rid of it?? Iv been doing water changes, stirring it up, cutting back the lights... nothing helps... i only feed alittle bit once a day so i dont think its over feeding... i use RO/DI water with 0 TDS... I do not have a phosphate test.... I do have chaeto growing in my fuge... I dont belive flow is a problem i have a Reeflo barracuda in the basement for my return pump and i have 2 Tunze 6000's in the tank. My guess is diatoms but i cant get rid of them!

12/06/2007, 05:14 PM	#2
m2434 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 2,171	Holy moly thats a lot of cyano. __________________ Our imagination is stretched to the utmost, not, as in fiction, to imagine things which are not really there, but just to comprehend those things which are there. ~Richard Feynman

12/06/2007, 05:20 PM	#4
m2434 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 2,171	Can be red too... __________________ Our imagination is stretched to the utmost, not, as in fiction, to imagine things which are not really there, but just to comprehend those things which are there. ~Richard Feynman

12/06/2007, 05:26 PM	#5
m2434 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 2,171	This thread may help some... http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...postid=8399777 __________________ Our imagination is stretched to the utmost, not, as in fiction, to imagine things which are not really there, but just to comprehend those things which are there. ~Richard Feynman

12/06/2007, 05:54 PM	#13
m2434 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 2,171	Diatoms are very light brown... not dark and slimy like that. Cyano can come in many shapes sizes and colors. __________________ Our imagination is stretched to the utmost, not, as in fiction, to imagine things which are not really there, but just to comprehend those things which are there. ~Richard Feynman

12/06/2007, 05:16 PM	#3
Shnabbles Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Clayton, DE Posts: 1,316	Its brown... isnt cyano red?

12/06/2007, 05:28 PM	#6
melev Moved On Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Ft Worth, Tx Posts: 43,217	It could also be dinoflagellates, but it is hard to see in that image. Does it look like this? Brown and stringy?

12/06/2007, 05:29 PM	#7
Shnabbles Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Clayton, DE Posts: 1,316	I meant the algae i have is brown... it is not red.... can Cyano be brown?

12/06/2007, 05:30 PM	#8
Shnabbles Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Clayton, DE Posts: 1,316	no its definently not dinoflagellates... thank god

12/06/2007, 05:31 PM	#9
melev Moved On Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Ft Worth, Tx Posts: 43,217	If it is cyano bacteria, you can siphon it out, put more flow in that area with a powerhead, keep the tank dark for 3 days, or treat with Chemi-Clean or Blue Life's Red Slime Control.

12/06/2007, 05:34 PM	#10
Shnabbles Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Clayton, DE Posts: 1,316	I honestly dont believe this is Cyano iv had Cyano its red stringy and forms a mat over the sand... this is brown very short strings... and its not really putting a mat over the sand

12/06/2007, 05:36 PM	#11
melev Moved On Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Ft Worth, Tx Posts: 43,217	So you think it is just a bunch of diatoms? Do you have a clean up crew? And by any chance, did you recently add some type of Phosban product to your tank?

12/06/2007, 05:41 PM	#12
Shnabbles Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Clayton, DE Posts: 1,316	i think its diatoms cause its brown... i do have a clean up crew they dont seem to be doing to much on the sand... my brittle star isnt touching it... i have not added any type of phosban product... iv been trying heavy water changes... iv tried stirring it up... when i had cyano i turned the light out for 3 days then cut my lights back and that cleared up... i tried cutting the lights off on this stuff and have 2 days of no lights it was still as strong and thick as before.... it does subside when lights are out but as soon as the lights come back on boom its back... i have started keeping the light on my chaeto on 24 hours a day to see if that helps... so far i see alittle less of some green hair algae i had... but this stuff seems thicker

12/06/2007, 05:57 PM	#14
Shnabbles Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Clayton, DE Posts: 1,316	alright ill try treating it like its cyano... it cant hurt right

12/06/2007, 06:19 PM	#15
Shnabbles Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Clayton, DE Posts: 1,316	There does seem to be little air bubbles on this algae that is on the rocks... make any difference?

12/06/2007, 06:21 PM	#16
otiso777 Registered Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Pendleton, NY Posts: 349	Definitely looks like cyano. It can come in all kinds of colors. __________________ Kirk Current Tank Info: 20 gal long mixed reef, 29 gal freshwater planted

12/06/2007, 06:22 PM	#17
m2434 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 2,171	If it's diatoms the coloration of your photo is way off on my screen also, diatoms tend to be more "dusty". Both have bubbles. I've had many types of cyano and it looks exactly like the brown velvet like stuff I had on some rocks and sand a while back. It was growing in a shaded low flow area of my tank. Siphoned it up, added some changed my GFO and redirected the flow some and it never came back. I have also had brown stringy stuff and some black discoloration on some rocks. Cyano is highly variable and actually means blue-green algae although it rarely is. More often it is black, red, brown etc.... Sometimes it is stringy, but other times its more like a mat. Regardless it's a pain. Diatoms tend to go away on their own fairly quickly and while I do get them occasionally, they are never persistent. I think if you try to siphon it, you'll find that it is almost like a film, all stuck together. Regardless, the treatment for almost any persistent nuisance algae is essentially the same.

12/06/2007, 06:54 PM	#18
melev Moved On Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Ft Worth, Tx Posts: 43,217	Does this tank get any direct sunlight now that we are in a new season? Any windows nearby?

12/06/2007, 07:03 PM	#19
Shnabbles Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Clayton, DE Posts: 1,316	There is no direct sunlight... with the tank but i did notice this all starting right about the normal time day light savings would of been... so i adjusted my light timers accordingly.... i am going to try 3 days of no lights and some heavy water changes and see if this helps

12/06/2007, 07:07 PM	#20
melev Moved On Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Ft Worth, Tx Posts: 43,217	Check your water change water for any possible culprits.

12/08/2007, 12:35 PM	#21
Shnabbles Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Clayton, DE Posts: 1,316	The water sitting in my holding tank has a TDS of 4... but the water coming out of my RO/DI is 0.... how can i fix this? Also the filters on my ro/di are about 9 months old and have had plenty of use since they are the ones that were used to fill the tank and keep up with about 3-4 gallons a day of evaporation... i am still getting 0 TDS though... could this also be a culprit?

12/08/2007, 12:51 PM	#22
Craig Lambert Premium Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 2,897	I would check the tds meter on tap water just to make sure the meter is working. If rodi tests 0, and your holding tank shows tds of 4, I would wonder if something is leaching from the material your holding tank is made of. Is it "food grade" material? __________________ "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will spend all day in a boat drinking beer." Current Tank Info: 75G Tank, 29G Sump, 100lbs LR, AquaC EV-180, Iwaki MD-20RT return Tunze nano streams 4X54 t-5/Icecap Ballast & SLR's 2x110 vho actinic

12/08/2007, 02:29 PM	#23
melev Moved On Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Ft Worth, Tx Posts: 43,217	Your holding tank may need a thorough cleaning. When was that done last?

12/08/2007, 04:21 PM	#24
Shnabbles Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Clayton, DE Posts: 1,316	I have never wiped down the inside of the holding tank... tanks been up 8 months... I also just checked my nitrates and they were less then 10... any clues?

12/08/2007, 05:16 PM	#25
Thizzelle686 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Monterey, Ca Posts: 210	Have you considered a sand sifting goby? __________________ SOME PEOPLE LIKE THEIR CUCUMBERS BETTER PICKLED