please...may you help me identify this algae??

[fishyfolks]

Hi everyone,

In the 10 or more years I've been reefing, I've never really had an algae bloom or problem like this, so I'm not really sure what I'm dealing with here. All of my beautiful coralline covered rocks are browny, green and 'furry' :( Even my snails and crabs have algae on them. I now need a clean up crew FOR my clean up crew. Haha. Its all over the glass, power heads, the algae scraper.....Basically, its EVERYWHERE.

Background info:

Its a 5 year established tank that I just moved 4 months ago
nitrite and ammonia 0 (or as close to it a possible)
phosphate .5
nitrate 20-40 :(
temp 79
salinity .025
Good circulation with no stagnant areas
Tank looked awesome up until 3 weeks ago when i noticed high nitrates and performed a 40 percent water change
Euroreef skimmer on a very wet skim at the moment


I'm trying to make this post as short as possible so that it contains only relevant info, but PLEASE let me know if there is anything else that would be helpful.

Sorry the pictures are so bad. I took them with my phone. If better quality pics a required, I can use my bf's camera.

Thanks guys :)

http://i1132.photobucket.com/albums/m567/kmckechnie1/algae/photo28.jpg
http://i1132.photobucket.com/albums/m567/kmckechnie1/algae/photo27.jpg
http://i1132.photobucket.com/albums/m567/kmckechnie1/algae/photo26.jpg
http://i1132.photobucket.com/albums/m567/kmckechnie1/algae/photo25.jpg
http://i1132.photobucket.com/albums/m567/kmckechnie1/algae/photo24.jpg
http://i1132.photobucket.com/albums/m567/kmckechnie1/algae/photo22.jpg
http://i1132.photobucket.com/albums/m567/kmckechnie1/algae/photo21.jpg
http://i1132.photobucket.com/albums/m567/kmckechnie1/algae/photo20.jpg
http://i1132.photobucket.com/albums/m567/kmckechnie1/algae/photo19.jpg
http://i1132.photobucket.com/albums/m567/kmckechnie1/algae/photo17.jpg
http://i1132.photobucket.com/albums/m567/kmckechnie1/algae/photo16.jpg

[reefwars]

at first glance i would say cyano but i would look into dinos as well as im thinking it could be that.


cyano bacteria i imagine you would have seen in the 10 yrs of reefing , but dinos is very similiar to cyano in looks but is much harder to get rid of. dinos is usually a mix of colors and alot of bubbles hanging on strings.


cyano grows more in sheets and has bubbles attached to the sheets.

dinos = dinoflagellates

[reefwars]

ok after reading which i should have done first lol this could be caused by the move you did, with the high number of nitrates and high phos i would imagine it is the cause .


are you running anything for phosphates??


nitrates arnt horrible but could come down some for sure:)


depending on what your livestock is a blackout could get you a quick fix while you attack nutrients:)

[fishyfolks]

thanks for the quick reply!

Out of panic, I looked at a lot of dino pics and descriptions, but it doesn't seem to be PRODUCING o2, rather the algae appears to be 'catching' bubbles that are produced in the water when i turn my skimmer up or down quickly. Any idea if there is a definitive way to determine? I was thinkin cyano as well.....I've just never seen it EVERYWHERE......

thanks again

[fishyfolks]

ok after reading which i should have done first lol this could be caused by the move you did, with the high number of nitrates and high phos i would imagine it is the cause .


are you running anything for phosphates??


nitrates arnt horrible but could come down some for sure:)


depending on what your livestock is a blackout could get you a quick fix while you attack nutrients:)


Yeah, common sense tells me its the move too. Due to the corals I have, a black out isnt favorable, but I will look into a phosphate remover. thank you

[reefwars]

thanks for the quick reply!

Out of panic, I looked at a lot of dino pics and descriptions, but it doesn't seem to be PRODUCING o2, rather the algae appears to be 'catching' bubbles that are produced in the water when i turn my skimmer up or down quickly. Any idea if there is a definitive way to determine? I was thinkin cyano as well.....I've just never seen it EVERYWHERE......

thanks again

the only way to my knowlege to tell for sure is under microscope, im not 100% sure if thats true or not, but they are def hard to distinguish between the two of them.

i do know a blackout will get rid of it, if its a nutrient issue it will return.


if i were in your shoes before i went with cyano chemical treatments i would add a large amount of gfo in a reactor, do a large 30% + water change and then do a 3 day black out with the tank completely covered blocking out all lights.


the fact that this all happened at once so fast leads one to believe there is a single cause....could be something as silly as lights or could be the move its self....either way you want to get the algae gone so you can treat the tank for nutrients or whatever else is the cause:)

[reefwars]

Yeah, common sense tells me its the move too. Due to the corals I have, a black out isnt favorable, but I will look into a phosphate remover. thank you


you could look innto a product called phosdown or just add some gfo in a reactor, pull the new gfo after a week or 2 then add new gfo , this will knock down alot of your phos and the new gfo will keep it knocked down:)


good luck:)

[Reef Puffer]

I think dinos kill snails? Maybe im way wrong? Way to much crap to remember.....

[BlueWorldAquatic]

looks like the start or "red turf algae"

[toytech]

my phosphates have been hovering from .05 and 0 and my algea has never grown so fast , it only takes a little and BOOM green snowstorm . Ive knocked it back to near 0 and its slowing down .

[Myka]

You have several different algae in there. The general diagnosis is always the same...reduce nutrients. Depending on exact types of algae there are some tricks to help out.

What test kit are you using to determine nitrate and phosphate? When you moved the tank did you reuse the sand or did you install a new sand bed?

[coolhandgoose]

Looks like diatoms. Have you checked your RO/DI filter lately?

[fishyfolks]

Thank you all so much for your replies and suggestions. I really, really appreciate it!!

Well basically, I've decided to try starting out with the basics. Obviously, my biggest worry is dino algae - and since I'm unwilling to even think that's what it is, and since there isn't really a proven or easy treatment for dino - I've decided to basically proceed as though its everything but. Haha. Essentially, im going to follow through with all the advice I was given.

I went into my garage and hauled out a bunch of my 'i'll keep it just in case' stuff, and heres what ive gotten up to tonight

- I found an old reactor and put some gfo in it. Im running it in my sump now
- I did a 40% water change sucking out as much 'fur' as I could along the way
- I changed my ro/di filter
- I took out and scrubbed all plastic or removable items that were covered ie pumps, powerheads, ect
- Drained both overflows and rinsed all if the sediment out of them
- Set up a UV sterilizer that I acquired somewhere along the way
- I moved the corals into a smaller tank so that I can keep light on them, but off in my main tank.

So that, in a nut shell is where I'm at. I'll update my thread over the next few days. Hopefully I see a change, because if I do, its probably not dealing with DINOFLAGELLATES. Fingers crossed ;)

Ugh. Time for bed.

Thanks again

[Myka]

There are worse things than Dinos... :D

Sounds like you have a good plan in place as long as the corals are happy in their temporary home.