Algae (maybe bacteria?) ID assistance

[wallnalyr]

I have been dealing with an outbreak of an algae or possibly a cyanobacteria (lyngbya maybe?) and was wondering if anyone had an ID on it.

Any help is appreciated!

Here are some pictures:

 

[brandon429]

the ID won't determine best removal options at all

what size tank is this

also can you post a full tank shot/degree of coverage is a factor in determining kill/removal strategies to reclaim tank

 

[wallnalyr]

the ID won't determine best removal options at all

what size tank is this

also can you post a full tank shot/degree of coverage is a factor in determining kill/removal strategies to reclaim tank

Tank is a 55 gallon, no sump.

Here is a full tank shot. I turned the white light to 100% for the photo but I have had whites at 0% for a couple days now. The coverage was a lot worse last night before I manually removed a bunch of it. Last time I spent the time to manually remove it, it was back within 48 hours.

Nitrates are reading at 0 with a Hanna. I have had the UV in there since last night.
Let me know if there is anything else I can provide that can help track down a good solution for reclaiming the tank.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I have been dealing with an outbreak of an algae or possibly a cyanobacteria (lyngbya maybe?) and was wondering if anyone had an ID on it.

Any help is appreciated!

Here are some pictures:

This is bryopsis. This is one of the more challenging of algae due to need of its complete removal. Removal is best accomplished by taking the rock out of tank and placing in a container of tank water. Then you will want to pull as much as you can by hand and discard. With a dental pick or small crochet needle, pull the roots off the rock.
YOU MUST GET EVERY ROOT OR IT WILL SIMPLY RETURN !!
After you are done return rock to tank and reduce white light intensity and even hours of white light as you have begun and add the following cleaners below which will help with control. These guys will consume bryopsis but not as fast as bryopsis can grow - They will never keep up.
Pin cushion urchin, Chiton snails, pitho crabs, and larger astrea snails

This procedure is not as bad or time consuming as it seems. Assure phosphate levels do not become elevated which helps feed this algae
By any chance is this tank at or near a window?

 

[brandon429]

You can run fluconazole on it and have no work

But this is the risk of fluc in some tanks:

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Conversely, look how safe a rip clean was here in a nano, they're always safe they're just a lot of work. Of course everyone knows about clean up crews, people recommend them all the time and they work 5% of the time. The only guaranteed save method is a rip clean but it's high work, most would rather risk their reef vs do hard work

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[brandon429]

You risk killing your fish with imported disease if you add unquarantined fish to eat algae or clean up crews. A rip clean cannot cause disease, it's the safest option because it removes algae vs rots it in your tank.

Quarantine new animals if you choose them as a hopeful method of control. 5% chance they'll help.

If they worked more than 5% of the time we wouldn't need other ways and nobody would ever do rip cleans

Rip cleans remove the waste that feeds that algae: the other methods leave that waste in the tank. Avoiding work has delayed consequences

 

[brandon429]

After choosing any method, begin second round with far less light power and verify your source water is perfect/ no tds

Me guiding seven more rip cleans to completion

Algae Identification

Any opinions on what type of algae this is growing on my rocks and sand bed?

www.reef2reef.com

A restart is using all new rocks and sand and corals and a new cycle

we specifically use the same rocks and sand and corals and original cycle. no rip clean requires new bottle bac and instantly produces a skip cycle second setup-that's a continuance vs a restart.

 

[wallnalyr]

This is bryopsis. This is one of the more challenging of algae due to need of its complete removal. Removal is best accomplished by taking the rock out of tank and placing in a container of tank water. Then you will want to pull as much as you can by hand and discard. With a dental pick or small crochet needle, pull the roots off the rock.
YOU MUST GET EVERY ROOT OR IT WILL SIMPLY RETURN !!
After you are done return rock to tank and reduce white light intensity and even hours of white light as you have begun and add the following cleaners below which will help with control. These guys will consume bryopsis but not as fast as bryopsis can grow - They will never keep up.
Pin cushion urchin, Chiton snails, pitho crabs, and larger astrea snails

This procedure is not as bad or time consuming as it seems. Assure phosphate levels do not become elevated which helps feed this algae
By any chance is this tank at or near a window?

The tank is not too new and is far away from any natural light. The tank is approximately 1.5 years old. About 7 months ago I moved the tank to our new residence which we are in until our new house is complete after which I will need to move again. We are building a 220 gallon reef into the wall at the new house so a full tank restart with the new tank may be the best route.

 

[wallnalyr]

You risk killing your fish with imported disease if you add unquarantined fish to eat algae or clean up crews. A rip clean cannot cause disease, it's the safest option because it removes algae vs rots it in your tank.

Quarantine new animals if you choose them as a hopeful method of control. 5% chance they'll help.

If they worked more than 5% of the time we wouldn't need other ways and nobody would ever do rip cleans

Rip cleans remove the waste that feeds that algae: the other methods leave that waste in the tank. Avoiding work has delayed consequences

Thank you for the recommendation! I am setting up a new tank in our new house which I’ll be moving into in approximately 3 weeks. It would be the perfect time for a restart with the new tank.

This outbreak came immediately after successfully getting rid of Cyano with Chemiclean. With the moves, the maintenance has definitely dropped. I will be sure to be on top of things the next time around.

I appreciate the help!

 

[vetteguy53081]

The tank is not too new and is far away from any natural light. The tank is approximately 1.5 years old. About 7 months ago I moved the tank to our new residence which we are in until our new house is complete after which I will need to move again. We are building a 220 gallon reef into the wall at the new house so a full tank restart with the new tank may be the best route.

Which a restart may be especially if moving the tank. At the length of time you are running this tank, I can assume you have an RODI unit.
When was the last time unit serviced and is there a different type/source of water at new temporary residence?
I would test your tap and RO water for phosphate and nitrate and see if there is any significant level showing. Continue that light reduction and pull what you can by hand and see if it becomes tamed or if you have to resort to removal of roots which is best recourse

 

[wallnalyr]

I do indeed have an RODI system. I can check it for nitrates but am not able to check for phosphates as i unfortunately do not have a tester yet.

I have a BRS DI saver 3 canister system at the end and it has a reading of 0 TDS.

I was using hard water as source water in the last residence whereas I am using soft water here.

 

[wallnalyr]

Which a restart may be especially if moving the tank. At the length of time you are running this tank, I can assume you have an RODI unit.
When was the last time unit serviced and is there a different type/source of water at new temporary residence?
I would test your tap and RO water for phosphate and nitrate and see if there is any significant level showing. Continue that light reduction and pull what you can by hand and see if it becomes tamed or if you have to resort to removal of roots which is best recourse

Just got done testing the water. Out of the tap, nitrates are 9.5. After RODI, 0. TDS are showing 0 after RODI as well.

I am thinking I’ll pull as many rocks as I can tomorrow for a deeper cleaning to try to boost the removal. If I am unable to get it under control by the time of the move I’ll restart the tank during the move.

Thanks again for the help!

 

[brandon429]

Be sure and read post #7 examples agreed getting a head start is right so that only the sand rinse portion is done during your move

you can be externally rasp cleaning your algae rocks now, setting them in the tank cleaned, and preparing for the move


****if you cause clouding at all in your tank it can kill your fish

so be ware: if your sandbed is dirty you may need to wait until the transfer date to work rocks to avoid that waste in the system killing things, but if it’s not too cloudy when you lift rocks and set them back clean you can proceed


*** it requires us using actual link examples of work to see safety. You can’t get safety predictions by typed-only methods and page one of the thread in post #15 below shows fish death for some tanks when dealing in partial work within invaded tanks

the link in post fifteen is three hundred tank move examples and no rock cleaning was started early because they wanted the safest option, it’s how we got to three hundred perfect transfers


only use methods that have links working for other people, don’t use linkless methods

such as brushes, don’t brush off algae for a specific reason we use knives not brushes and a very specific order of operations to produce those linked results. Your transfer will work out like the others if you follow the method and your algae issues will drop substantially

 

[brandon429]

Cleaning a tank isn’t a restart, its just cleaning. Removing waste from a system isn’t a restart, it has no negative consequence at all, it’s a continuance of the reef not a restart. Having new glass but the same rocks, sand and corals isn’t a restart. all new rocks, sand and coral is a restart

 

[brandon429]

Official Sand Rinse and Tank Transfer thread

If you are reading this thread to cure a tank invasion from a link I sent you, we do not need to identify your type of invasion here we do not need you to test anything at anytime regarding nitrate, phosphate etc Above all, we do not need to see a microscope slide picture of your invasion at...

www.reef2reef.com

look how much we study tank transfers above, it’s the only thread on the internet for the matter your upgrade is easy to do

we never use bottle bac

we never used ammonia testing that’s how solid the biology is

 

[Subsea]

Tank is a 55 gallon, no sump.

Here is a full tank shot. I turned the white light to 100% for the photo but I have had whites at 0% for a couple days now. The coverage was a lot worse last night before I manually removed a bunch of it. Last time I spent the time to manually remove it, it was back within 48 hours.

Nitrates are reading at 0 with a Hanna. I have had the UV in there since last night.
Let me know if there is anything else I can provide that can help track down a good solution for reclaiming the tank.

Zero nitrates will encourage nuisance algaes. What are the phosphates.