Brown Algae ID

[USMC 4 LIFE]

Hi,
In my opinion this is the cyanobacterium Oscillatoria not an alga.
In my experience low phosphate concentrations in the water and higher phosphate concentrations in the gravel benefit this cyanobacterium. So I am not shure whether phosphate remover will help.

I well aware that it's a bacteria. How can you say that phosphates benefit or feed this bacteria and then contradict that statement by saying that you're not sure if lowering it or removing it will have an impact????

 

[Hans-Werner]

It is because the cyanobacteria benefit from the phosphates deposited in the gravel and substrate. Removing the phosphates from the water will harm the corals because the corals do not have access to the phosphates adsorbed to gravel and substrates which the Oscillatoria and Algae have. Removing phosphates from the water will not harm cyanobacteria or algae which have access to phosphates deposited in gravel and substrates. Cyanobacteria and also some algae can excrete organic substances like organic acids which dissolve the phosphates from the gravel and substrate just as the bacteria in our mouth dissolve the calcium phosphates from our teeth. Then, when the phosphates are dissolved they can take them up before they are swept away by currents due to their close proximity to the substrate.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

its just the ugly phase. It you do do nothing it will go away.

as the strength of the bio filter increases the po will drop naturally.

The Po seems high right now because dry Rock aragonite actually a bone was just added to salt water with a ph of 8 or less and is dissolving. The buffering of the aragonite reaction to the ph of tea saltwater pushes the ph up as the ions jump back and forth. In this ion storm tiny bits of minerals are released Into the water as the ph is dissolving the bone. Like a co2 reactor.
Some organisms feed more on some of these more easily dissolved minerals like silica. The longer the rock is exposed to the water the the reaction is slowed as the the softer finer bits of coral bone are burned off into the water and the hardest parted are left and are more resilient and more difficult to dissolve. As they are in the harder less porous areas of the rock. As the rate of the minerals dissolving from the coral bone is decreased the populations of theses specific organisms also decreases but likely never entirely leave the system.
The pores are also coated by bacteria that feed in a small extent by the Po and minerals from the rock but also ammonia in the water. They too feed heavily on the sudden addition of minerals and nutrients now made available by the dissolving bone and some likely also feeding in the waste of some of the other organisms also feeding. And again those populations decrease as the minerals slowly decrease.
In some rare cases organisms that bloom in this mad rush of mineral nutrients have evolved a strategy to sustain themselves in the now far lower nutrient rich waters. They feed on light. In those rare cases massive nutrient removal is called for and removal of light to weaken them beat back that population until more benign micro organisms like corraline and benificial bacterias and cyanos can take hold. Yes good cyanos. Over time the dissolving minerals slow and organisms feeding on them reach a slower rate of population ebb and flow.
At that point populations are controlled by the additions and subtraction of organics.

So IMO. Just keep blowin it off the rocks. It'll go away on its own usually.

 

[NUTTY1456]

It is because the cyanobacteria benefit from the phosphates deposited in the gravel and substrate. Removing the phosphates from the water will harm the corals because the corals do not have access to the phosphates adsorbed to gravel and substrates which the Oscillatoria and Algae have. Removing phosphates from the water will not harm cyanobacteria or algae which have access to phosphates deposited in gravel and substrates. Cyanobacteria and also some algae can excrete organic substances like organic acids which dissolve the phosphates from the gravel and substrate just as the bacteria in our mouth dissolve the calcium phosphates from our teeth. Then, when the phosphates are dissolved they can take them up before they are swept away by currents due to their close proximity to the substrate.

I have this problem as well. I do and have been running carbon and GFO. I was running both for 7 hours a day. Once I started see the sand turning brown. I changed to 24 hours a day. The problem has progressively gotten worse. I'm only running my lights 6 and 7 hours a day. None of this is helping at all. The stuff I have gets darker while the lights are on and in 6 hours it will have air bubbles all over it. I'm running my UV sterilizer 24 hours a day right now as well. Nothing seems to help at all with this. My snails get on it and lock up. I have to pick them up and move them back onto the rocks once the hit the sand. I agree with your statement that its pretty much just on my sand. I'm open to suggestions at this point.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

I have this problem as well. I do and have been running carbon and GFO. I was running both for 7 hours a day. Once I started see the sand turning brown. I changed to 24 hours a day. The problem has progressively gotten worse. I'm only running my lights 6 and 7 hours a day. None of this is helping at all. The stuff I have gets darker while the lights are on and in 6 hours it will have air bubbles all over it. I'm running my UV sterilizer 24 hours a day right now as well. Nothing seems to help at all with this. My snails get on it and lock up. I have to pick them up and move them back onto the rocks once the hit the sand. I agree with your statement that its pretty much just on my sand. I'm open to suggestions at this point.

Hi, you should post a new thread to help us Id what you have. theres a LOT of organisms out there that look similar but are different animals, or plants. some are kind of in between actually. and the treatments are not always the same.
wed love to help, but in a new thread you can get and give a lot more specifics.

 

[NUTTY1456]

Hi, you should post a new thread to help us Id what you have. theres a LOT of organisms out there that look similar but are different animals, or plants. some are kind of in between actually. and the treatments are not always the same.
wed love to help, but in a new thread you can get and give a lot more specifics.

Ok. I stirred it up a few minutes ago. Its very crusty probably a quarter inch think on top of the sand. I'll let it come back again so I can get pictures of it and start another thread on it.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Ok. I stirred it up a few minutes ago. Its very crusty probably a quarter inch think on top of the sand. I'll let it come back again so I can get pictures of it and start another thread on it.

excellent!