Chrysophytes?

[etork]

We have had this unidentifiable algae in the tank, but after searching i think I have identified it. I do not have a microscope at this point but not out of the question for the future. Manual scrubbing helps remove but it slowly grows back, when i scoop out big "chunks," its a gooey mess.

Nitrates are sitting at a 4, if I am lucky. They quickly dropped over the past few weeks. No phosphates, and I am aware its not good. Trying to up our feeding.

Tank is 3.5 months old, so partially new tank ugliest I'm guessing. Hoping someone can chime in with ways to beat this stuff.

 

[SliceGolfer]

That does look like Chrysophytes, the golden algae. I had this for months. I tried low nutrients, some nutrients, higher nutrients. The only thing that beats it back are blackout periods and siphoning. One day, they started going away on their own, I did nothing to remove them.

Some report Vibrant works, some say a better clean up crew. I think in my experience I won by changing my light spectrum to a 3:1 blue:white spectrum, removed all red and green, did water changes, and let it ride for 2-3 months.

 

[SMSREEF]

Here are a couple good threads.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/c...fy-treat-and-remove-it-from-your-tank.299585/

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/chrysophytes-help-me-cure-it.263759/

 

[etork]

Update, I purchased a microscope and these are what we saw. Other than color, looking pretty close to chryso

 

[SMSREEF]

I’m not sure. This is what I had

 

[etork]

So its been about 15 years since I have used a microscope... a little rusty. I will be posting this for ID, but I'm thinking brown hair algae maybe?

 

[SMSREEF]

That looks like hair algae or cyano to me.

There are some members on here that can help ID with the microscope pics like @taricha .

take a look at this article and see if cyano or hair algae may be the culprit.

Hunting With A Microscope

Diatoms and blue-green algae are only two of many groups of organisms that can be studied using a microscope.

reefs.com

 

[etork]

That looks like hair algae or cyano to me.

There are some members on here that can help ID with the microscope pics like @taricha .

take a look at this article and see if cyano or hair algae may be the culprit.

Hunting With A Microscope

Diatoms and blue-green algae are only two of many groups of organisms that can be studied using a microscope.

reefs.com

Thanks for that! With this, I can say it looks an awful lot like lyngbya which makes sense, but dang I'm discouraged

 

[taricha]

Thanks for that! With this, I can say it looks an awful lot like lyngbya which makes sense, but dang I'm discouraged

I commented on another thread of yours elsewhere, the scope pics definitely show a cyano very much like lyngbya.

 

[brandon429]

this invasion would be very easy to beat with manual removal plus peroxide after, on the cleaned off spots not dumped in the tank. it would die back fast/prediction.


why entertain it> lift out rocks, put back sans growth no delay no id required. if the tank is 600 gallons can't access any rocks, that might be hard but u already mentioned willing to access, only the final cheat was left out. uncolonized white rock no coralline is subject to literally any takeover by happenstance, no bad params required. nothing bad required, we either allow it or we dont is one way to see fixing this tank. we kicked this growth type several times in our collective perox works with before n after pics.

this way is brutish and involves no real science other than the half a mil pics and patterns and testimonies on file lol, ID and response has its place for sure. we just like to always offer the counter option: no kid gloving.

sometimes in chat Ill meet up with someone so beyond fed up with invasions they're ready to fire bomb the setup if necessary. each and every time we clean the sand, clean the rocks, peroxide on the former spots after rasping (all target was removed before application) and then they post happy updates for months. the best part is, with a 1 minute experiment on a test section, not even the whole tank, you will know in 5 days how the whole tank would respond.

mini modeling a kill without having to guess what works is awesome.

 

[Miami Reef]

I’m not sure. This is what I had

@taricha

I have the same thing as the microscope in this quoted post. When I microscoped the brown “slime” I saw tiny tiny dots in the microscope. MUCH smaller than dinos. I can’t make it out with my eye.

What does this look like to you? That microscope picture is exactly what mine looks like. Exactly.

 

[taricha]

@taricha

I have the same thing as the microscope in this quoted post. When I microscoped the brown “slime” I saw tiny tiny dots in the microscope. MUCH smaller than dinos. I can’t make it out with my eye.

What does this look like to you? That microscope picture is exactly what mine looks like. Exactly.

Tiny golden brown motionless spheres suspended in mucus, to the eyeball a thick slime that has enough strength to hold together out of water.
Chrysophytes.

 

[Miami Reef]

Tiny golden brown motionless spheres suspended in mucus, to the eyeball a thick slime that has enough strength to hold together out of water.
Chrysophytes.

What’s the solution? This is exactly what I’m dealing with. And I have live rocks from KP, so I technically should have “biodiversity”.

 

[taricha]

What’s the solution? This is exactly what I’m dealing with. And I have live rocks from KP, so I technically should have “biodiversity”.

Not really known, but I can tall you some things that don't help.
UV doesn't work, it grows and maintains just fine in nutrient depleted tank water, the thick gelatinous goo will make it distasteful for herbivores.

All the threads on this type are a bit scattered and a mix of accurate info and people trying a bunch of things that didn't work very well.
this thread by @ScottB has some of the best info.

Symbiodinium. Got any treatment ideas?

While it looks kinda similar to ostreopsis in the tank, it is very different under the scope. They are VERY small and completely motionless. They are easily basted or siphoned away but return the next day. They don't stick to coral flesh, but do stick to everything else. I FEEL like they are...

www.reef2reef.com

another chrysophyte thread.

Chrysophytes?! Help me cure it?

This is what my chrysophyte looked like in tank, when I sucked it out, and under the microscope. @taricha helped me ID this stuff. what I tried: -try and keep NO3@10 and [email protected], but new tank was using up nutrients so needed to dose often. -suctioning it out daily for weeks: it grew back by...

www.reef2reef.com