Help! Cannot Stop this Algae!!

BrianReefer · May 11, 2018

All-

I need some help. I have this reddish algae on part of my sand. I'm not sure if it's Cyano or Dino? The tank is about a year old now, pretty stable (maintaining healthy selection of SPS). Alk is stable around 7.8, Calcium around 500, Phosphate is .034 (using Hanna Phosphorous checker). I probably made a mistake by changing too much at once to try to "help" my SPS - I added Chaeto into my reactor (keeping the light on 24/7), and in addition to my ALK and CA dosing, I started dosing a small weekly amount of Acropower AND Red Sea Trace A,B,C,D.

The algae is mostly in a shady spot on sand, but starting to extend onto more area. I also see some strings of this algae on the rocks and on the back of the glass.

Also FYI, I am running BRS GFO and carbon in a BRS dual reactor, and I also have a small bag of Phosguard in my filter sock too. But the fact that I have GFO, Phosguard, and Chaeto and I still have .034 phosphates may be showing I have a bigger phosphate issue here?

I also only use RO/DI for my water changes, and my lighting is a T5/3xHydra 26 combo over a 5' Reefer 450 tank.

My concern is the problem seems to be getting worse, and I've recently invested a ton in corals and I want to keep my tank happy!

Please help! I need suggestions on what to do here. I've been in the hobby for 3-4 years and think I'm doing all of the right things but can't seem to slow this stuff down....

Halal Hotdog · May 11, 2018

Looks like cyanobacteria, which as the names suggests is a bacteria. Elevated nitrates can cause it, but are not the sole cause. For a quick band aid, chemi clean works well at removing this type of bacteria. If the cause is not resolved then it will return. Having a strategy to make sure it doesn't return is ideal to have prior to treating with chemi clean.

BrianReefer · May 11, 2018

Thanks Hala. What else should I look at for the root cause do you think?

K. Steven · May 11, 2018

If it is cyano, I've always noticed it likes to grow in lower flow areas and where detritus builds up.

Halal Hotdog · May 11, 2018

So for me I had it at the 5 month mark of my new tank. I started carbon dosing and my nitrates were almost at zero but my cyano stayed. One day I picked it out of my tank and it literally never came back. Nitrates may be a cause. They also dislike moderate flow, so increasing flow in a particular area can help as well.

Paul B · May 11, 2018

It's cyano, I would leave it alone as it is common in new tanks. I still occasionally get it and it disappears when it wants to. It doesn't harm anything except your self esteem.

BrianReefer · May 11, 2018

Thanks Paul and Halal. This is helpful, I was assuming a phosphate problem and was about to go postal on the tank with extra GFO and Phosguard...but I also know going too low can hurt my SPS. That is a low flow / low light spot...I have two Gyre’s on each side of the tank and that’s a dead zone. Maybe I’ll get a small powerhead in there...?

Paul B · May 12, 2018

Brian, thats what most people would do, add all sorts of things, then add other things to counter act what those things did. Then start a "Getting out of the Hobby" thread. Cyano, algae, diatoms are all normal and natural and they happen in the sea all the time and it is too expensive to dose the sea with Phosguard.
I took these in the sea a few weeks ago. See any algae?

This is Hawaii.

The sea is full of snails, chitens, slugs, algae bleenies, tangs, urchins and manatees. Guess what they are eating? Have you ever seen a manatee in Burger King?

Manatees even grow their own. If you see absolutely no algae anywhere in your tank, something is wrong. Algae is a good thing and not a harbinger of doom like many people feel it is. Those people never went in the ocean.

Go out to dinner and be happy you have some algae.

40B Knasty · May 12, 2018

BrianReefer said:
All-

I need some help. I have this reddish algae on part of my sand. I'm not sure if it's Cyano or Dino? The tank is about a year old now, pretty stable (maintaining healthy selection of SPS). Alk is stable around 7.8, Calcium around 500, Phosphate is .034 (using Hanna Phosphorous checker). I probably made a mistake by changing too much at once to try to "help" my SPS - I added Chaeto into my reactor (keeping the light on 24/7), and in addition to my ALK and CA dosing, I started dosing a small weekly amount of Acropower AND Red Sea Trace A,B,C,D.

The algae is mostly in a shady spot on sand, but starting to extend onto more area. I also see some strings of this algae on the rocks and on the back of the glass.

Also FYI, I am running BRS GFO and carbon in a BRS dual reactor, and I also have a small bag of Phosguard in my filter sock too. But the fact that I have GFO, Phosguard, and Chaeto and I still have .034 phosphates may be showing I have a bigger phosphate issue here?

I also only use RO/DI for my water changes, and my lighting is a T5/3xHydra 26 combo over a 5' Reefer 450 tank.

My concern is the problem seems to be getting worse, and I've recently invested a ton in corals and I want to keep my tank happy!

Please help! I need suggestions on what to do here. I've been in the hobby for 3-4 years and think I'm doing all of the right things but can't seem to slow this stuff down....

One way to tell what kind of "bacteria" it is. Take some tank water (about a cups worth). Take out some of the bacteria add that to the water in the cup. Add about an ounce of 3% hydrogen peroxide. If the bacteria turns green and the water turns reddish in 24hrs. You have a spirulina bacteria. If it stays that brownish red and the water color doesn't change. You have cyanobacteria. Which is harder to get instant gratification from.

cracker · May 12, 2018

Hello Brian from another Brian,at least we spell our names correctly ! I have a growing patch of this stuff also . I spent the better part of yesterday looking for treatment. Just search for cyano treatment here. There is a bunch of info. Also @twillard has a very informative thread. It seems there is another similar looking type bacteria Spirlilla or I think. treatment is different. Look for the cyano H2o test. Mine turned red/pink .
There was a lot of advice to use chemiclean. Also lower po4 levels nitrates up more flow & manual cleaning etc. also more flow where the stuff is growing.
This is just stuff I learned yesterday researching here at R2R. Let us know what you end up doing as I'm also trying to get rid this stuff !

BrianReefer · May 12, 2018

Great replies, thanks everyone. Will keep you posted on my efforts!!

BrianReefer · May 14, 2018

So, I ran the peroxide test. It’s been 13 hours so far. Water stayed clear but the bacteria at the bottom did turn green. So which bacteria type would this be?

40B Knasty · May 14, 2018

Re

BrianReefer said:
So, I ran the peroxide test. It’s been 13 hours so far. Water stayed clear but the bacteria at the bottom did turn green. So which bacteria type would this be?

Read post #9

IslandLifeReef · May 14, 2018

BrianReefer said:
Thanks Paul and Halal. This is helpful, I was assuming a phosphate problem and was about to go postal on the tank with extra GFO and Phosguard...but I also know going too low can hurt my SPS. That is a low flow / low light spot...I have two Gyre’s on each side of the tank and that’s a dead zone. Maybe I’ll get a small powerhead in there...?

@BrianReefer, what are your nitrates at? Your phosphates are fine, but if your nitrates are almost 0ppm, your phosphates could be feeding the cyano. Try manually removing the cyano, and get your nitrates above 2ppm. Also adjusting your flow could help as well.

amazongb · May 16, 2018

I just went through the same thing.. I went the chemiclean route and it worked wonders.. but that didn’t get rid of my underlying problem, which I believe was caused by excess detritus in the bottom of my sump and also not cleaning my sand during water changes (me being lazy).. I’ve stepped up my husbandry game and tank looks clean..

That all said, what PaulB said is correct too..

I would probably try manual removal during water change, and look for detritus build up in sump and elsewhere.. if that’s in tip top shape, then consider chemiclean..

Paul B · May 17, 2018

amazongb said:
That all said, what PaulB said is correct too..

So your going to get the Manatees, I figured you would. Good choice.

amazongb · May 18, 2018

Paul B said:
So your going to get the Manatees, I figured you would. Good choice.

Well, that's one way to rationalize buying a bigger tank

BrianReefer · Jun 7, 2018

So, I'm extremely pleased to say, hopefully not too soon, that I successfully (for now) beat the cyano. This was my approach:

1) I have a hybrid T5/LED fixture over my Reefer 450. There are 4 T5's in the fixtuer, 2 coral+ and 2 blue+. I was running the LEDs for 10 hours and the t5's for 8 hours. I reduced the T5's down to 2-3 hrs/day to reduce the "white light" on the tank
2) I added more Phosguard in my reactor to keep the phosphates down (I also added Chaeto a few weeks prior - perhaps the source of my cyano in the first place!). They were up to .055 at one point, this got them back down to .01 or so
3) I followed a regimen suggesed by @neupane00 (Thanks man!), using coral snow and kz cyano clean every AM, and acro power and coral vitalizer every evening
4) I did more water changes, specifically very early AM before the cyano mats could reform (some say it's easier to pick up them out as mats, but mine just fell apart, so i went with the early AM approach to python the sand)
5) As it started to melt away, I reduced the phosphate reactor, hoping the chaeto now keeps it in check

And that was it. No blackout periods, no chemi clean (concerned to use with my acros). I know every case is different, but this worked really well for me so I wanted to share with others. Good luck and let me know if anyone has any questions on the above!

Thx