Help identify algae please.

[SPSnut25]

I have never come across this algae before. It looks sorta like dinos or diatoms. It is a brown hair that turns into a brownish white snot. It comes back fast after manual cleaning and leaves white fibers behind after I scrub. It grows on the rocks and glas and sand... but not on the corals. The only thing that touches it are my area snails... but they can't keep up. Lawnmower blenny and sailfin tang don't seem to touch it... nor my reef hermits. I have tried h2o2 treatment at 1ml per 10gal and doesn't seem to touch it. I run phosnet and seagel. PO4 is .02 nitrate is undetectable. I use ro/di water that tests 0ppm. Tank is about 10 months old. Have a fuge with cheato in it. Any ideas?

 

[Subsea]

O nitrates encourage undesirables. Shoot for > 5ppm

Reef Cleaners

A good guide to identify most of the nuisance algae that plagues the hobby. Complete with pictures and suggested treatments

www.reefcleaners.org

See if this helps with identification.

 

[Zagecko]

What color is it?

 

[NoobReeferMom]

Lookup a video.on youtube called "My saltwater aquarium problems and how I fixed them" the youtubers name is : The King of DIY... He has a video of same algae so this will most likely help you out!!

 

[SPSnut25]

What color is it?

Tan and brown... a few spots that are more white

 

[SPSnut25]

Lookup a video.on youtube called "My saltwater aquarium problems and how I fixed them" the youtubers name is : The King of DIY... He has a video of same algae so this will most likely help you out!!

That is only white it seems... my stuff is mostly tan and brown.

 

[SPSnut25]

O nitrates encourage undesirables. Shoot for > 5ppm

Reef Cleaners

A good guide to identify most of the nuisance algae that plagues the hobby. Complete with pictures and suggested treatments

www.reefcleaners.org

See if this helps with identification.

From what I am seeing it looks like lyngbya. Something I have never encountered before. Seems like my astrea snails eat it... but thats it. I am trying a bout of chemiclean. Gonna see how that goes. From. What I read lyngbya also eats nitrates... which could be why my nitrates have been undetectable for the 11 months I've had the tank running... but I always have phosphates...

 

[SPSnut25]

O nitrates encourage undesirables. Shoot for > 5ppm

Reef Cleaners

A good guide to identify most of the nuisance algae that plagues the hobby. Complete with pictures and suggested treatments

www.reefcleaners.org

See if this helps with identification.

From what I am seeing it looks like lyngbya. Something I have never encountered before. Seems like my astrea snails eat it... but thats it. I am trying a bout of chemiclean. Gonna see how that goes. From. What I read longboat also eats nitrates... which could be why my nitrates have been undetectable for the 7 months I've had the tank running... but I always have phosphates...

 

[Subsea]

All photosynthetic animals consume nutrients, which include nitrogen & phosphate. The ratio of N is 16:1 in phytoplankton and 30 to 100:1 in macro algae.

Considering that Lyngbya is a type of Cynobacteria, which is normal for nitrogen limited tank. I suggest you feed more or dose nitrogen.

Lyngbya
Algae
Description:
Lyngbya is a genus of cyanobacteria, unicellular autotrophs that form the basis of the oceanic food chain. As a result of recent genetic analyses, several new genera was erected from this genus: e.g., Moorea, Limnoraphis, Okeania, Microseira, and Dapis. Wikipedia
Scientific name: Lyngbya
Higher classification: Oscillatoriaceae
Phylum: Cyanobacteria
Order: Oscillatoriales
Rank: Genus
Class

 

[SPSnut25]

All photosynthetic animals consume nutrients, which include nitrogen & phosphate. The ratio of N is 16:1 in phytoplankton and 30 to 100:1 in macro algae.

Considering that Lyngbya is a type of Cynobacteria, which is normal for nitrogen limited tank. I suggest you feed more or dose nitrogen.

Lyngbya
Algae
Description:
Lyngbya is a genus of cyanobacteria, unicellular autotrophs that form the basis of the oceanic food chain. As a result of recent genetic analyses, several new genera was erected from this genus: e.g., Moorea, Limnoraphis, Okeania, Microseira, and Dapis. Wikipedia
Scientific name: Lyngbya
Higher classification: Oscillatoriaceae
Phylum: Cyanobacteria
Order: Oscillatoriales
Rank: Genus
Class

I have started to feed more about a week or so ago too.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Very hard to tell as pics are very blue and slightly fuzzy
Can be algae or a bacteria

 

[SPSnut25]

I have started to feed more about a week or so ago too.

All photosynthetic animals consume nutrients, which include nitrogen & phosphate. The ratio of N is 16:1 in phytoplankton and 30 to 100:1 in macro algae.

Considering that Lyngbya is a type of Cynobacteria, which is normal for nitrogen limited tank. I suggest you feed more or dose nitrogen.

Lyngbya
Algae
Description:
Lyngbya is a genus of cyanobacteria, unicellular autotrophs that form the basis of the oceanic food chain. As a result of recent genetic analyses, several new genera was erected from this genus: e.g., Moorea, Limnoraphis, Okeania, Microseira, and Dapis. Wikipedia
Scientific name: Lyngbya
Higher classification: Oscillatoriaceae
Phylum: Cyanobacteria
Order: Oscillatoriales
Rank: Genus
Class

What do you use to dose nitrate with... I am a bit nervous to use stump remover... anything purer... or meant for the aquarium trade?

 

[SPSnut25]

What do you use to dose nitrate with... I am a bit nervous to use stump remover... anything purer... or meant for the aquarium

More pictures

 

[Subsea]

What do you use to dose nitrate with... I am a bit nervous to use stump remover... anything purer... or meant for the aquarium trade?

Stick with feeding more and quit using phosphate remover until concentration is a little higher.

Because I ran 10K gallon systems as I cultivated Red Ogo for human consumption, I dosed pure ammonia.

 

[Subsea]

More pictures

I am not familiar with that species of cyno. Do the string like hairs break off when you try to remove?

 

[Subsea]

SPSnut,
I noticed this is your first post to r2r. Welcome to the addiction. I have been hooked 50 years.

I suggest you start a tank thread to outline your goals and to use as a journal. In that manner, we can help you better by not asking needless questions already covered in your tank thread.

 

[SPSnut25]

I am not familiar with that species of cyno. Do the string like hairs break off when you try to remove?

The best way to remove is with a toothbrush or other bristle brush. It sticks on there pretty good. It doesn't just come off like a mat of red cyano. It seems to embed itself in the rock a little. Not as bad as say hair algae would... but even after you scrub it seems like it leaves some white fibers still attached near the rocks surface almost like roots. The description i got of this cyano said it doesn't have root structure... but its the closest thing I can find to it.

 

[Subsea]

The best way to remove is with a toothbrush or other bristle brush. It sticks on there pretty good. It doesn't just come off like a mat of red cyano. It seems to embed itself in the rock a little. Not as bad as say hair algae would... but even after you scrub it seems like it leaves some white fibers still attached near the rocks surface almost like roots. The description i got of this cyano said it doesn't have root structure... but its the closest thing I can find to it.

If rock can be removed, soak for 10 minutes in 10% solution of 3% hydrogen peroxide. For rock that can not be removed, remove uglies by hand as much as possible. Then dip toothbrush in H202 and scrub rock for 5 seconds, renew h202 and “wax on/wax off”.

 

[Subsea]

If rock can be removed, soak for 10 minutes in 10% solution of 3% hydrogen peroxide. For rock that can not be removed, remove uglies by hand as much as possible. Then dip toothbrush in H202 and scrub rock for 5 seconds, renew h202 and “wax on/wax off”.

PS:
I use the dip that I described with coral on the rock. Less soak time for sensitive corals,

 

[SPSnut25]

PS:
I use the dip that I described with coral on the rock. Less soak time for sensitive corals,

I have tried h202 dosing at 1ml per 10gal and it did nothing to it. I can't remove the rockwork because most of it is glued together with epoxy and reef glue. I will try scrubbing with a toothbrush dipped in h202. A lot of rockwork being a 125. I sometimes wonder if my rocks are leaching stuff. I started with dry rock this time... Instead of live rock. I started with live rock in most of my tanks in the past.