Help ID'ing this nuisance algae/bacteria/organism addendum

[CaptainSupersonic]

Hello everyone,

I posted the same topic however, the photos I was able to get were not that great. I have much better photos this time with a better description.

There is a reddish algae on a live rock. It does not blow off with a turkey baster. It feels slimy to touch. I can brush it off but before continuing doing so I would like to identify it to ensure it will not spread or harm anything. When I scrape it off with my finger (you can see the areas I scraped off, the rock shows. I did so to show the contrast between the rock and the whatever this is) I think it comes off looking kind of like dust. It grows over everything. Luckily it is only on one rock, I want to get on top of it before it spreads and frankly to make my zoa's happy again.

Any ideas? The photos are decently magnified. How do I get rid of it?

Thanks in advance.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Since it doesn't blow off, I'm going to say an invasive sponge; based on your pics from the other thread, it doesn't seem to chemically be causing any harm, so the only thing to really watch for is if it grows over and smothers coral - if it doesn't smother corals (which it didn't seem like it was in the other thread), then it's a harmless (albeit invasively fast growing and spreading) filter feeder.

For anyone wondering, here's the other thread:

Help ID'ing this nuisance algae/bacteria/organism

Hello everyone. Fellow reef nerds. I have a rock with, well please have a look at the photos. Does anyone know what I am dealing with and how to eradicate it? Whatever it is, it is ticking off some of my Zoa's. The brown algae looking stuff, the white wormy guys, and anything else you see in...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[CaptainSupersonic]

Since it doesn't blow off, I'm going to say an invasive sponge; based on your pics from the other thread, it doesn't seem to chemically be causing any harm, so the only thing to really watch for is if it grows over and smothers coral - if it doesn't smother corals (which it didn't seem like it was in the other thread), then it's a harmless (albeit invasively fast growing and spreading) filter feeder.

For anyone wondering, here's the other thread:

Help ID'ing this nuisance algae/bacteria/organism

Hello everyone. Fellow reef nerds. I have a rock with, well please have a look at the photos. Does anyone know what I am dealing with and how to eradicate it? Whatever it is, it is ticking off some of my Zoa's. The brown algae looking stuff, the white wormy guys, and anything else you see in...

www.reef2reef.com

Sponges can grow in a film like this and how is the best way to remove? Should I brush it off and let the power heads push it into the water column and into the sump? Hit it with a toothbrush? CUC including fish CUC do not touch it. I even put snails on top of it and they just moved on.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Looks to be cyano or other bacterial but pics are quite dark to confirm. Please repost using white lighting for clearest id.

 

[CaptainSupersonic]

Looks to be cyano or other bacterial but pics are quite dark to confirm. Please repost using white lighting for clearest id.

I used a headlamp so I could highlight the area better. We are looking at the brown/yellowish funk. Thank you for suggesting using a white light,

 

[vetteguy53081]

I used a headlamp so I could highlight the area better. We are looking at the brown/yellowish funk. Thank you for suggesting using a white light,

Looks like what is known as chrysophytes which is a thick slimy like substance which favors areas with low flow and even light.
It requires scrubing with a firm detail ot tooth brush in a container with tank water.

 

[CaptainSupersonic]

Looks like what is known as chrysophytes which is a thick slimy like substance which favors areas with low flow and even light.
It requires scrubing with a firm detail ot tooth brush in a container with tank water.

OK, so do not brush while in the DT?

The tank is setup peninsula, I added two PHs on the side closer to this rock. Will the extra flow remove it or does it have to be done manually outside the DT?

It is my Zoa rock so if I have to remove it, it is the easiest/hardiest to remove and work on so that is good.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Sponges can grow in a film like this and how is the best way to remove? Should I brush it off and let the power heads push it into the water column and into the sump? Hit it with a toothbrush? CUC including fish CUC do not touch it. I even put snails on top of it and they just moved on.

Encrusting sponges can grow in films like this (often looking suspiciously like cyano when they do).

Regardless, the recommended treatment is pretty similar to the suggested Chrysophytes treatment above:

I would try the scraping with a steel straw/brushing with a toothbrush and siphoning out for that one in particular - if you can do this is a bowl of saltwater out of the tank (I don't recommend adding the water to the tank after) and rinse with clean saltwater (not from the bowl) afterwards, that would be even better.

Basically, if the sponges have enough food and enough trace elements (which for most sponges includes silicates) to meet their needs, then you’ll see their populations booming.

If you can figure out what’s allowing them to thrive in your tank, then you can deal with that root cause and get rid of them.

 

[CaptainSupersonic]

Encrusting sponges can grow in films like this (often looking suspiciously like cyano when they do).

Regardless, the recommended treatment is pretty similar to the suggested Chrysophytes treatment above:

I am reading about Chrysophytes on reef2reef. Other people's experiences. This week I started dosing Bac7 and a few other things. Seems like the best approach in this situation is to remove the rock, since it is on one siloed rock and manually remove as much as I can.

Will hydrogen peroxide brushed on the bare rock after removing with a toothbrush then rinsing off the peroxide before placing back in DT a good idea?

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Seems like the best approach in this situation is to remove the rock, since it is on one siloed rock and manually remove as much as I can.

Yeah, remove it, clean it well, and put it back would be my suggestion.

 

[CaptainSupersonic]

Yeah, remove it, clean it well, and put it back would be my suggestion.

Thank you all helping solve this issue and formulate a plan.

This particular rock is the problem child in the newish tank. I have other things that needs to be addressed on the rock so...

 

[CaptainSupersonic]

I removed the rock, spent a bit of time cleaning the chrysophytes off the rock. I also hit some hydroids and other algae. Rock is back in the tank. Hopefully this will give the Zoa's room to grow like crazy and take over.

Thanks again for all the help.