ID this algea and how to kill it

[Senior El Roboto]

ive seen quite a few types of algea but this one i have never seen or heard of before growing in my tank but primarly on my candy cane coral seen in the picture. any advice would be great on how to rid it from my tank

 

[Naiad]

Is it only on this coral?

 

[Senior El Roboto]

its a little bit on my zoas, purple hammer and an acan frag.

 

[Naiad]

But not on the rocks?

 

[Senior El Roboto]

no, not on the rocks at the moment

 

[TarHeelReefer22]

Could this be a fungi or bacteria of some sort? Have you dipped them to see if that helps or manual removal?

 

[Senior El Roboto]

manual removal doesnt work. grows right back within a week or so. i havent dipped it

 

[Naiad]

I think you have managed to get your hands on the asexual tetrasporophyte of Asparagopsis sp. What are your phosphate and nitrate lvls? Also what kind of cuc do you have?

 

[Senior El Roboto]

CUC is kinda slim right now. havent tested my phosphate or nitrate in a little bit. dont see any algea anywhere else and everything has been quite happy. i can test that later tonight when i get home.
what do i do if i test no phosphates and nitrates very low?

 

[Naiad]

Then remove the coral with algea to a separate bucket and pull as much off as you can. Rinse the coral off to get any loose strands off. Don't want it spreading. Then repeat in two days. Increasing cuc will help keep it in check and reducing nutrients will hopefully starve it. This is not your standard hobby algae. Do you have a refugium?

 

[Senior El Roboto]

yes i have a fuge with plenty of thriving chato in it.

 

[Naiad]

I would start by making sure all your parameters are in range. This includes alk and pH. You use ro right? How often do you do water changes?

 

[Senior El Roboto]

5-10% water change every week. ph is good, will need to chcek alk

 

[TarHeelReefer22]

using RO/DI?