What kind of algae is this?

[DesertReefBoy]

+1

What are you testing phosphates and nitrates with?

What are you feeding?

What are your setting on the Hydra 26 hd's

I test phosphate with a Hanna checker. Nitrates with Red Sea test kit.

I have been feeding LRS and different types of hikari. I think the hikari is raising my Po4 so i might just go straight LRS.

For lighting I run AB+ for hydras. BRS did a video on it. They were able to get the spectrum pretty close to the radions. For the last two hours I have my blues go up and everything turn down so the corals really pop in the evening. I also have 4 48” blue plus T5.

 

[DesertReefBoy]

This looks just like red/purple cyano I had in my tank long ago

Yea that looks very close other then color. What does Cyano feel like when you touch it?

 

[Scrubber_steve]

Yea that looks very close other then color. What does Cyano feel like when you touch it?

I'm not an expert by any standard because mine went away, but, what I had was like a furry carpet that could be lifted off the rock in pieces pretty easily. I think cyano can vary a little in appearence & texture.

 

[DesertReefBoy]

I'm not an expert by any standard because mine went away, but, what I had was like a furry carpet that could be lifted off the rock in pieces pretty easily. I think cyano can vary a little in appearence & texture.

Ok. I’m on shift and when I get off in the morning I will post a video of my moving the algae around.

 

[Brew12]

I think cyano can vary a little in appearence & texture.

It definitely can. This is serious cyanobacteria.

 

[rkpetersen]

I'm not sure of what that stuff is, but the way it grows, with little almost crinkly outcroppings, makes me think of what newly implanted Sea Lettuce (ulva) might look like if left unchecked for a short time. Do you or have you by chance have/had any in your sump? If Ulva, most herbivores, like those already mentioned, will destroy it quickly.

It could still be something like a cyano, though. They can vary, a lot; cyanobacteria are one of the oldest and most varied phylums of life on the planet.

 

[DesertReefBoy]

I'm not sure of what that stuff is, but the way it grows, with little almost crinkly outcroppings, makes me think of what newly implanted Sea Lettuce (ulva) might look like if left unchecked for a short time. Do you or have you by chance have/had any in your sump? If Ulva, most herbivores, like those already mentioned, will destroy it quickly.

It could still be something like a cyano, though. They can vary, a lot; cyanobacteria are one of the oldest and most varied phylums of life on the planet.

I have a few different types of algae in my refugium. It varies month to month on what is dominate at the time. I think on my overflow and on a frag plug with some
Zoas they are both ulva. What do you think? I put a snail on the overflow a few days ago and he is going to town but seems to be leaving the ulva alone.

 

[DesertReefBoy]

Here are a bunch of pictures and videos. Hope this helps.

 

[DesertReefBoy]

Awesome the videos won’t post

 

[DesertReefBoy]

I'm uploading to youtube and you can view the videos of the algae that way.

 

[rkpetersen]

I have a few different types of algae in my refugium. It varies month to month on what is dominate at the time. I think on my overflow and on a frag plug with some
Zoas they are both ulva. What do you think? I put a snail on the overflow a few days ago and he is going to town but seems to be leaving the ulva alone.

This is almost certainly ulva. Still may not be the same as the other one though.

 

[DesertReefBoy]

Sorry about the background noise. My wife likes to talk lol

 

[DesertReefBoy]

This is almost certainly ulva. Still may not be the same as the other one though.

okay, what is the best way to rid in your system? my blue tang doesn't really seem to be very interested. I am going to take the overflow piece out and clean it but i have it on a few frag plugs with zoa.

 

[DesertReefBoy]

Okay, I added some lame music to the videos so you don't have to listen to the background noise in our house lol

 

[rkpetersen]

Looking at your videos, seems that you have a mix of several different algaes, mostly in discrete stands, in your system. The stuff that hangs on is some kind of short turf green algae. The stuff that blows off easily leaving bare rock is pretty likely a form of cyano. There's some other areas of ulva growth in there too. I'd get a couple more aggressively herbivorous fish, don't feed them for a couple of days, and see if that does the job.

I forget, is your blue tang a hippo/hepatus? They can be the exception to every other tang rule as they would often much prefer to eat meaty food and algae scraps out of the water column compared to algae on surfaces.

 

[rkpetersen]

I also have a tank without many herbivorous fish, including another not very useful hippo tang. When I was started see ulva begin to grow in the DT, largely on pump and hardware surfaces, everything involved got a freshwater bath and scrub, which took out 99% of the ulva.

 

[DesertReefBoy]

Looking at your videos, seems that you have a mix of several different algaes, mostly in discrete stands, in your system. The stuff that hangs on is some kind of short turf green algae. The stuff that blows off easily leaving bare rock is pretty a form of cyano. There's some other areas of ulva growth in there too. I'd get a couple more aggressively herbivorous fish, don't feed them for a couple of days, and if that does the job.

I forget, is your blue tang a hippo/hepatus? They can be the exception to every other tang rule as they would often much prefer to eat meaty food and algae scraps out of the water column compared to algae on surfaces.

Thank you so much for the feedback!! I am at a loss when it comes to this algae. the blue tang I have is a hippo and picks at the rock every now and again but I feed every day because I was told anthias need to be kept well fed.

 

[DesertReefBoy]

I also have a tank without many herbivorous fish, including another not very useful hippo tang. When I was started see ulva begin to grow in the DT, largely on pump and hardware surfaces, everything involved got a freshwater bath and scrub, which took out 99% of the ulva.

what are some other fish you would recommend for the other algae? I am going to add some emerald crabs along with a yellow kole eye.

 

[rkpetersen]

what are some other fish you would recommend for the other algae? I am going to add some emerald crabs along with a yellow kole eye.

If you didn't feed it too much and get it used to eating off of a clip (like my piggie), a Foxface Rabbitfish would probably go after some of it. Because your tank is fairly small for this fish, you might consider the One Spot Foxface which is slightly smaller than the others. Blennies other than fang blennies might put a dent in it too, especially something like a Lawnmower.

 

[rkpetersen]

but I feed every day because I was told anthias need to be kept well fed.

They do. And even then, they'll probably get thin. A tip for anthias: try feeding them roe (fish eggs), which you can buy either refrigerated or frozen. If you swirl them around in some tank water first so they're not clumped, most other fish including the hippo tang will pretty much ignore them due to their small size but anthias will snap up every one. Also because they're full of lipid, they're high energy and tend to float around in the water for a long time rather than sink.