Algae ID

[sticky_rice]

Was wondering what kind of algae this is and how I can get rid of it. I tried manually removing it but it comes back within a day. Tanks been set up for almost three months.

 

[Subsea]

Cyanobacteria. Very common in new tank startup especially when cycled with dry sand & dry rock with bottled bacteria.

 

[kevgib67]

You can use chemiclean which will take care of it but you will still need to resolve the underlying issue that brought it on so it doesn’t come back.

 

[Lavey29]

Cut lights to 6 hours for 2 weeks with blue and uv only no whites. Increase flow to affected areas. Weekly water changes with siphon out.

 

[Subsea]

@sticky_rice
Your cyno infestation is very light. Would you post a full tank shot under white light? Considering a 3 month setup, emerging algaes are part of a normal cycle.

Chemical treatment should not be a first option, and in fact, ChemiClean can impact many things negatively as it kills bacteria.

 

[Jason mack]

This looks more like dinos too me ..at a guess i would say its prorocentrum...but will need to see a sample under microscope for a positive ID... check out my group on facebook ...mack's reef dino support group . Download the pdf file dealing with dinos ...you will find it in the files tab .!

 

[Lavey29]

This looks more like dinos too me ..at a guess i would say its prorocentrum...but will need to see a sample under microscope for a positive ID... check out my group on facebook ...mack's reef dino support group . Download the pdf file dealing with dinos ...you will find it in the files tab .!

I thought so initially too but don't see any air bubbles and looks like it will come off in sheets.

 

[Subsea]

Was wondering what kind of algae this is and how I can get rid of it. I tried manually removing it but it comes back within a day. Tanks been set up for almost three months.

@sticky_rice
Consider starting a tank journal and detail how you set up your tank for its nitrification bacteria cycle. Once you do that, then advice can be specific to your cycle and your tank.

PS: Since this is your first post, welcome to r2r.

 

[Jason mack]

I thought so initially too but don't see any air bubbles and looks like it will come off in sheets.

Not all dinos have bubbles in them thats usually just found with ostreopsis..if its coming of in sheets then its more likely to be prorocentrum they form matts ..recomend treatment is dosing silicates ...

 

[Subsea]

Not all dinos have bubbles in them thats usually just found with ostreopsis..if its coming of in sheets then its more likely to be prorocentrum they form matts ..recomend treatment is dosing silicates ...

Would silica dosing promote diatom growth?

I dose silicates to grow ornamental sponges.

 

[Jason mack]

Would silica dosing promote diatom growth?

Yes , thats the sole purpose of dosing silicates , to promote a diatom bloom too outcompete them, plus your corals will also benefit from it as well as sponges

 

[Subsea]

Yes , thats the sole purpose of dosing silicates , to promote a diatom bloom too outcompete them

In a new tank cycle, it is doubtful that silicates are depleted. That’s why I asked OP to detail his startup.

 

[Jason mack]

Diatoms appear at the end of a cycle , dinos usually show up after this

 

[Subsea]

@sticky_rice
Consider starting a tank journal and detail how you set up your tank for its nitrification bacteria cycle. Once you do that, then advice can be specific to your cycle and your tank.

PS: Since this is your first post, welcome to r2r.

Ditto

 

[Jason mack]

In a new tank cycle, it is doubtful that silicates are depleted. That’s why I asked OP to detail his startup.

Personally i believe that the rise of dinos over the last 10 -15years has something to do with the LED lights ..where there is a specific spectrum that feeds/ fuels them ...10-15 years ago when everybody was using t5s and metal halides and running ulns systems dinos were unheard off ..
In fact i spoke with Ryan Bacheller from BRS last weekend about this at Rap Dallas

 

[Subsea]

Personally i believe that the rise of dinos over the last 10 -15years has something to do with the LED lights ..where there is a specific spectrum that feeds/ fuels them ...10-15 years ago when everybody was using t5s and metal halides and running ulns systems dinos were unheard off ..

I never saw Dino’s in my early (1971) high nutrient mixed gardens. Because I never went with alkalinity demanding SPS and instead went with mixed invertebrate Caribbean theme tanks, I opted to go with ornamental sponges then fell into the sponge loop with cryptic sponges.

Best I can tell, diatoms are foundational in the microbial food web.

Interactions between Diatoms and Bacteria

Summary: Diatoms and bacteria have cooccurred in common habitats for hundreds of millions of years, thus fostering specific associations and interactions with global biogeochemical consequences. Diatoms are responsible for one-fifth of the photosynthesis ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

In this review, we focus on interactions between two important groups of marine microbes, diatoms and bacteria. Diatoms are ubiquitous photosynthetic eukaryotes that are responsible for about 20% of photosynthesis on Earth (Fig. 1A). They serve as the base of the marine food web when they are consumed by higher eukaryotes, and they can also serve as food for heterotrophic bacteria. Diatoms are encased in distinctive, porous silica shells, called frustules (Fig. 1B), that cause them to sink rapidly when they die, carrying fixed organic carbon to the deep ocean. Therefore, diatoms play a major role in driving the biological pump and shaping the carbon cycle. They also influence the biogeochemical cycles of important elements such as nitrogen, silicon, and iron and thus affect other microbial communities (7). Heterotrophic bacteria are ubiquitous scavengers that utilize organic carbon produced by diatoms and other autotrophs, thereby remineralizing a large portion of organic matter back to CO2 (36). Because of their abundance and high functional diversity, marine bacteria drive the biogeochemical cycles of most biologically relevant elements (89).

 

[Jason mack]

I never saw Dino’s in my early (1971) high nutrient mixed gardens. Because I never went with alkalinity demanding SPS and instead went with mixed invertebrate Caribbean theme tanks, I opted to go with ornamental sponges then fell into the sponge loop with cryptic sponges.

Best I can tell, diatoms are foundational in the microbial food web.

Most definitely..

 

[Subsea]

Most definitely..

Interactions between Diatoms and Bacteria

Summary: Diatoms and bacteria have cooccurred in common habitats for hundreds of millions of years, thus fostering specific associations and interactions with global biogeochemical consequences. Diatoms are responsible for one-fifth of the photosynthesis ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 

[Subsea]

While this is advanced reefing, I use cryptic sponges in a refugium to deal with DOC that is not absorbed by activated carbon or removed by protein skimmers.

Interactions between Diatoms and Bacteria

Summary: Diatoms and bacteria have cooccurred in common habitats for hundreds of millions of years, thus fostering specific associations and interactions with global biogeochemical consequences. Diatoms are responsible for one-fifth of the photosynthesis ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

“Heterotrophic bacteria are ubiquitous scavengers that utilize organic carbon produced by diatoms and other autotrophs, thereby remineralizing a large portion of organic matter back to CO2 (36). Because of their abundance and high functional diversity, marine bacteria drive the biogeochemical cycles of most biologically relevant elements (89).“

 

[sticky_rice]

@sticky_rice
Consider starting a tank journal and detail how you set up your tank for its nitrification bacteria cycle. Once you do that, then advice can be specific to your cycle and your tank.

PS: Since this is your first post, welcome to r2r.

Ok thanks ill try setting that up at some point.