Algae Id

[fishyreef13]

Hi,
Could someone id what type of algae I’m dealing with. It comes back within a day of blowing it off. Corals do not look very happy. I was away for about a week and came back to this.

Salinity- 1.026
Temp- 77.5
Nitrate- 10
Phosphate- 0.05
Alk-7.8
Calcium- 450

 

[fishyreef13]

Hi,
Could someone id what type of algae I’m dealing with. It comes back within a day of blowing it off. Corals do not look very happy. I was away for about a week and came back to this.

Salinity- 1.026
Temp- 77.5
Nitrate- 10
Phosphate- 0.05
Alk-7.8
Calcium- 450

 

[EnterName]

I second Dinoflagellates.
If the tank is less than a year old it is fairly common to get them.

The best you can do is probably

• keep water parameters stable
• ICP-MS test (not ICP-OES or we won't be able to double check all trace elements properly)
• manual removal (probably daily for quite a while which is tedious),
• UV sterilizer

If you have access to a microscope the identification would be much easier, as there is also a chance of diatoms being part of the mix or (much rarer) chrysophytes (also known as golden algae). The ICP-test will let you know if there is excess SiO₂/SiO₄ in your water that might cause any of those additional issues.

Considering the growth you already have in your tank and your nutrient levels I would not recommend increasing nutrients. It's a common recommendation as dinos sometimes are associated with low nutrient levels, but this doesn't seem to be the cause in your tank or your readings would be 0.

 

[BryanM]

Looks like stringy dinos to me, are there air bubbles present as well?

Do they go away at night? If yes, this is a good thing. A UV sterilized will help tremendously. That, combined with vacuuming them out through a filter sock, so you can reuse teh salt water, will work great.