It bothers my mat corals and grows right over zoas and encrust a dark green/brown film on top of my zoas and gsp. Also grows right between the flesh and stony skeleton on my lps like acans and hammers
Brown hair algea or something else?
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It bothers my mat corals and grows right over zoas and encrust a dark green/brown film on top of my zoas and gsp. Also grows right between the flesh and stony skeleton on my lps like acans and hammers
mcarroll
10K Club member
Can you post another pic or vid with the flow shut off? I really can't see any detail with it whipping around like it is. 
Can you also post all your most recent test results? How old is the tank? What are you doing for nutrient export?
Can you also post all your most recent test results? How old is the tank? What are you doing for nutrient export?
Idoc
Getting lazier and lazier with upkeep!
Following...I have the same stuff in my tank that's only a few months post-cycle. I clean it off with a scrub brush as much as I can. I shut off my lights for 3 days and it all disappeared, but is slowly coming back now!
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The tank is young only 5-6 months but my nitrate and phosphates are low I use carbon most of the time was running gfo but I saw it did nothing so I stopped
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It collects a lot of debris my cuc is a mix of snails. I have seen them pick at it here and there but not much or often
mcarroll
10K Club member
Look too "dry" and not-bubbling so I doubt dino's. (Running some activated carbon to guard against toxins still might not be a bad idea.)
But to me it kinda looks like plain hair algae that has some cyano or maybe diatoms (or other) growing on it. Not uncommon.
NO3 and PO4 should not be near zero – growing algae with normal NO3 and PO4 levels is better than growing what likes "zero nutrients" which is dino's and their kind. Icky icky stay away!!
If NO3 or PO4 are currently near-zero, then definitely cease other nutrient reduction strategies if any others are in action. (i.e. organic carbon dosing)
I would also escalate your CUC and add another small pack of snails.
There's also this to try: Algae Cure!! Spot Treating Algae With Peroxide
I'd at least give that a shot to see what kind of progress you can make – it's pretty effective.
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I hear you on the snail pack! I’ve been thinking the same. My carbon has been going non stop for the last 2-3 weeks.
It definitely looks like hair algea all except for how dirty it can get or the whole fact that it lightly grows over certain fleshy corals but I think you may be right in that it looks to be Cyano mixed in with the hair algea I’ve just never seen such dull colored cyano or hair algea that grows so dark
It definitely looks like hair algea all except for how dirty it can get or the whole fact that it lightly grows over certain fleshy corals but I think you may be right in that it looks to be Cyano mixed in with the hair algea I’ve just never seen such dull colored cyano or hair algea that grows so dark
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Can I spray the peroxide right on the zoas?
mcarroll
10K Club member
It would be an experiment with obvious risks (right??), but IMO worth a shot. It's not a lot of peroxide and the peroxide isn't really that strong if that helps.
I think I'd consider taking a sample and running some tests for dino's.....see if you can shake up a sample really well and knock all the brown off of one of the strands. Take the "clean" strand out. If you then leave it sitting in the light, the dino's ought to re-group into a little mass. Other things like cyano or diatoms won't do that. You can also add some peroxide to the vial (maybe use another tank sample that you don't shake up) and see if you get a lot of bubbling – that's a sign of cyanobacteria.
You might want to peek at this to see if your current conditions seem favorable to dinoflagellates: Dinoflagellates – Are You Tired Of Battling Altogether?
OP
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I’ll try the cyano test almost forgot about that one thank you. I don’t think it’s Dino’s for a couple reasons but it could be a cluster of a couple things like you said. When I would try to baste it off the zoas the polyps actually disconnected from the substrate almost immediately. One is currently growing on a small PW as a result. I tried removing a zoa polyp but by day 2 in QT the brown dirty algea covered the polyp from ever opening again. So I thought maybe some form of zoa pox but recently it appears to break down into hair algea. At first the hairy algea you see crowding those Zoas used to just be a dirty brown film algea . It would keep the zoas from opening but after some time the zoas started to open and the aglea has grown into hair algea but still thin layers of the slime algea can be seen on the base of the zoas and it’s completely covered my gsp colonyIt would be an experiment with obvious risks (right??), but IMO worth a shot. It's not a lot of peroxide and the peroxide isn't really that strong if that helps.
I think I'd consider taking a sample and running some tests for dino's.....see if you can shake up a sample really well and knock all the brown off of one of the strands. Take the "clean" strand out. If you then leave it sitting in the light, the dino's ought to re-group into a little mass. Other things like cyano or diatoms won't do that. You can also add some peroxide to the vial (maybe use another tank sample that you don't shake up) and see if you get a lot of bubbling – that's a sign of cyanobacteria.
You might want to peek at this to see if your current conditions seem favorable to dinoflagellates: Dinoflagellates – Are You Tired Of Battling Altogether?
OP
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The lone survivor of what was once a beautiful green star polyp colony
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No but I do not
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Nitrates between 10-20
Phosphates .05
Temp between 79-80
Weekly waterchanges and protein skimmer
Phosphates .05
Temp between 79-80
Weekly waterchanges and protein skimmer
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