Brown/Red Algae in sand

[Subsea]

@Subsea has it correct, the cyano is minimal and beneficial when not in plague proportions, which you do not have.
I’d keep siphoning and stirring that sand. It will go away on its own.

@Rocks reef
Curious as to your thoughts on why Cyanobacteria is beneficial in modest quantities.

 

[jimmypencil]

From a first glance I would say something like Coolia sp., but there are thousands of species that sometimes can very much look alike.

That sucks, definitely some kind of Dino’s though?

 

[EnterName]

That sucks, definitely some kind of Dino’s though?

I'm reasonably sure those are Dinoflagellates, yes.

 

[jimmypencil]

I'm reasonably sure those are Dinoflagellates, yes.

I guess they never went away, lol! I’ve been dealing with them since September. Looks like I had osteoporosis and now I have a different strain? I’m guessing it’s not uncommon to have multiple strains?

 

[EnterName]

I'm reasonably sure those are Dinoflagellates, yes.

I guess they never went away, lol! I’ve been dealing with them since September. Looks like I had osteoporosis and now I have a different strain? I’m guessing it’s not uncommon to have multiple strains?

The images I posted earlier were all taken in a very short time interval from samples of my current tank.

You usually have one dominant species at a time but can sometimes manage to find a few individual cells of other dinoflagellates. I'm struggling to find coolia and large cell Amphidinium though to "complete" my collection of the most common ones

In my experience the dominant species changes with environmental factors such as C:N:P ratio, lights, substrate/rock, filtration methods, macro algae, etc.

 

[Subsea]

I guess they never went away, lol! I’ve been dealing with them since September. Looks like I had osteoporosis and now I have a different strain? I’m guessing it’s not uncommon to have multiple strains?

70yrs ago, as a child, while on fishing trips to offshore oil production platforms, I witnessed Bioluminescence on surface waters in the Gulf of Mexico and became enthralled by the marine environment.

Dinoflagellets when excited, produce bioluminescence.

Dinoflagellets fix nitrogen from the atmosphere into ammonia.

Dinoflagellets are food for copepods, mussels, clams & oysters.

Jimmy,
Check out this predator/prey sceanario between different Dinoflagellets

“Dinoflagellates Eating Dinoflagellates
Interestingly, the predator-prey relationship isn't limited to different species. Some dinoflagellates are predatory and will actually hunt other dinoflagellates. These carnivorous dinoflagellates use feeding veils or feeding tubes to hunt their cousins for food and energy. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
For further exploration, you can read more about the complex interactions between these protists in this PubMed Central study or review the fluid dynamics of ASLO Journals regarding how these microscopic hunters move and feed.“

 

[jimmypencil]

70yrs ago, as a child, while on fishing trips to offshore oil production platforms, I witnessed Bioluminescence on surface waters in the Gulf of Mexico and became enthralled by the marine environment.

Dinoflagellets when excited, produce bioluminescence.

Dinoflagellets fix nitrogen from the atmosphere into ammonia.

Dinoflagellets are food for copepods, mussels, clams & oysters.

Jimmy,
Check out this predator/prey sceanario between different Dinoflagellets

“Dinoflagellates Eating Dinoflagellates
Interestingly, the predator-prey relationship isn't limited to different species. Some dinoflagellates are predatory and will actually hunt other dinoflagellates. These carnivorous dinoflagellates use feeding veils or feeding tubes to hunt their cousins for food and energy. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
For further exploration, you can read more about the complex interactions between these protists in this PubMed Central study or review the fluid dynamics of ASLO Journals regarding how these microscopic hunters move and feed.“

Very cool, thanks for all the valuable info in this thread!