- Joined
- Aug 30, 2019
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Dear all
I would like to ask you for help identifying this algae.
A bit of a background. We set up the aquarium last august. In December the silicon failed and we had to restart it (all rock, media from the sump, fish and coral where transferred over). Originally everything was doing great. We bought some more corals in January and all good. Good polip extension and growth. In late February we started experiencing an stn event, especially in our seriatopora and a acro colony. Soon after the algae started spreeding. The stn problem seemed to a lack o nutrient's. While we run a skimmerless set up, the ATS was keeping nitrate below 1 and phosphate at 0.
For the last two weeks we have been feeding like maniacs. Frozen 3 to 4 times a day, pellets two more times on an autofeeder, dosing acropower everyday and feeding reefroids almost everyday. We also refuced the ATS light period. This seems to have stop the stn and its slowly increasing the nutrinents (0 phosphate and around 2 nitrate), however the algae keeps spreading and I believe its affecting the corals. Its growing on the plaiting montis and on the remaining sps. Most lps apart from a chalice are doing great, but they are also being fed daily.
Originally I thought it could dinos, since it creates mats of algae full of air bubbles at the end of the day. However under the microscope it doesn't really look like it. Its clearly a single cell algae that creats mats, but not sure what. CUC will not touch it.
Levels
Alk 8.3
Calcium 390
Mag 1350
Nitrate 1
Phosphate 0
RO water with 0 tds
I will try to upload a video and get more images tomorrow.
Thank you all for the help.
Cheers
I would like to ask you for help identifying this algae.
A bit of a background. We set up the aquarium last august. In December the silicon failed and we had to restart it (all rock, media from the sump, fish and coral where transferred over). Originally everything was doing great. We bought some more corals in January and all good. Good polip extension and growth. In late February we started experiencing an stn event, especially in our seriatopora and a acro colony. Soon after the algae started spreeding. The stn problem seemed to a lack o nutrient's. While we run a skimmerless set up, the ATS was keeping nitrate below 1 and phosphate at 0.
For the last two weeks we have been feeding like maniacs. Frozen 3 to 4 times a day, pellets two more times on an autofeeder, dosing acropower everyday and feeding reefroids almost everyday. We also refuced the ATS light period. This seems to have stop the stn and its slowly increasing the nutrinents (0 phosphate and around 2 nitrate), however the algae keeps spreading and I believe its affecting the corals. Its growing on the plaiting montis and on the remaining sps. Most lps apart from a chalice are doing great, but they are also being fed daily.
Originally I thought it could dinos, since it creates mats of algae full of air bubbles at the end of the day. However under the microscope it doesn't really look like it. Its clearly a single cell algae that creats mats, but not sure what. CUC will not touch it.
Levels
Alk 8.3
Calcium 390
Mag 1350
Nitrate 1
Phosphate 0
RO water with 0 tds
I will try to upload a video and get more images tomorrow.
Thank you all for the help.
Cheers