Help Identifying this Algae

[HayesReef]

Good evening all. I am still fairly new to this hobby and have had my reef tank with corals, 2 clown fish, conch and turbo snails for about a year now. Recently, I started to notice what I thought was algae growing all over the rocks and coral. I have scrapped it off the rocks and it grows back within a week. I have done water changes which has not seemed to help either. If a piece is scraped off, it will float and eventually dissolve and stick to the back of the tank. The ammonia, phosphates, pH, salinity and nitrates are all in normal ranges. I have used Vibrant, which has not helped. I am not sure what else to do. Does anyone know what this could be?

 

[wtdenk]

Chrysophytes?

 

[acesfull44]

Vermited Snails?

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Possibly chrysophytes

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

@HayesReef , the pics in the first post look a lot like yours:

Thread 'ID This Algae [it murdered my tank]' https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/id-this-algae-it-murdered-my-tank.691278/

 

[HayesReef]

I looked over all of the photos and links the last few days. It’s not affecting the coral negatively, it just looks really unsightly. This weekend, I am doing a big water change, scrubbing the rocks, and getting out as much of it as I can. I then am going to cycle 3-4 days of darkness to see if this helps any. I ordered GFO to add as well to the filter media.

When scraped off the rocks, pieces with air bubbles in them float to the top of the tank. When removed from water it semi holds it shape, but is gelatinous in nature. If this doesn’t work, I am not sure what else to do really besides start over. I have been battling this for 2 months now and I am about ready to throw in the towel.

 

[bradleym]

Before you give up, please post the parameters for your tank. Also, if your tank is running really clean, try increasing your nitrates and phosphates for a few weeks instead of lowering them. I don't have any scientific papers to back me up, but I have had similar scum/bubble issues when running my tank too clean.

 

[HayesReef]

I tested the reef parameters this morning.
Calcium 450 ppm
Ammonia 0 ppm
pH 8.2
Carbonate Hardness is high at 275 ppm
Phosphate 0.50 ppm
Nitrate 5.0 ppm

 

[HayesReef]

would the carbonate being that high contribute to something like this?

 

[bradleym]

I do think that alkalinity is a bit high, but I don't know if it could be the cause of this. I noticed you do not have any SPS, and your nitrates are at 5ppm, which is essentially nonexistent given the error margin for tests. I would recommend raising the nitrates to 30-50ppm using fish food of some kind. This is actually much better for these corals, and, in my tank, decreased the growth of this type of material.

To be clear, lowering the phosphates and alkalinity would be wise, but again, my experience with this type of thing ended up being tied low nutrient levels.

 

[HayesReef]

Thanks for the information. I have frozen food that I can add. I have a protein skimmer that runs underneath in the refugium. I also have a UV light that runs as well. Should I turn these off?.
I have 2 Hydra 64 lights that I have changed to run at 1% blue for 8 hours. It still has light, but less than what It did. I thought that this would help to loosen the algae, so i did this yesterday. Would this even help though?

Should I even bother with a water change tomorrow then?

 

[bradleym]

Thanks for the information. I have frozen food that I can add. I have a protein skimmer that runs underneath in the refugium. I also have a UV light that runs as well. Should I turn these off?.
I have 2 Hydra 64 lights that I have changed to run at 1% blue for 8 hours. It still has light, but less than what It did. I thought that this would help to loosen the algae, so i did this yesterday. Would this even help though?

Should I even bother with a water change tomorrow then?

UV won't matter either way here for my advice. The skimmer and water changes will help with the phosphates, so it's probably still a good idea. I'm not sure if the lighting change will help or not, but it can't hurt.

I will say this, I have no skimmer, no UV, no water changes except every few months, and BRIGHT lights. I feed carefully and my corals absorb almost all of the nutrients. But my tank is much older, and very full of coral now.