Losing the battle against... something

[Leyth]

So, I am losing the battle against something and I'm not sure what. This isn't my first tank and I've battled against GHA, bubble algae, cyano, and dinos in the past and succeeded. This new tank is a 300 gallon that has been running for 2 years and I'm not sure what I am dealing with this time.

I'll start with my numbers:

Calc: 400
Alk: 8.6
Mag: 1350
Phos: .024
Nitrate: 0 (bottomed out this morning, has been at 2.5 for a couple months)
I'm running carbon in a cannister and a skimmer

Stock:
1 Gem Tang
1 Hippo Tang
2 Tomato Clowns
4 Springeri Damsels (Helping me deal with the red planaria flatworms in the tank, you may notice them in the pics below)
4 Chromies
1 Royal Gramma
1 Cleaner shrimp
Huge clean up crew


At first sight, this looks like GHA, but you may notice the purple color to it which makes me think cyano. Also the bubbles on it makes me think dinos. The tangs won't even touch it:

Well, when I do pull it out, it looks clearly like GHA, but what is making the water brown in the container?

You can even see how the water has stained the tubing for the only cannister I have been running which is carbon:

Do you have any idea what I am dealing with here and what my next steps should be? I have been pulling out as much as I can every couple days, but it's nearly impossible with this size tank. Thanks ahead for your help.

 

[jda]

That looks like hair algae that is also covered in cyano. It is a like the daily double in Algae Jeopardy.

 

[Leyth]

That looks like hair algae that is also covered in cyano. It is a like the daily double in Algae Jeopardy.

It's weird that its not on the sand bed though isn't it?

 

[jda]

Cyano is able to get nitrogen in different ways than dinos, diatoms and algae. I wonder if the algae gives off nitrogen gas n2, which cyano can use. This could explain the local growth.

 

[Leyth]

Cyano is able to get nitrogen in different ways than dinos, diatoms and algae. I wonder if the algae gives off nitrogen gas n2, which cyano can use. This could explain the local growth.

Dang, thats wild. I have no idea how to deal with this then.

 

[jda]

Suck it out with a siphon. Manual removal. Get more CUC to eat the hair algae. Rock, pencil and tuxedo urchins tend to stay on the rocks better than pincushion urchins, for me. It might take a lot of them.

You are going to have to fight. That clump in the first photo can just be grabbed and pulled out.

 

[Leyth]

Suck it out with a siphon. Manual removal. Get more CUC to eat the hair algae. Rock, pencil and tuxedo urchins tend to stay on the rocks better than pincushion urchins, for me. It might take a lot of them.

You are going to have to fight. That clump in the first photo can just be grabbed and pulled out.

Hmm yea good idea. I don't have an urchin in this tank. Thank you

 

[Borat]

It's a Battle Royale!

 

[Leyth]

It's a Battle Royale!

Thank you Borat