Need help identifying what sort of algae I have :(

[North Borders]

Have struggled with this stuff for a couple of months now. I can brush the rocks clean, but it's back within a week. Also, everything I've tried on the sand has been temporary at best as well. I've tried Chemiclean and h202 dosing so far.

Reefer 250
For flow i have 2 mp40s running at about 38%

Lit by LEDs. Dual radion xr15pro g4s runniing Radiant at 49% with the new diffusers on each.
I run carbon in a reactor.

Ca 450, mag 1330
Alk is 8.5 dog
Nitrate is 5
Phos hovers between 0.05 and 0.1 depending on the day.

A month ago I swapped out all my rodi filters when I realized some TDS was getting through. About 1 month before that was when my troubles started.
I've since done four 20% water changes.


Most of my cleanup crew has died over the last couple of months and I'm adding a new one today from Reefcleaners.

 

[Highgrade]

Looks like turf/GHA. Try Vibrant. It worked for me.

 

[North Borders]

How often did you dose it? Did you do 1 mL/10 gal?

 

[tenurepro]

I wonder if it is dinos mixed in with the algae... dinos can release toxins and that may explain why your cuc died

 

[North Borders]

I've worried about that a bit too. My tank was doing really well up until I started leaching TDS through the RODI. Some of my corals are still doing great, some have really gone blah

 

[Cnidoblast]

try hand removal first if possible

 

[North Borders]

I use a tooth brush to clean it off my rocks every few days. I'm wondering if it's maybe GHA because it breaks apart and gets very "dust like" when I brush it. I think it's too well formed for it for to be diatoms, but that's also a possibility as my silicate remover cartridge was depleted for about a month.

 

[jhatfield]

I use a tooth brush to clean it off my rocks every few days. I'm wondering if it's maybe GHA because it breaks apart and gets very "dust like" when I brush it. I think it's too well formed for it for to be diatoms, but that's also a possibility as my silicate remover cartridge was depleted for about a month.

Looks like I have the same stuff. If I blast it with a turkey baster it turns to dust only to return again the next day as soon as the room lights up a bit. This stuff grows back on the sand REALLY fast. If I turn over the sand it will return in a few hours. I can't be totally sure but it seems to get worse after a water change and it seems to like lower nutrients.

 

[North Borders]

I did my second dose of Vibrant yesterday. Big water change today with aggressive sand siphoning. Literally moved all of my sand corals into a bucket and cleaned the sand really well. Scrubbed the rocks again.

I used Vibrant about a year ago on my nano and liked the results, so I have my fingers crossed that it knocks this out on the 250.

 

[North Borders]

Looks like I have the same stuff. If I blast it with a turkey baster it turns to dust only to return again the next day as soon as the room lights up a bit. This stuff grows back on the sand REALLY fast. If I turn over the sand it will return in a few hours. I can't be totally sure but it seems to get worse after a water change and it seems to like lower nutrients.

Had any luck with your algae? I tried a 2 week stint of Fluconazole but no luck.

 

[jhatfield]

Had any luck with your algae? I tried a 2 week stint of Fluconazole but no luck.

I haven't really tried anything yet since this is the most stable my tank has ever been so I'm in no hurry to do any chemical treatment any time soon. Alk, Cal, and Mag are rock solid past couple months which previously has been a real struggle.

I brush off the hair algae and whatever other algae is growing about twice a week. I did order some more fluconizole to have on hand because I'm thinking some of the thicker branches I see growing my be bryopsis. As soon as light hits the tank in the mornings, indirect through windows, the brown algae (diatoms?) form on the sand and then disapears soon after lights out in the evenings.

I would like to restock my cleanup crew including a mexican turbo snail to mow through some of the hair algae. The hermits appear to be eating something since they are still alive but they're certainly not going after the hair algae.

 

[North Borders]

Well I feel really dumb. I had forgotten that about 2 years ago I had spirulina in my nano tank and I brought some of that rock over to my current set up. I don't know what made me think of it all of a sudden and not until that moment, but I think that's what my algae woes have been.

I've just finished up round 2 of double dosed Chemiclean (2 scoops/10 gallons) and the algae is melting away. I'm going to skip the final water change and just watch and wait, but so far it's looking pretty good!

 

[zechariah campbell]

Well I feel really dumb. I had forgotten that about 2 years ago I had spirulina in my nano tank and I brought some of that rock over to my current set up. I don't know what made me think of it all of a sudden and not until that moment, but I think that's what my algae woes have been.

I've just finished up round 2 of double dosed Chemiclean (2 scoops/10 gallons) and the algae is melting away. I'm going to skip the final water change and just watch and wait, but so far it's looking pretty good!

Well I feel really dumb. I had forgotten that about 2 years ago I had spirulina in my nano tank and I brought some of that rock over to my current set up. I don't know what made me think of it all of a sudden and not until that moment, but I think that's what my algae woes have been.

I've just finished up round 2 of double dosed Chemiclean (2 scoops/10 gallons) and the algae is melting away. I'm going to skip the final water change and just watch and wait, but so far it's looking pretty good!

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