Need help with new type of algae (for me)

[Chris Kunz]

I having been trying to figure out what type of algae this is, and what I need to do about it. If you look close it’s kind of brown and looks like a bunch of tiny little feathers? If I leave the lights off for a week it goes away, but comes back within a day or two of turning them back on. I can clean the sand and stir it up to make it look clean, but once again it will come back in a day or two. I am wondering if this is something I need to just leave alone and let it burn itself out since my tank is new, or if this is something I need to find a way to treat so it does not take over. I have had the thank go though a few other phases that burned themselves out, so I am ok with doing that here if that is what I should do. I tried to read google for a bit, but am still unsure of what this is.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Tank info:
200 gal IM EXT

Icecap 48 XXL sump

~200 gal total water

Tank was set up in early November, fishless cycle, started adding two fish at a time in Dec. Current stock:

2 Chocolate clowns

1 mimic tang

1 foxface

7 trochus snails

4 nassarius snails

2 fire shrimp

1 purple firefish

1 Orchid dottyback

1 Fairy Wrasse

I have also added a few pods and used ARC coralline algae

I have 4 T5 bulbs that have been going for ~4m now in a T5/LED hybrid fixture. I have not added any of the LED lights yet. I plan to add 4 XR15’s when its time to add coral. I run the lights 6 hours a day.

I currently use Tropic Marine Pro for my salt and do 4 gal AWC over 2 hrs every night.

I started dosing 2 part in January

Current parameters

Alk 6.89

Ca 459

Mg 1331

Nitrate 2

Phosphate 0

Sal 35

Ph 7.94-8.03 (7 day high and low)

Temp 79-77.7 (7 day high and low)

 

[Pico bam]

Honestly no clue what it is. But I'm sure a few strawberry conch's would clear it up in a day. Good luck!

 

[Chris Kunz]

I have never had one of those. If it has not cleared up by the next time I order fish I will try a few, thanks!

 

[vetteguy53081]

Looks like a diatomic hair algae combination known as calothrix. Simply reduce white light intensity and siphon as best as you can. These species of cyano often appear as a light slimy yet hairy/fuzzy nastiness that loosely attaches to your rock work or bedding. At times, air bubbles are usually trapped while escaping the algae. Calothrix is a type of algae that looks very similar to Dinos.
Chitons, and snails such as Nerite, cerith, nassarius, margarita and trochus will help with this. 6-8 carribean blue leg hermits will also help. Add 1.5ml of liquid bacteria per 10 gallons daily for 7-10 days will help as will turning out lights for 5-7 days

 

[Fish Think Pink]

I having been trying to figure out what type of algae this is, and what I need to do about it. If you look close it’s kind of brown and looks like a bunch of tiny little feathers? If I leave the lights off for a week it goes away, but comes back within a day or two of turning them back on. I can clean the sand and stir it up to make it look clean, but once again it will come back in a day or two. I am wondering if this is something I need to just leave alone and let it burn itself out since my tank is new, or if this is something I need to find a way to treat so it does not take over. I have had the thank go though a few other phases that burned themselves out, so I am ok with doing that here if that is what I should do. I tried to read google for a bit, but am still unsure of what this is.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Tank info:
200 gal IM EXT

Icecap 48 XXL sump

~200 gal total water

Tank was set up in early November, fishless cycle, started adding two fish at a time in Dec. Current stock:

2 Chocolate clowns

1 mimic tang

1 foxface

7 trochus snails

4 nassarius snails

2 fire shrimp

1 purple firefish

1 Orchid dottyback

1 Fairy Wrasse

I have also added a few pods and used ARC coralline algae

I have 4 T5 bulbs that have been going for ~4m now in a T5/LED hybrid fixture. I have not added any of the LED lights yet. I plan to add 4 XR15’s when its time to add coral. I run the lights 6 hours a day.

I currently use Tropic Marine Pro for my salt and do 4 gal AWC over 2 hrs every night.

I started dosing 2 part in January

Current parameters

Alk 6.89

Ca 459

Mg 1331

Nitrate 2

Phosphate 0

Sal 35

Ph 7.94-8.03 (7 day high and low)

Temp 79-77.7 (7 day high and low)

Check out this link and post #10... and then tell me if you photo is a near match (just less) than photo in post #10...

A Simple Guide To Common Problematic Algae And The Means To Control It..

As we all know algae is inevitable in both Marine and fresh water aquariums and if not watched and without proper procedures for removal can quickly turn a beautiful aquarium in to something that resembles a scene out of a old Swamp thing episode. Some are easy to control some are a non stop...

www.reef2reef.com

Diatoms are just a natural things that happens in a new aquarium and will normally will subside with in a few weeks to a couple months.


ID: This Algae normally forms on the sand, glass and rock work of a new tank. It has a variety of colors from a dark reddish color to tan, brown and green. On a lot of occasions there will be oxygen bubble's trapped in the algae from photosynthesis.

HOW TO CONTROL IT:
Medium to strong flow across the sand bed and rock, and watch the amounts of Silicate being added to the system ( top off water and water change purity is the main cause for silicate being introduced to the system )

NATURAL HERBIVORES:
Astrea snail, Turbo snail, Tangs, Trochus snail, Almost all blennies.

 

[saltyhog]

If you have access to a microscope a video would be ideal to ID.

How old is your tank? Does the algae go away at night when the lights are out?

 

[Chris Kunz]

So a quick update. I didn't change the lights on the tank, but I did leave the room lights off a little more than I used to. I also added a lawnmower blenny (not because of this). After that it went away a few days after my last post and hasn't seemed to come back. So I am not sure what it was, or what resolved it, but it seems to be gone at least for now.

 

[Chris Kunz]

I don't think it was diatoms because I think I went though a diatom bloom a few months ago. If this was diatoms it looked different than what was there a few months ago and I identified that one wrong.

 

[Chris Kunz]

So I jinxed it. It seemed to be gone then came back worse then ever pretty much over night. It does look very similar to post #10 above. I am not sure how new silicates could be getting into my system however. I use RO/DI water and make sure it is always 0 TDS. My saltwater has always been tropic marine pro, so no change there. I have my two gyres turned up as far as I can get them, but I do feel like I need stronger flow down the road.

If it is diatoms should I just turn the lights off for a while, or let it burn itself out to get rid of whatever silicates could have gotten in there? Is there anything else I should consider or you guys would recommend? I don't have any corals in there yet because I was trying to work through all this stuff before I added them (thank goodness!) Also, this only is forming on the sand, and has not touched the rocks at all.

 

[Chris Kunz]

The tank is ~6 months old. I do not believe that the algae goes away when the lights are out, but I can double check in the morning before the lights come on.