Pink/White substance settling on chaeto..

[Flippers4pups]

Pink? Cotton candy algae?

https://www.reefcleaners.org/nuisance-algae-id-guide

 

[GSPClown94]

Is this slime/algae isolated to just your sump/refugium? You mentioned that you were running your lights 24/7 perhaps that could be contributing to this outbreak.

 

[Devan Petersen]

Look like this??

 

[ReeferBean]

Do you have a powerhead in the fuge? That may help whatever is getting trapped in that section. I also agree to reduce the photoperiod and see if that helps. It may also help not to let the clump grow so large and dense.

 

[Crabs McJones]

the pictures don't really do it justice, it's white brown pink

 

[SteadyC]

24/7??? Stop that, like seriously. Not even ATS with microalgae likes that. I turn off my microalgae and macroalgae lights for 8 hours. Nothing likes that much light, especially from that powerful light.

 

[Mikemccafe]

I was thinking I was the only one with this problem, since mine hasn't grown much I have low nitrate and phos, I was thinking it was coraline algae growing on it

 

[ItsAName]

I think I had this issue with my chaeto too. It was foamy brown, red, white and green. Almost like an algae cappuccino It was nasty and Im sure if I left it, it would have frothed over the sides. Id clean it and it would be back in 3 to 5 days. I ended up ripping out the chaeto, cleaning the fuge and put in sea lettuce. Haven't had an issue since. It was also at the time I just added my h380, so its possible that ignited a growth of something and the chaeto is a coincidence.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

I think I had this issue with my chaeto too. It was foamy brown, red, white and green. Almost like an algae cappuccino It was nasty and Im sure if I left it, it would have frothed over the sides. Id clean it and it would be back in 3 to 5 days. I ended up ripping out the chaeto, cleaning the fuge and put in sea lettuce. Haven't had an issue since. It was also at the time I just added my h380, so its possible that ignited a growth of something and the chaeto is a coincidence.

Lol. algae Cappuccino. Deserves an excellence award!

the pictures don't really do it justice, it's white brown pink

That’s a cool nasty.


What we do know is this.
The addition of a high amount af a single spectrum can cause a bloom of many types of Dino’s , cyanos , and diatoms (not just the dusty ones), and a sump is primarily a gravity filter. Poo goes down cuz it’s heavy, and can’t go back up , unless the flow is very high, (Triton removes that seperation of sump and tank bybuing a higher flow) , so organics rotting in the sump waiting to be skimmed or filtered or eaten by bacteria create a constant source of ammoina , broken down into N etc obviously. So the organism has an advantage over the chato as it can rely on its improved nutrient absorption method. Similar to carbon dosing. It’s being directly fed basically and doesn’t need to wait for photo synthesis like the chato.

The what to do, reduce intensity and time, shift spectrum( ?), IMO , rest period for the macros to avoid photo saturation and allow it to compete more efficiently . Examine the foods. Aminos , coral foods , LRS (has a bit of vitamin c )etc.

Even though I’m on a reverse lighting shedule , I do from time to time get cyano slimes on top of my chato and macros. , mostly apparently consistent with food changes.

 

[Crabs McJones]

Lol. algae Cappuccino. Deserves an excellence award!



That’s a cool nasty.


What we do know is this.
The addition of a high amount af a single spectrum can cause a bloom of many types of Dino’s , cyanos , and diatoms (not just the dusty ones), and a sump is primarily a gravity filter. Poo goes down cuz it’s heavy, and can’t go back up , unless the flow is very high, (Triton removes that seperation of sump and tank bybuing a higher flow) , so organics rotting in the sump waiting to be skimmed or filtered or eaten by bacteria create a constant source of ammoina , broken down into N etc obviously. So the organism has an advantage over the chato as it can rely on its improved nutrient absorption method. Similar to carbon dosing. It’s being directly fed basically and doesn’t need to wait for photo synthesis like the chato.

The what to do, reduce intensity and time, shift spectrum( ?), IMO , rest period for the macros to avoid photo saturation and allow it to compete more efficiently . Examine the foods. Aminos , coral foods , LRS (has a bit of vitamin c )etc.

Even though I’m on a reverse lighting shedule , I do from time to time get cyano slimes on top of my chato and macros. , mostly apparently consistent with food changes.

Thanks for the info! I'll try lowering my lighting schedule. Right now i'm feeding frozen brine shrimp. one cube a day. and running filter socks which is right before the fuge. I've upped the changing out of those as well, i was doing it only one time a week, but now i'm changing them out twice a week, once on sunday (water change day) and on wednesday. We'll see if that helps at all. Thanks @saltyfilmfolks you're the man!!

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Thanks for the info! I'll try lowering my lighting schedule. Right now i'm feeding frozen brine shrimp. one cube a day. and running filter socks which is right before the fuge. I've upped the changing out of those as well, i was doing it only one time a week, but now i'm changing them out twice a week, once on sunday (water change day) and on wednesday. We'll see if that helps at all. Thanks @saltyfilmfolks you're the man!!

Does that Light allow for spectrum changes? Curious.

 

[Crabs McJones]

Does that Light allow for spectrum changes? Curious.

There is only two channels to choose from. One is the "Grow" mode which emits a red and blue spectrum creating a purple color. Or a "Bloom" mode which is essentially the same as "Grow" but it drops the blue spectrum and goes red

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

There is only two channels to choose from. One is the "Grow" mode which emits a red and blue spectrum creating a purple color. Or a "Bloom" mode which is essentially the same as "Grow" but it drops the blue spectrum and goes red

Interesting , thank you.

 

[wattson]

can you add a bacterial additive in a bottle to add diversity/boost to the tank bacterial population to out compete what ever its eating?
worth a try ?

 

[ItsAName]

One more comment, in case it's helpful. Two different people I spoke to locally who have had random or weird blooms or unidentifiable algae said they have noticed positive outcomes when adding copepods. I'm not experienced enough to know if this is a legitimate solution, but thought I'd mention it in case you run out of options and want to try it.

 

[jsker]

@saltyfilmfolks hit it. Spectrum

 

[Crabs McJones]

@saltyfilmfolks hit it. Spectrum

So should i try switching to the "bloom" channel, essentially dropping the blues? Or will the chaeto suffer?

 

[Rick Krejci]

the pictures don't really do it justice, it's white brown pink

Looks like Dinos to me.

 

[Forsaken77]

I've actually had the best success with chaeto using a 6500K light. It also grew a ton of micro algae.

But the chaeto NEEDS a dark period. It's part of the photosynthetic process. Think of it along the lines of if you had to stay awake 24/7. You need a sleep period like the plant needs a dark period.

 

[jsker]

So should i try switching to the "bloom" channel, essentially dropping the blues? Or will the chaeto suffer?

The blues are good also violet, and royal blue. @Dana Riddle was asking the question a month or so ago about the red spectrum and we were going back and forth with my usual silly sometimes manner with a couple of members. And Like @saltyfilmfolks asked, there is not a way to adjust the individual spectrums? I had my whites on to long and to high, once I made a 3 hour adjustment down in time on the white only spectrum that really fixed my algae problems. I have always run my greens and reds low.