Spirulina or Diatoms

[CJBuckeyes]

I've been fighting with an algae or bacteria problem for several months that has just recently started to get worse. As I don't have access to a microscope, I'm struggling to get an ID. It's a reddish-brown mat that is growing primarily on my sand bed. It doesn't disperse and night, and originally started forming in the shadowy areas of the tank before it spread.

I took two samples last night from my sand bed and treated one with H2O2 and the other with chemiclean. The H2O2 sample (left) is clear with a slight pinkish hue. The chemiclean sample (right) is cloudy with a pinkish hue. These pics were taken after 12 hours.

The tank is a little over a year old. I dose NO3 and PO4 daily to keep these readings above zero, with NO3 at 2ppm and PO4 at 0.03 (hanna low range). About 6 weeks ago I started dosing Fe weekly.

Want to get more confidence on what I'm dealing with. Any advice on ID appreciated. @twilliard any take aways from the two tests?

 

[CJBuckeyes]

bump

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

I think its a little bit of everything. weird. Id stop dosing the iron to plants/ whats your cuc snail pop like?

 

[CJBuckeyes]

I have a decent amount/variety of snails, but they're MIA at the moment. The glass seems to be getting a reddish film to it daily, haven't seen snails on it lately.

Just noticed two frags rtn'd today. All of my parameters are stable. My daily alk reading has been within 157 - 163 ppm for the last month.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

I have a decent amount/variety of snails, but they're MIA at the moment. The glass seems to be getting a reddish film to it daily, haven't seen snails on it lately.

Just noticed two frags rtn'd today. All of my parameters are stable. My daily alk reading has been within 157 - 163 ppm for the last month.

Is check on the crew. ESP the big snails. It's bad when they go.

Just curious why your dosing iron.

 

[CJBuckeyes]

I was getting a good amount of GHA growing on top of my cheato. Have been trying to give the cheato a boost. Appears to have worked.

Don't see any active snails at the moment.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

I was getting a good amount of GHA growing on top of my cheato. Have been trying to give the cheato a boost. Appears to have worked.

Don't see any active snails at the moment.

Is look into the missing snails. And get some more.

 

[nervousmonkey]

Dosing iron doesn't really help a whole lot, it gets used pretty quickly and the ugly things we don't want are what takes it up....