What is this and how to control it?

[Anonymous]

Hey guys. I know these pictures are bad, but I couldn't get any better ones.

I've seen and dealt with cyanobacteria before, but I'm only familiar with the reddish colored variant.

Is this green sheetlike stuff a different type of cyanobacteria or something else? We have good water flow, a skimmer, and we are just replacing some two year old lights (i know, i know). Regular water changes, and I find it hard to believe that nutrient levels are high. They are undetectable on test kits.

Why would we have such a problem with this gross green algae? If you know what it is and how to control it, please let me know.

Thanks,
Brian

 

[Tybond]

Does the algea come of easily by hand? or is it firmly attached? also does it seem like its fiberous?

The reason I ask is because my lfs is battling a greeninsh black algea that has taken hold in one of their grow out tanks. they have been trying to decide if what they have is really an algea or a sponge though. It seems to be fiberous textured when you feal it and it almost won't come of when using a bristle brush to remove it.

It has taken such a strong hold on the tank that they have temporarily removed all corals from the tank and isolated the tank from the rest of the loop while they try to get it under control.

The tank has a foot print roughly 8 feet by 8 feet and in the course of a few months, the algea has covered about 50 % of the bottom.

Nasty stuff.

ty

 

[danmhippo]

Brian, I had those a while back. I do not know what it's called but I bet you have the equipments to analyze it under microscope, eh?

Mine were covering much of the rocks and sand back then and I eventually break down the tank and blast all rocks clean. During the process, I cleaned up a big pile of detritus within the deepest part of the rock works too. I never had it back since.

Sorry I couldn't help you more on this, but when is the last time you clean up your tank? :twisted:

 

[Anonymous]

Hi guys.

This is about one month of growth. It was all siphoned out last water change and it somehow finds its way back from residual filaments leftover.

It is definitely not a sponge. It comes off relatively easy, feels like a soft sheet like a fabric softener dryer sheet, and it only covers rocks, glass, and sand.

I am thinking of trying a particulate flocculater like Chemi-Clean in the hopes of getting rid of any dissolved organic matter and detritus. This may choke it out. A water change will follow that.

 

[Nelliereefster]

It's dinoflagellates. Siphoning will help, but something triggered it like a dead organism, or an ammonia, phosphate spike. Have you recently added any new liquid supplements?

In my experience, these blooms are strictly nutrient driven.