Can you ID this algae? (Picture included)

[ReefRelated]

To start off, it's not cyanobacteria, dinoflagellates, or diatoms. I have a 180g sps tank with a shallow sand bed. I have a 7 stage double DI water unit. My product water always tests 0-1 TDS. I have a Euroreef CS12-2 skimmer. I have a limited number of fish and no overfeeding. This algae is brown and very fuzzy. Best way to describe it is, brown fuzzy hair algae. It does not come off very easy either. A tooth brush to the rock won't cut it. It does not seem to take over like the regular green hair algae. It just makes my rock look fuzzy brown (unpleasent ). I really need a possitive ID on the algae so I can research it. BTW, yes I do run a reactor with ARM media. I know this is a big scource of phosphates. I am also running Phosban to help deplete that. Help me get the correct ID please!

Here's picture of it growing real nice on the outlet of the powerhead.

 

[MLVA123]

tagging along - I have some of the same stuff. It seems to collect where food falls or gets pulled by water flow. I usually just use a steak knife to scrape it off - it's tough, that's for sure.

 

[ReefRelated]

It is very tough. It's waste of time to try and clean it off the rock. Do you think a lettuce nudi would eat it?

 

[John_Brandt]

It is a turf algae. This is a very important component of coral reefs and is a primary food for herbivores. Most Acanthurus tangs will eat it, as well as Rabbitfishes. A variety of grazing invertebrates will feed on it.

Sorry I can't identify the species, it usually requires microscopic inspection.

 

[ReefRelated]

Yes I just recieved that same info from Eric Borneman (almost word for word ). What specific grazer would you recomend for this particular algae? I sure do hate the sound of that "turf" word. When I think turf, I think hard to get rid of.

Here's Eric's email " Its a standard filamentous turf - no way to tell species without a sample of the alga.
What kind of grazers do you have and how many?
Best,
Eric Borneman"

 

[John_Brandt]

Well, my favorite is the Powder Blue tang (Acanthurus leucosternon), but these can be aggressive. A Foxface (Siganus vulpinus)is a nice fish to have as well, and they are not very aggressive.

Yeah, that Borneman is a pretty smart guy :wink:

 

[LilBugger225]

I've had the same stuff but a green form in my tank for a long time. After 2 years of taking rocks out every other month and pulling that stuff off I finally have it under control. I got a yellow tang and a lawnmower blennie as well as a number of emerald crabs and that combo has kept it from growing for the last month or so. It is almost virtually gone. I know it will never really be gone because it is rooted so deep in the live rock but I can hope.

HTH

LB 8)

 

[ReefRelated]

I have taken out 2 of my biggest grazers (naso and saifin tangs) this week because I wanted to lower my fish load. These fish drop large amount of waste if you know what I mean . I do still have a very fat and happy lawnmower blenny and a Kole tang still in there to help. I think I am going to try a bunch of snails instead. I have absolutely no algae critters of any sort in my tank. I guess it's time to start. I hope I can beat this stuff. It's not going to be easy. My nutrient levels are always low. With Salifert tests, my nitrate and phospahate are always undectable. This stuff must be thriving on what little phoshate acutally gets into the system (from food and Ca reactor). I gues this particular algae doesn't need a lot of nutrients to thrive.

 

[taikonaut]

>... I wanted to lower my fish load....I am going to try a bunch of snails instead....

The snails may give you more bioload if you add too many of them... just FYI.

 

[ReefRelated]

Very true but I hope 150-200 snails will do a better job of cleaning then those 2 fish. When I removed the fish I was concerned that my nutrient levels may have been too high but now I am having second thoughts. I think I just need something to really graze this stuff until it's gone or mostly gone. It's not very nice to look at.

 

[LilBugger225]

I noticed that the algae would grow fastest/most where any sand or other nutrients would build up/settle or get caught in a rock crevace. I would use a turkey baster and blow off my rocks and this seems to help. Most of my algae just occured on rocks or coral bases and powerheads. I would try some emerald crabs as well. I have never had a problem with them munching on my corals or anything.

LB 8)

 

[ReefRelated]

I have 5 emeralds and they do eat it but not enough to control it. I'll let you know how the snails work.

 

[clyde]

don't tell me you're going to get 150-200 snails ??

if so, 150 snails might just clean it up in a day or two, when you cant support the diet of those snails - they will die - AND contribute to the overall water quality and other things.

Very true but I hope 150-200 snails will do a better job of cleaning then those 2 fish. When I removed the fish I was concerned that my nutrient levels may have been too high but now I am having second thoughts. I think I just need something to really graze this stuff until it's gone or mostly gone. It's not very nice to look at.

 

[taikonaut]

I am sure he was just kidding. Besides, dead snails would be great source of fertilizer for algae, which is why many places give you such a high density of snail/critter for a little tank... to make sure the last snail have plenty of algae to eat, and to make sure you will come back for more critters.

 

[ReefRelated]

Actually I am not kidding. Here's Eric Borneman's recomendation to me "I would suggest Trochus or Turbo snails. For a 180 gallon tank, I would use about 100 of them, total. If you use Astraea, double that amount."

I have zero critters in my tank because I have always been a firm believer that algaes should be taken care of by removing the food supply. Anyone who knows my system, knows my tank has very little for algaes to survive on. I am not new at this and I actually haven't had a battle with any algae in the past 5 years. I have a large skimmer to help compensate for some snail die off (that's to be expected). This algae is not going away easy and I think it needs drastic measures. If these snails clean my tank in 2 days...great. I can remove some and put them in my fuge and also give some away. Trust me, I won't let them die off rapidly and polute my tank. BTW, I will be using Astrea snails.

 

[taikonaut]

If you can make use of the snails (I doubt they can do a very good job in two days, though....), go ahead and give it a try. But picking 200 snails out of your 180 gal. tank is almost as boring as pulling 5 gal of Caulerpa/hair algae out in one afternoon...

So anyone know how many snail is in Eric's tank?

 

[ReefRelated]

Why would I pick out 200 snails? If I add 150 snails and they clean my tank rather quickly (maybe not 2 days), after I may remove half of them. That may take 5-10 minutes, no big deal. Do you have a better idea for removing this algae from my tank? I am open to more suggestions. I have tried many things, snails is one I haven't so I figured I'd give it a try. Any suggestions will be appreciated. I hate looking at this stuff.

 

[taikonaut]

Sorry, but my usual prescription for algae problem usually entails limited nutrient input, and increased nutrient output, the latter of which involves lots of hardwork by removing the algae manually

I just wish we have something like the South American algae eater in the freshwater world for reef, but unfortunately most tang and rabbitfish disappointed me.

 

[ReefRelated]

Sorry, but my usual prescription for algae problem usually entails limited nutrient input, and increased nutrient output, the latter of which involves lots of hardwork by removing the algae manually

I totally agree with you on that and this has always been my policy. If you have ever delt with any turf type algaes, they don't seem to need much nutrients to thrive. This is why I am having such a hard time with this algae. I have a friend who has a different turf algae then I and he has battled it for 2 years. He finally gave up and is replacing all his rock. He has 20 years in this hobby with many large sps colonies. He has the red turf algae which most snails won't touch. Good thing for me, the snails will eat mine.

Yes a big Plecostomas sp? (Pleco) fish for salt water would be great. I'd pay top dollar for one of those