what kind of algea is this?

[Timmy's Marine]

Is this stuff Cyno........any help and ID for this newbie who is tired of looking at algae pics on the net......

Oh and I apolagize for the fake background. It was from when the tank was a FW planted tank! Haven't gotten rid of it yet.

Note the bubbles that are going on this thing! I dont think this is a typical algae ball as it is clear.



The stuff growing on here almost looks like powder



And then there is this....when we take this stuff out we can pick it up with our hands (kind of roll it up). It is too heavy to siphon as it just stays in the tube while the sand goes up instead. Yesterday there was only a small amount, but this morning when we came down, there was what you see. It is as if over night it grows like a weed. Some spots are long like grass (which I wonder if it is hair algae underneath.


We only put about 5 flakes for our two clowns, we feed 5tsps of DT's Phyto every other day - every third day. And cyclopeeze every other day to every third day. Our skimmer (coralife) appears to be pulling off a good amount. Our water test yesterday was ammonia, nitrite/ate all 0. PH 8.6 and alk was between 1.7 and 2.8 (colour range). We are running carbon at this time.

[BoomerD]

Yep, looks like cyano to me...IMO, you're overfeedint the DT's. Unless you have a HEAVY coral load, you don't need nearly that much of that, or the cyclops-eeze...

[Timmy's Marine]

Ok thanks, will hold up on the dosing. I informed a very reputable LFS (only sells SW) here of my stocking and that is the dose he told me to go by. I will try adding only 1/3 of that (phyto). The cyclopeeze I only add a thin shaving that is the size of a baby's fingernail (that is the only sizing I could come up with!).

BoomerD - you're awesome. Always a great help.

[Gina]

I would also start siphoning off the cyano when you do your water changing and get a Phosphate Reactor to help cut back on Phosphates.

This stuff can quickly take over your entire tank quickly!

[Timmy's Marine]

We have been removing it, we tried syphoning but it's too heavy so we have been scrubbing it off the sides and hand picking it off the bottom with the water changes.

[Cartman89]

Find whats causing the cyno to bloom and solve that problem like current, overfeeding,filtration, water (ro/di or tap), ect. Once you solve the problem the cyno should go away if it doesn't use the product "Chemi-Clean" and everything should be A-ok! I almost forgot, don't scrape it or disturb the cyno. The more you disturb it the faster it will grow.

[Timmy's Marine]

Originally Posted by Cartman89

I almost forgot, don't scrape it or disturb the cyno. The more you disturb it the faster it will grow.

Then how would I remove it if I don't scrape it off the sides?

[Gina]

Here's a little reading for you from our Knowledgebase.
Hope it helps.

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/bluegralgae.htm

[Timmy's Marine]

Thanks, I have read that one a couple of times! Still just as frustrating though.

[Gina]

Agreed!
We are dealing with it also. It seems to be doing better since we hooked up our Phosphate Reactor.
I've been feeding less and scrubbing the rock with a toothbrush on the end of a siphon hose when we change the water.
Good luck kicking it!

[Timmy's Marine]

toothbrush on the end of the syphon eh.....(as she plans her next poject)

[mtfish]

I added some scarlet hermits. They went right to work on the cyano. Between that, my manually removing any cyano and water changes the cyano vanished and has never been seen again.

[Rougiem]

Glad to hear

...I have had many many battles with it...One thing I would like to mention is your lighting....Older blubs can also promote the growth of cyano due to the shift in the light spectrum...You can also turn off the lights for a bit too...This also worked for me when I had problems with it.

[lcstorc]

If you try any of the red slime remover products be aware your skimmer will have to be turned off for a week or more.
Even the one I tried that specifically said you could run a skimmer with it everything went nuts.
I much prefer reducing the food for the algae along with manual removal at this point. (Actually I wanted that all along, but hubby wanted the quick fix. LOL).