Diatom gone now i got blanket of other algea

[hagerman]

Hey i need some HELP
I had diatom bloom now its gone was gone for week or two then i started noticing red (reddish purple) blotches of algea growing on LR what is it
after i noticed this though then another dark green almost black algea started growing on live rock and around it over those other reddish algea blotches and its not stuck to rock really it kinda lays on it like a blanket
WHAT IS IT and how do i get rid of it

40 gallon
1 clown fish
1 tomato clown
1 Anenome
1 blue yellow damsel
1 black and white stripped damsel

P.s Any ideas for more tankmates?????????
THANKS

 

[Zer0]

Sounds exactly like cyanobacteria. You should try and feel for the texture of it. If it's slimy, then its definitely cyano. This stuff is bad from what i've heard, but unfortunately, i'm not in any way sure as how to get rid of it.

Does it look like this??^^

If so.. then you've got yourself some cyano. I believe cerith snails eat cyano, but it's one of those hit or miss things, that isn't guaranteed to work. I also hear that more flow to that area will also help. Water changes should help also. Elimination of excess nutrients as well will greatly reduce cyano. Use good algae like macro/chaeto that will use up all of the excess nutrients for you. Do you have a refugium or sump?

I'm trying to do some research for you, and the best thing that i have come up with is doing Water Changes to get rid of excess nutrients, and chaeto. I've seen multiple instances of people having terrible cyano, and then getting chaeto and it disappearing like it was never there in the first place. I would go with the chaeto on this one buddy.

 

[roka64]

Good post 0...except there is no pic...lol.
Here is a link to our article page:
http://aquariumadvice.com/articles/

...and here is a great article on cyano:
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/articles/articles/20/1/Cyanobacteria-AKA-Red-Slime-Algae-/Page1.html

 

[Zer0]

Really? I see a picture lolol. Jeeze, this place and it's pictures.. -_-'

I'll see if i can re-up the picture and it showing.

And awesome link. I honestly totally forgot about that link in the Articles section. I once referred someone here to that link. Can't believe i forgot about it


EDIT*

I re-up'd the pic. Can anyone see it now? xD

 

[roka64]

Hmmm, it may very well be there...It looks like my connection is still chewing on the address....

 

[Zer0]

Aww rats.. :s Im trying! lolol. Anyways, the Article is better than the picture so yeah..

 

[hagerman]

Hey im fairly new to the saltwater fish tank deal lol......
had many different freshwaters but anyway what is chaeto??
And no i have no refugium or sump...........................................................

 

[Flake]

If it is cyano i've had GREAT luck with chemi-clean red slime remover.

 

[roka64]

Zer0, I can see the pic.
Chaeto is a macro algae, it is one of the algaes that is a good nutrient export.

 

[Zer0]

Alright well don't worry. I don't have a sump or refugium either as it is not necessary. Chaeto is a good plant that isn't the ugliest thing in the world, and it uses up alot of the excess nutrients in the tank, that would aid to things like cyano or hair algae, or other forms of bad algae like bubble algae as well. It looks like spaghetti and grows pretty rapidly as well.

Here's another picture that hopefully works.

If you don't have a fuge or sump to put it in, you could just tie it down to a rock in your tank, and it will accomplish the same thing. You could also just shove it behind your rockwork, and as it starts to grow out from behind the rockwork, just trim it. That's what i plan to do haha.

EDIT*

Haha roka, it was on a different link when i first posted the picture, so it was probably a bad link-off and not you. That's why i used my old friend tinypic.com ;D

 

[thincat]

If it is cyano i've had GREAT luck with chemi-clean red slime remover.

Wait up on the chemical solution. It does work but first you should ask yourself if you are feeding to much, do you have the lights on a timer or are you hit or miss as to when you turn them on or off. It looks like cyano and it's not really an algae, it's a bacteria. Try cutting down on feeding and if that does not work try reducing the photo period. and you can also direct lots of water flow to that area as this helps alot. The reason you don't want to use chemicals right off the bat is that cyano can adapt and come back even stronger the next time.
Good luck...

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

The other issue with using the chemical solutions is that IF your tank water parameters aren't "normal", and IF your tank doesn't have a "normal" amount of oxygen in it, and IF you don't follow the directions exactly... you have a good chance of crashing your tank.

Too many "ifs" for me. Best to find the problem and solve it.

 

[Flake]

The chemicals were my last resort. I tried all of the above. By the time it looked slimey it was all over.

 

[mrg02d]

Will these chemicals harm corals? How about Crocea clams? I am having a fit trying to banish this stuff from my tank. I barely feed any more and keep the lights on for 8 hours a day. I remove the stuff daily, and each morning see it coming back.

I use DI water, and phosphate test shows zero phosphates. Nitrates are around 10ppm.

There is also a more annoying thing that grows on the tank sides. Its brown and slimy, but forms round spots. It has to be scraped off with a straight edge rather than scrubbed. It also returns by morning???

I usually feed flake food, but the fish eat ALL of it. None ever goes uneaten. I also feed frozen mysis from time to time.

Matt

 

[Flake]

they claim they will not

 

[mrg02d]

Hmmm, it seems that using the chemicals require a bit of work. Multiple water changes and such. I hate having to mix water! Especially with a hydrometer.

I think I might just try some other things. Will macroalgea reduce the nutrients in the water and compete with the cyno? If so, would it be as easy as throwing the stuff in and waiting? Do some work better than others?

Matt

 

[thincat]

The chemicals were my last resort. I tried all of the above. By the time it looked slimey it was all over.

Flake, you did well using the chemical as a last resort. It's just to easy to use and not find out what caused it in the first place. When I had my cyano outbreak I finally found out what the problem was......It was "Friday". Not it can be hard to put a finger on it sometimes.

 

[Flake]

I know why, it's my water. I'm trying to plumb and find space for RO right now. It's recurring but it was starting to cover corals so it had to go.

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

mrg02d - I think your tank is still fairly young, right? Like less than 3 months since you cycled? When you first start up the tank, with the cycling and die off from live rock, learning how much to feed, blah blah blah... nutrients are usually pretty high in the water. In that situation, it's pretty easy for cyano and other nuisance algae to set up shop. Unfortunately, it takes a while to get rid of it - even if you're doing all the right things. If you're doing the right things, just be patient - you'll beat it.

Flake - agree with thincat... glad you considered it a last resort and you know the cause. So many times, it seems like people just use the stuff in place of good housekeeping and don't try to find out the "why" behind it all.

 

[thincat]

+1 Kurt, well said...