junk algae in refugium

[roho]

About 6 weeks ago I put Caulerpa and 5 mangrove trees in my 4 gal refugium. The macro algae grew so fast I had to thin it out after 4 weeks. I removed my protein skimmer about 4 weeks ago also because it kept getting, what looks like very short hair algae, in the water supply line going to the skimmer and skimmer walls itself. Now this stuff is collecting on my caulerpa and killing it. In the refugium it looks like slime. My refugium smells awful. It looks red under light, but blackish in hand. Where is this stuff coming from to start in my hoses. My phos is and has has been "0" along with the nitrate. my sal. is 1.023, ca. 420, temp. 76-80.and Kh 11. My photoperiod is actinic 8 hrs and mh 175w 5 hrs.

This pic will enlarge, I suppose, by clicking it.

 

[Guest]

bump

 

[snapcrackler]

Maybe possible your phos test is inaccurate? Might be worth it to snag a big can of Kent phos sponge and run it heavy for a few days changing every 17 hours or so and see what happens in a week?

Hopefully you can keep your skimmer cleaned and running to remove all the extra nutrients you can.

:? Yuck I hope it clears up for ya

 

[Nitrate]

Hard to tell from the photo, but the color of it looks alot like Cyano Bacteria aka methane algea. Cyano doesnt do well in areas with lots of current, so if it's growing in the inlet/oulet tubes then that probably isnt it.

 

[snapcrackler]

What kind of substrate is in your refugium and how deep is it, is it new substrate or live? Is it miracle mud?

 

[NaH2O]

I agree with Nitrate on the appearance - looks like Cyano, but would need a better pic to discern for sure. Even though your phosphate readings are "0", doesn't necessarily mean they are. As inorganic phosphate becomes available, it is quickly used up and turned into organic phosphate (kits don't measure this value) by algae, for example. When phosphate readings become available in the water column then that means that all organisms that utilize the inorganic phosphates are "full", so the phos. is left sitting there waiting to be used. Cyano can outcompete other algaes, as it tends to be a better nutrient absorber, but when harvested - is great for exporting. Not that anyone cares to grow cyano, but just a little info. With all of this being said, you can take a sample to test for phosphates from ~1/2 inch down in a DSB (if that's what you have), also in a patch where the algae is growing. Finding where your excess nutrients are coming from will help to get rid of the problem. Try to increase the flow in your refugium and see if that helps control the issue at hand, then see if you can figure out where the nutrient problem started from. Do you use RO/DI water?

 

[roho]

The regugium has 3in of live sand and live rock. I use DI water and, up until a week or so ago only feed the tank Plancto once weekly. Since then have added a couple fish and feed brine shrimp every couple day's. This stuff starts coating the inside of the tube going to my refugium and has a few spots on the refugium wall. It also clings to the over flow returning water back to the main tank. I have no idea where this stuff starts from. You would think that 5 mangroves and Caulerpa would remove all phosphates and nitrates. I have run PhosBan for most of this time.