Please help! What kind of algae is this??

[SENSEI]

not sure if this is black or brown hair algae or something totally different. can you please help identify? and how to treat. thnx!

 

[Reeffanman]

IMO you have the dreaded cyanobacteria. Tough to get rid of, but with frequent water changes and strict feeding schedule you can defiantly keep in in check.

 

[SENSEI]

wat can i use to help? reef cleaner? chemicals, etc??

 

[paulace2372]

Siphon as much as possible out on a water change. Try a whole day without any light, or just adjust to a shorter lighting time and reduce your feeding. This will help reduce the nutrient levels in the water that cause cyano.

 

[paulace2372]

Sorry just to clarify - siphon out the algae on the water change.

 

[Reeffanman]

It's a problem with excessive nutrients, there are products that boast the removal is this, but it will always come back unless the problem is fixed

 

[Sniperhank]

A good way to handle it is to suck it up with some airline hose and then do a pwc. Even if you kick some into the water, the filter or skimmer can get what you and the pwc miss.

 

[SENSEI]

the wierd thing is i use ro water and i have plenty of waterflow in take (2 hydors 1050's. and it's growing in high flow areas. lol
i was maybe overfeeding but stopped, now just doing 1-2 feedings a day.
did a 30% pwc and things seem to have calmed down. but i still have some.
my light schedule has been reduced to around 4 hours a day. was 9 hours a day.

am i on the right path?

 

[paulace2372]

You are still overfeeding. I feed mine 3 times a week, many others including the experts on here do similar and our fish are fat and healthy. The high flow will not stop cyano, just lessen the appearance of it most of the time. over time, the removal of cyano through syphoning it from the tank during PWC's and renewal of good quality RO water assisted by a reduction in feeding will result in a beautiful cyano free tank. you will be able to have your lights on more once the problem is sorted,

 

[SENSEI]

well it seems to b getting worse. i have cut back on feeding and did multiple water changes. hmm....

 

[Bonessurf]

Chemiclean. It works wonders.