algae id and help please!

[kewadiak]

i have been having this algae problem for quite sometime. if someone can help id and have any suggestions. As for flow i believe i have plenty

my tank is 20 months old i aggressively run gfo and have a refugium.

my nitrate and phosphate levels are always zero


sal 1.026
cal 440
mag 1350
alk 9 dkh

 

[Michael Hoaster]

The way it coats your rock reminds me of cyanobacteria, though I haven't seen it that color before. Is anyone eating it? Snails, crabs, fish? Have you tried the 3 day black out treatment? If it is cyano, and you're at the end of your rope, Chemiclean.

 

[kewadiak]

The way it coats your rock reminds me of cyanobacteria, though I haven't seen it that color before. Is anyone eating it? Snails, crabs, fish? Have you tried the 3 day black out treatment? If it is cyano, and you're at the end of your rope, Chemiclean.

it does appear that the tangs nip at it and the algae blenney but really doesn't help control it much

here are some more pictures im really wondering if this is cyano and i have never tried chmiclean that's okay for sps to? it is frusrating that i do run high capcity gfo and have no traceable nitrates and phosphates

 

[Michael Hoaster]

I'm not sure it's cyano-looks too green, but I am nowhere near being an expert.

Possible beneficial actions:
An army of cerith snails.
A bunch of macros in your refugium, to outcompete micros for nutrients.
Don't feed the tank for a week. Your algae eaters will get hungry, and the algae itself will run out of food.
Pull the rock and scrub it.

I don't know about chemiclean with sps. google it. And if it is not cyano, chemiclean doesn't help.

Sorry I'm not much help. Maybe others will chime in.

Basically, you have an algae problem. Basic solutions are reduce the food, increase export (skimming, water changes, etc.), increase algae consumers, and increase algae competitors.

Good Luck!

 

[mzkrista]

are you using Ro water? I'd try and suck it off the rocks or blow your rocks and do a water change. Are you over feeding? Looks like you need more flow in your tank.

 

[kewadiak]

are you using Ro water? I'd try and suck it off the rocks or blow your rocks and do a water change. Are you over feeding? Looks like you need more flow in your tank.

I am using 0 tds ro 2 stage di. my tank has about 12,000 gph flow in a 270. I am really trying to feed more to get some detectable nitrates i feel my lps are starving my montis are growing good. My chateo alage really isnt growing well which leads me to believe i do not have nitrates. The clear fuzy like snooty algae has been there ever since i tried bio pellets that's why i stopped the pellets i felt they were causing this.

 

[Michael Hoaster]

Ah, bio pellets! Been there! That points to a bacterial bloom (which, technically cyano is). I'd scale back general feeding, and target feed your LPS sparingly. I'd also vacuum off what you can, frequently. Keep after it. Good luck!

 

[kewadiak]

Yea i have been trying that, i blast it with a turkey baster and it comes right back I'm about to try chemiclean its been like 3 months of it.

 

[Michael Hoaster]

Chemiclean…when it's been three months and you've had enough of this $h!t…

 

[Michael Hoaster]

Kewadiak, I hope I didn't offend, with my bad language. If so, I apologize.

I had a monumental struggle with cyanobacteria. Weekly water changes, with manual removal, 3 day black outs, you name it, I tried it. When I hit the 3 month mark, I was ready to give in to sin, so to speak. I combined chemiclean with a 4 day blackout, and it worked!

So my little slogan came from our shared ordeal. Best of luck!

 

[kewadiak]

Kewadiak, I hope I didn't offend, with my bad language. If so, I apologize.

I had a monumental struggle with cyanobacteria. Weekly water changes, with manual removal, 3 day black outs, you name it, I tried it. When I hit the 3 month mark, I was ready to give in to sin, so to speak. I combined chemiclean with a 4 day blackout, and it worked!

So my little slogan came from our shared ordeal. Best of luck!

Haha no not at all, right now im 24 hours into chemiclean treatment, so far i really don't see it affecting the algae much. I was trying to dose nitrate in my tank and i think i dosed too much and now one of my sps just lost all its tissue and my frog spawn is starting to recede. This hobby can be so frustrating!

 

[yzguy01250]

Anyone know what this is?