Algae or shedding?
- Thread starter blam718
- Start date
MondoBongo
Obligate Feeder Obsessed
algae. probably cyano or similar.
mcgyvr
New member
neither algae nor shedding..
cyano is a bacteria not an algae..
But it is cyano.. and not a happy soft coral either (but that can be normal for softies to shrink sometimes as long as they come back after a few days/week max and aren't dissolving,etc..)
Suck the cyano out during water changes..
Is it only in that spot?
cyano is a bacteria not an algae..
But it is cyano.. and not a happy soft coral either (but that can be normal for softies to shrink sometimes as long as they come back after a few days/week max and aren't dissolving,etc..)
Suck the cyano out during water changes..
Is it only in that spot?
OldReefGuy
Well-known member
agree Cyano. How are your Phosphate levels?
SeaTila
New member
I had similar and it got pretty bad. Was thinking it was dino but redish-brown on sand and webbing with bubbles. I haven't 100% got rid of it yet but I added more flow, fixed skimmer which was leaking from seal, spent the time to blow off the new growth on rock, added reactor with gfo/carbon and changed to 100micron socks replacing every few days. The initial ones I threw out instead of cleaned...horrible smell. I also added filter pads and sponges to keep as much as possible from going back to the DT. Lots of info on here talks about turning off lights. I believe flow and media are key and lighting is important to nems and macroalgae. I was caught in trap of turning off lights when cyno showed up and then all inhab. were unhappy with shortened day and lower intensities...so lighting reduction can be an issue if used as a bandaid over and over instead of fixing underlying conditions.
SeaTila
New member
...also I didnt realize how much was in the tank until i started using a turkey baster...then you see it all floating around. In the beginning I only noticed it irritating or covering coral and then I saw how quickly it started to grow after I got rid of it the day before. Phosphate sponge may help get ahead of it taking over as quickly giving time to blow it off and limiting phosphate it needs to grow.
blam718
New member
Thanks guys! I will follow some recommendations about getting rid of cyano as I looked it up and that's definitely it. As for the Kenya tree it has been closed for over two weeks. I did do two 5 gallon water changes and may do it again. Also I'm not sure about phosphate levels since I don't have a kit handy.
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ssick92
New member
It actually looks more like dino's to me. Cyano in my experience is thicker, darker, and typically has a dark red or purple coloring. Dinoflagellates are typically more brown, stringy, and have a ton of bubbles trapped in it -- which looks like your situation.
For your sake, hopefully it is cyano because that is a lot easier to treat -- simply get rid of the source of excess nutrients (poor flow, over feeding, etc.) and manually remove the remaining cyano. Dinos on the other hand is much more difficult to pinpoint a cause, and therefore much more difficult to find the solution. In my previous tank, the solution was to add a UV sterilizer to the system, but for others that didn't solve anything.
shadowmonster
New member
It looks more like Dinoflagellates to me as well.
http://www.lionfishlair.com/hitchhiker/algaedinoflagellates.shtml
http://www.lionfishlair.com/hitchhiker/algaedinoflagellates.shtml
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