I was hoping you guys can id the algae I am dealing with. When I first completed the cycle about a year ago I had this same algae for about 2-3 months before it just stopped. Recently, about 1 month ago it started again but not nearly as bad. Its brown and stringy. I am hoping the pic I uploaded shows up.
Brown Algae ID
- Thread starter protie
- Start date
Thank you mcgyvr. Since reading your response I started researching ways to remove it. I have found quite a few procedures. Increasing Nitrates, lights out for 3-4 days, stopping water changes...
What is your advice? I would like to do whatever is needed before it becomes a bigger problem.
mcgyvr
New member
I would certainly not recommend increasing nitrates or stopping water changes as an attempted cure for them.. Just the opposite in fact..
As they are photosynthetic a lights out can help some..
If you don't have corals I would go lights out for a good week or more..
I would also go with siphoning as much of it out as I could during water changes.
Dinos can be tough from what I understand and I'm really not up to date on the latest methods of attack if there are any..
I have corals but was thinking of maybe putting some of them in my QT tank during the blackout, if I choose that route.
A few things.. That sand in the picture has been partially replaced(about 80 lbs of it). I recently installed a couple Gyre 280s and at only 10% the sand was blowing around too much so I started replacing with crushed coral. After that I did 4 weekly 70 gallon water changes(about 30%).
If it would help, I have considered removing all the rock, vacuuming out all of the sand and gravel. Clean the gravel(or trash it) and put back in while adding more gravel to replace the rest of that sand.
Where do the Dinos live? In the substrate or the water column?
Thanks again for your time.
Happy to report it was not Dino at all. Got the Gyres configured and placed properly and added some Chaeto to my sump. 2 weeks later... all gone and still no signs of it now, weeks later. All of the hair algae on a couple of rocks that I have been scrubbing off monthly is no longer coming back. Corals are looking a bit brighter and are definitely growing faster.
mcgyvr
New member
Just because it went away doesn't mean it wasn't dinos.
Having it identified by microscope did though.
Used a turkey baster I sucked some up and sent it with my neighbor to the university. I was told the sample showed no characteristics of dino but were more rectangular and 'boat' shaped which he concluded to be diatoms. He has never studied marine life and it took a bit of research for him but he tells me that from what he has learned dinos would be fairly easy to identify.
These results and what I have researched about diatoms got me rethinking water flow first and realized I had a lot more to learn about it. Got some tips from other Gyre users and I finally have it flowing properly. As far as the Chaeto, how much it helped I do not know but I was overdue for adding that to my sump anyway.
