Nasty wispy red algae growing in/around my SPS ... help?

[ostrow]

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1397319

 

[goblue09]

that's nasty looking stuff, are you changing enough water each week?

 

[ostrow]

I have not changed my regimen in 3 years. I change about 20% once a month. Water changes do not explain this.

 

[driftin]

looks a bit like cyano?

 

[kawicivic]

looks like cyano that is in a fairly high flow tank to me... lol... kinda slow ^^^ what he said

what do you feed?

 

[Douglas LEHMAN]

Hello Joel
Looks like it could be cyano? Crank up the water movement, are you adding Kalk?

 

[badazztealcobra]

Looks like cyano to me too.

I had a small piece starting in my biocube, I used some chemiclean and it cleared it right up. The problem is that chemiclean just gets rid of it temporarily... until you find the root cause it might come back.

 

[ostrow]

Yes I drip kalk 24/7. I have a wavebox, a 2500gph mjmod on a sea-swirl, a 2500gph mjmod pointed directly into the sps rocks from behind, and my regular return flow, with jets pointed down onto the sps rocks from 2 angles, pushing 800+gph out of each jet.

Doug, cranking up the water movement ain't gonna happen! It seems not to be related, growing on some of the highest flow areas in the tank!!! But if it is cyano, a lights-out for a few days ought to help.

 

[ostrow]

Must say I have never seen cyano this dark red, or growing like this in corals and on rock before. Sand is clear.

 

[kawicivic]

I find that cyano gets wispy in high flow areas. I have a cyano problem... I used to think it was because I fed wayyyy to much... but lately I have cut back on feeding and it hasn't gone away. My cyano is super dark and will grow anywhere.... corals, rock, glass, etc. I find that the only place on corals it will grow is where there is no skin... like inside the skeleton or an area that has been stung or damaged. My green birdsnest has one tip that the cyano has been able to stop from repairing. Usually the coral heals itself and rids itself of the cyano on the tips if they are damaged.

the sand being clear is what surprises me...

 

[Sullyman]

I'd try some fresh water Myracin, if it is cyno, it will be Cya-nara.

 

[ostrow]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12601743#post12601743 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Sullyman
I'd try some fresh water Myracin, if it is cyno, it will be Cya-nara.

I would think the side effects on the rest of the system would be devastating. I'll do 48hrs lights off and see how things go.

 

[NewSchool04]

What's the deal with myracin? What is it and how does it take care of cyano? I've been battling it myself and I'm not happy!

 

[HankB]

Maracyn? That's erythromycin, a broad spectrum antibiotic. It does not discriminate. It kills both bad germs and good ones. IMO risky in any situation where you depend on bacteria to keep things alive, like a reef tank. But I could be wrong on that. Maybe the good bacteria in a reef tank are resistant.

Cyano is really a germ, not an algae.

I'd try other stuff first. And like chemiclean, it deals with the symptom, so the cyano (if that's what it is) might come back anyway.

Good luck.

-hank

edit: describe why Maracyn works

 

[criccio]

I've used Maracyn (in a pinch) as well with no issues, but I don't keep SPS/DSB. Red Slime remover (erythromycin) which is the same thing, says it will not kill corals, fish or inverts, and I've used it successfully as well.

If you do end up using it, I would use far less then is recommended, a very little goes a long way. And remember, you're treating the symptoms, not the cause.

 

[NewSchool04]

Mine is terrible and I can't figure it out.

The only thing that I can think of that brings it up is the silica sand that I stupidly used when I set the tank up a bit over a year ago. I get no reading for Nitrate, Phosphate, etc.

 

[Sullyman]

It's not a risk to use freshwater maracyn but now that I think about it, it's at half the dose. It won't kill beneficial bacteria.
I believe that it works better and is safer than chemi clean and that you have a much better chance of getting rid of cyno and not having it come back by using maracyn.
I'm not certain that what you have is cyno though?

 

[ostrow]

Yeah, I don't think it's cyano either. Doesn't feel like it AT ALL.

 

[criccio]

I disagree, that's cyano, I've had it just like that.

 

[badazztealcobra]

Joel, I still have 1/2 or 3/4 a container of the chemiclean, it's yours if you want it.... I can bring it with when I bring out the light next week....