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Boston 
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 Topic: Type of Algae
Posted: May 06 2017 at 10:09pm |
Can anyone identify what this type of algae is? It's on the back of my glass, on my rocks and some on my sand bed. I've been battling it for a while and it seems to be getting worse lately. Thanks in advance!
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Ryan Thompson
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Posted: May 07 2017 at 12:00pm |
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Looks like cyanobacteria. Couple ways to fight it
1) 3 days of lights out and then siphon out whatever you can
2) Chemi clean or some other chemical to fight it.
You will need to find its source though. Usually better nutrient export.
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Boston
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Posted: May 07 2017 at 12:18pm |
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Thanks, I just did a chemi clean treatment last week on it. I did the 20% water change two days after too. I went away this past week and it seemed to be worse. Thanks for the advice!
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proskier101
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Posted: May 08 2017 at 8:43am |
If it went away after chemi clean then it is cyano. If it came back...Chemi clean wipes it out but you have stuff in there that the cyano thrives on...so it came back. You must find the root issue. Nutiants, nitrates, phosphates, too much light?
a number of root issues.
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Boston
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Posted: May 08 2017 at 6:48pm |
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Thanks, I cleaned all of the algae out again last night and did a 30% water change. I'm going to do another dose of chemi clean and leave my lights off for 48 hours. I had .25 ppm of ammonia before I did my cleaning and water change. I had ordered a large order of of snails and crabs from Reef Cleaners. I think quite a few of the snails died in the tank causing the ammonia spike. Hopefully, I can get better results this week. Thanks for you advice and help!
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reefer86
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Posted: May 08 2017 at 11:33pm |
I agree, it looks like cyano. I've had great success with using a bacterial additive - Dr Tim's Waste Away - to deal with cyano. It works great, but you need to have a protein skimmer to use it. As stated above cyano grows when nutrient levels are high. Running a phosphate reducing media like gfo can help deal with cyano.
Here is a link to Dr Tim's Waste Away if you are interested: http://www.drtimsaquatics.com/natural-aquarium-cleaner
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Mark Peterson
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Posted: May 09 2017 at 4:06pm |
Dr. Tims Waste Away is part of my arsenal for dealing with Cyano. I use it in my client tanks, whenever a Cyano outbreak comes up, even those without skimmers. It works great. I also suggest reading the WMAS forum discussions linked below about how to change things around to deal with Cyano.
Aloha, Mark 
The text below was copied from the Reefkeeping Tips. For more Tips see the link below in my signature line. Red Slime/Cyanobacteria of many colors, how to eradicate it:
Importance of Snails and Hermit Crabs |
Reefkeeping Tips, & quick, easy setup tricks:www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244 Pay it forward - become a paid WMAS member 
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Boston
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Posted: May 09 2017 at 8:42pm |
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Thanks for the advice as i have never heard of Dr. Tims. I'll have to give it a try!
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Mark Peterson
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Posted: May 13 2017 at 7:09am |
Did I copy and paste those informative discussions for naught?
Dr Tims Waste-Away is a little bit like a pill. It is prescribed as a quick fix to address the symptom of a problem that has a root cause. Why not learn how to find and correct the root cause and never have the problem again? Read the discussions.
Aloha, Mark |
Reefkeeping Tips, & quick, easy setup tricks:www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244 Pay it forward - become a paid WMAS member
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Boston
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Posted: May 13 2017 at 4:45pm |
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Mark, I've been in the hobby for several years and never seen cyano like this before. That's why I posted it. Thanks for your advice, but other people have their advice on how to fix an issue or problem that occurs in a tank too.
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Mark Peterson
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Posted: May 14 2017 at 8:09am |
Sorry, I didn't look at the date you joined this forum. I erroneously assumed that you had not read those informative discussions. The other mistake I made was missing some of the other comments above. My bad. Okay, enough for the apologies.
My advice is to give it a couple doses of Waste-Away and add a Conch Snail. I have been using Conch Snails more lately, like never before. There is a good reason for using this herbivorous snail, as I explain below
Looking again at the algae, I can see that it is something I have begun to deal with in an increasing number of reef aquariums, my own, my friends and my clients tanks. I believe it is an algae that is more than just the typical Cyanobacteria. That explains why it came back so soon after the Chemiclean dosing. Usually those products keep ordinary Cyano away for at least 3 months.
This particular algae, may be a mutated strain or it may be a combination of algae. Either way, like you said, it is an algae that is new to the scene. It may be from the wild or more likely it is Cyanobacteria that has mutated in hobbyist aquariums and professional coral grower systems. It has been popping up in more and more tanks in the last year or two. The widespread use of products like Boyds Chemiclean and Ultralife Red Slime Remover, probably caused it to mutate, or in other words, become resistant to those treatments.
Hope this helps. Aloha, Mark |
Reefkeeping Tips, & quick, easy setup tricks:www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244 Pay it forward - become a paid WMAS member
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