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Nuisance Algae Guide


johnmaloney

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johnmaloney
Cheez John, I'm still waiting on that Sea Hare from you, whattaboutme????

 

Excellent thread tho, Props for that.

 

forgot all about that. we will work something out on that. Still need him?

 

Ok here is a good one the only thing I can guess is lighting. phos 0 nitrates 0 all other params 0 do not have a silicate test but have silacate removing stuff from sera .Also running phos ban and chemi pure elite and have hair algea on my top rack and middle rack in my frag tank but not on the bottom?? I have 4 96 watt pc's,2 460 actinics on for 10 hrs(now cut back to 8 hrs) and 2 50/50 10k 460's on for 8 hrs (now cut back to 6) no fish just coral ???? Ideas welcome.

 

algae is taking your nutrients down to "zero".

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bonsai reefer

I dont think so but am not saying it is not true .I do a 20 gal ro/di w/c every week and have no fish in the system . My cuc is 1 margarita snail and 2 hermets.On top of the phos ban and chemipure elite I also have been using brightwell phosphate e and still have the algea growing like a 80's hair band rock concert.

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Great thread!

 

In my tank I have some strange algae that just recently started showing up. I think it might be related to diatoms. It grows mostly on the glass (or at least that's the only place I've noticed it) no matter how much flow is placed on it. It looks like this thin, cloudy-brown film and is really easy to scrape off. I left town on Friday with the glass completely clean, and when I came back tonight it was like I was wearing a pair of really dirty glasses with the wrong perscription... My snails seem to eat the stuff, but it comes back so quick that I'm not sure what it is!

 

I think it came from a WC that I performed using tap water... I had no RO, and I needed to do a WC quick. Anyways, I don't think there's any sense in posting a picture because it's easy to visualize a uniform cloudy-brown film all over the glass.

Edited by ajmckay
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johnmaloney

eggcrate problem that new plastic silica problem? Couldn't see it cauding hair algae, I think it just provides an empty space for something to take hold. I base that on nothing though...never had an eggcrate anything. Thinking about growing stuff on it soon though, got some sciania today. (I pay for this forum so I will mispell things however I want :) ).

 

Great thread!

 

In my tank I have some strange algae that just recently started showing up. I think it might be related to diatoms. It grows mostly on the glass (or at least that's the only place I've noticed it) no matter how much flow is placed on it. It looks like this thin, cloudy-brown film and is really easy to scrape off. I left town on Friday with the glass completely clean, and when I came back tonight it was like I was wearing a pair of really dirty glasses with the wrong perscription... My snails seem to eat the stuff, but it comes back so quick that I'm not sure what it is!

 

I think it came from a WC that I performed using tap water... I had no RO, and I needed to do a WC quick. Anyways, I don't think there's any sense in posting a picture because it's easy to visualize a uniform cloudy-brown film all over the glass.

 

might be film algae too. I don't have that in the thread, big oversight. Probably the most common algae. Just to be sure though, (it could be something else that is horrible), post a pic, if you let me include it in the thread I will id it. ;)

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Okay, here's a pic of the possible "film algae". See all the snail tracks? This is 2 days growth... I'm scraping this stuff off constantly. Use these pictures as you see fit.

 

Also, I noticed another type of algae growing in my tank (the pictures of the red stuff... I tried to post 2 different replies, but they got automatically combined). I'm not sure if it's coralline algae, since it looks a little like that lobophora, but red... But there's a decent amount of this stuff in my tank. Any idea if it is a nuisance algae or not? It doesn't seem to grow overly fast.

post-39800-1237177220_thumb.jpg

post-39800-1237177236_thumb.jpg

post-39800-1237177243_thumb.jpg

post-39800-1237177440_thumb.jpg

post-39800-1237177449_thumb.jpg

Edited by ajmckay
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johnmaloney

thanks for the pic of the film algae, if you want $20 worth of cleaners to get rid of it it is yours. I will be using that pic though. ;) The red coralline you have there looks cool, I have the exact stuff.

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I get alot of the wavy film-type algae as well. I suspect that is is mostly a bacterial film but I don't know that for sure...

 

Perhaps I will see if I can sample some of it and run it through our pigment identification system during our next sample run. That'd provide very definitive algae ID info.

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No my normal CUC packages won't eat that stuff, hard in a pico all the animals that will are not suited for it. I got something for it in the short run though. Turns out I just found out I have one infant flying sea hare, porcelain crabs smaller than the top of a thumb tack, and a nickel sized pencil urchin. All will eat it, (don't be afraid to pull it out either ;) ) Yours for free is you want them. When they finish it off, send them to the LFS, too big for system etc..... A small pin cushion would rip it up, but mess up the tank too. More for those "I am about to give up" situations, .

haha. no need. an urchin hitchhiked in on my live rock. it's smaller than a dime right now, but i know once it grows it will destroy this stuff. i also have another urchin in the refugium of my 30. thanks for the offer though. i actually don't mind it, it's just crazy how quickly it spread.

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forgot all about that. we will work something out on that. Still need him?

 

YES PLEASE, very much so.

I've been going nuts trying to find one.

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Hey John,

Here are some pics for you. The first ones are of some flat red papery type of algae that has spread throughtout my RSM. The disc will grow out from the rock where you can easily grab it with tweezers and pull some off. It's the consistency of tissue paper. Nothing seems to eat this:

 

IMG_1387.jpg

This one you can see how it's lifted away from the rock.

IMG_1388.jpg

 

And here are some more pics of Gelidium (I think) if you need them:

 

IMG_1384-1.jpg

IMG_1385-1.jpg

 

My question on the Gelidium is I have it growing on a Maxima clam. I have a new 90 gallon I want to transfer corals to but you said "don't give it and don't put it in your tank" so what would your suggestion be? I hate to just dispose of the clam.

Thanks.

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johnmaloney
I get alot of the wavy film-type algae as well. I suspect that is is mostly a bacterial film but I don't know that for sure...

 

Perhaps I will see if I can sample some of it and run it through our pigment identification system during our next sample run. That'd provide very definitive algae ID info.

 

ahhh. lost a whole reply. Short replies now until I get my morale back

 

Fosi - Awesome! Would like a name better than "film algae". Always what I heard it as in the hobby, but was always curious to species etc... Pretty normal though, I think everybody has had it at one time or another. Nerites devour it. Astreas do too I believe, been awhile since I had one.

 

Weetie - one of your neighbors is going to do something too, pm me and we can figure out all the logistics etc..

 

xbwolf - then don't complain. ;):)

 

hazmat- use a dental pick exacto knife etc... to remove from clam and then isolate/Qt the clam in the old tank while everything unaffected moves to the new. When you are sure it won't come back then add it. (3 weeks should do it - probably overkill but would hate to see you get it in the new tank). What I would do. Maybe do the same to the rock as well, (use a chisel).

Edited by johnmaloney
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johnmaloney
Ok here is a good one the only thing I can guess is lighting. phos 0 nitrates 0 all other params 0 do not have a silicate test but have silacate removing stuff from sera.
doesn't seem to be working unless they aren't diatoms. Maybe dinos?

 

.Also running phos ban and chemi pure elite and have hair algae on my top rack and middle rack in my frag tank but not on the bottom?? - must like that area more, with the available nutrients maybe it is time to update the media? Too be honest I am skeptical of mechanical/chemical filtration anyway, although I know it does work. Just the way I am.

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johnmaloney

Do you think I should add a disclaimer in the top like

 

"Dear phycologists, marine biologists, advanced aquarists etc... You will find things in here like Cyano for example, and say "I thought this was a nuisance algae guide - cyano isn't algae", and wonder why Derbesia sp. has separate listings under both "Hair Algae" and "Derbesia" etc... The simple answer is because it is just easier to do it this way, the guide is supposed to to help people identify species by the common and trade names rather than species names, and to help make people fluent in the hobby., etc...".

 

 

?

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johnmaloney

hey hazmat, maybe it is a lobophora species? Never seen it like that before, but I only have regionally limited guide books. Ordering the Pacific set next week.

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---> DISCLAIMER <---

 

I am fully aware that the environment that I have is far less than optimal for the fish/clams/inverts/corals I have presently in the tank. This tank was setup as an emergency temporary holding tank because the friend who was holding the surviving corals/fish/inverts from my old tank crash decided to get out of the hobby and no one else had room for my stuff. I test twice a day and they have been 0 across the board. I will move things to their proper home as soon as possible. I also do not condone or encourage others to do what I have done and I flagellate myself nightly as penance. Now please go piss off.

 

--->END DISCLAIMER <---

 

Odd question but... It looks like I have both bryopsis and Gelidium on a huge (12") squamosa clam. Both infestations are about 1" square. My normal action would be to pull the infested rock/coral/etc out and perform a radical algaeectomy or sacrifice the whole piece but with such a big clam it isn't really an option for me.

 

What I am thinking to do is to go the Mg route for the bryopsis overall and take a dremmel to the shell area of the clam to take off both infestations. Good idea or bad? I would be using a grinding stone in the dremmel and the clam would be out of water for about 30 to 50 seconds max. My worries are that since its a deep water clam I am concerned about air exposure and stress. Were this guy to go South I would end up crashing the whole tank because its only a 33 gallon* with a very small clean up crew of 1 large Mexican turbo, 1 tuxedo urchin, 1 small Mexican turbo, 4 blue leg hermits.

 

Or would it be better to leave things as they are until the new tank is on line, move non-infested pieces out to the new tank, manually remove/scrub the clam until its clean, then keep in QT for 3ish weeks?

 

Or is there something else I could try?

 

New tank is between 2 and 8 weeks from being on line and soft cycled and I am worried about further infestation on healthy rock/coral in the holding tank thus exacerbating the problem.

 

Edit: So far it is not spreading beyond its present location.

Edited by Urchinhead
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Couldn't you just as easily scrape the shell with a knife? You could move the clam out of the tank and into a holding container where you can do the underwater scraping. You could take as much time as you need so you can be sure you don't miss any.

 

Discard the holding water, clam goes back into the tank and yer done.

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<Palm to forehead> Dough! Thank you sir. Stupid engineer in me goes for the high tech complicated solution vs. the low tech simple one. I think that I will just do my bi-weekly water change today and put the clam in the waste water container as the water goes to the rose bed anyway (I highly recommend the use of skimmate and old dirty tank water for roses by the way. They seem to like the brackish water and nutrients allot)

Edited by Urchinhead
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IMG_1387.jpg

This one you can see how it's lifted away from the rock.

IMG_1388.jpg

 

Ok I thought this red stuff is coralline... I have some on my rocks and never tried removing it. It looks nice. So it's actually a bad algae?

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lakshwadeep
Ok I thought this red stuff is coralline... I have some on my rocks and never tried removing it. It looks nice. So it's actually a bad algae?

 

I used to have that, or a similar reddish-orange type, and I liked it. It doesn't seem to hard to stop from expanding, and it may help in outcompeting more annoying algae, like hair algae, for space.

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johnmaloney

I thought it was too, but then I misread your post thinking you said it was the algae. no it is coralline, I have the same thing. I post too late at night at NR.

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I thought it was too, but then I misread your post thinking you said it was the algae. no it is coralline, I have the same thing. I post too late at night at NR.

 

I'm confused--too early in the morning. Lol I guess the main thing is that it's not a bad thing.

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BC29 NEWBIE

Alright so I been compairing pictures with my tank and I just dont know what these types of algae are???

 

My LR setup has 3 deapish bowl shapes and this is one of them. Notice the clear bubbles forming off the algae.

 

post-42800-1237663604_thumb.jpg

 

This is my second bowl and it has what I figure is hair algae growing on its center formation.

 

post-42800-1237663667_thumb.jpg

 

Last is a small rock in the back that has the hair algae and some sort of red on the right.

 

post-42800-1237663681_thumb.jpg

 

Here is alittle background on my system. It's been up for one month now and has a nice clean up crew, Peppermint and cleaner shrimp, 4 turbos, 10 dwarf blue leg hermits, and a new emerald crab. Also there is one yellow tail damsil renting a spot on my reef. :D I have not done any mods so it's stock everything even the bio-balls. System is stamble and has been for 21 days.

 

-The Newbie

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