Help! Unknown problem!

[saltyfish]

This has just showed up in my 2yr.old biocube. I thought it was red slime algae so I treated it with chemi clean.2times actually.. and it looked better. The red color left and then it was greenish and a little hairy. And in about 2 wks time after the treatment its back and getting bigger. I do weekly water changes with the temp is 77.6 constantly. Please help as no one around here knows what to do! Thanks.

[jedidad]

have you tried just siphoning it. if its red slime it'll come off pretty easy. you may have to keep after it for a while but it should get better.

[saltyfish]

I just don't understand the green hairy stuff under it. Never had that with red slime before...

[brandon429]

thank you for providing pics up close we rarely get that for diagnosis

 

what you have is a simple but profoundly diverse alternation of generations and species within an algae patch. Growth of one organism changes the immediate niche physically (alterations in flow, detritus storage, light penetration, oxygenation/carbon dioxide production, bacterial communities blooming, etc) just in that little space on your live rock and it gives other generations of algae a chance to flourish. They will either take over your tank slowly, die back unexpectedly, or sit there static for a while actually looking kind of neat.

 

I can tell you from first hand experience what to do about that if you want it gone but its not the only way. There is a whole internet of a thousand recipies

 

need to see a full tank shot of your tank to see what else is in there. what other kinds of macro you have

 

There is no need to change your water params or hook up new filters. this looks localized and easily removed but need a full tank shot first

 

if the problem is that tiny localized area you should lift out the rock and toothbrush that area clean and rinse it all off really well, physical removal when possible is a chemical free way of being thorough.