Help what is this stuff!!!

[bhaynes88]

Help I cannot figure out what this gunk is... I have taken a sample to many Lfs and all of them have no clue but it’s taking over tank the tank is about 6 months old I use rodi water kessil lighting it’s a rimless biocube 32 all params are spot on just had water tested at lfs it’s moderately stocked tank 5 snail coral beauty lawn mower and purple fire fish and has a few lps

corals in it. It’s a light tank slime that’s semi firm to the touch I know the far brown is diatoms but the other stuff is covering everything please help. It seems to be photo synthetic due to the fact it’s only on light exposed surfaces I’m loosing hope 

[Christopher Marks]

It may be a type of bacteria, a non-red cyanobacteria. Does it brush off the rock with light scrubbing from a toothbrush? Do you ever see any bubbles in it any particular part of the day (evenings?)

 

What kind of live rock did you use to establish your nano reef? How about your sand bed too? Did you dose any starter ammonia or bacteria during your cycle back in the beginning?

 

What is your fish feeding schedule like? Do you feed your coral? How often and how much volume are your water changes on average?

 

This might be similar to what I've been dealing with in my pico reef, I manually remove it with a tooth brush before water changes to knock it back, but it slowly returns. The solution may be a 'probiotic' bacteria addition, there are a few bottled solutions on the market. Proceed with caution, of course, but if you've ruled out all other possibilities...

[bhaynes88]

Thanks for the reply I am at work at the moment and can’t reply with all info needed when I get off today I will give a thorough run down of all needed info thanks in advance  

[hypostatic]

That's algae and bacteria. They'll accumulate in areas of low flow