Is this GHA or Lyngbya?

[Deisler]

Hello,

 

I have been fighting with this (and another algae type) for 2 years in my small tank (60L). Almost daily manual removal. Initially I was pretty sure I got Lyngbya in my tank, and have been raising Mg and over-feeding to fight it. Things improved a bit, and now I got this. I am fairly certain this is different from what I got previously, and I suspect it is GHA now. But not 100% sure as GHA and Lyngbya can look similar...

 

See pics below.

 

It is strange this grows crazy in half of the tank, but almost none in the other half. The only difference between two parts of the tank is water flow. This seems to thrive on rock surface with lower flow.

 

Can anyone please ID this algae for me? Is it GHA or Lyngbya? 

 

Thanks a lot.

 

 

[Ohmegg]

I had the red variety of Lyngbya (identified by dipping infected frag in peroxide and it did nothing). Cured it by putting infected rock and frag in quarantine tank with proper dose azithromycin. 

[mcarroll]

On 9/17/2022 at 8:22 AM, Deisler said:

I have been fighting with this (and another algae type) for 2 years in my small tank (60L).

I don't want to assume – does that mean this is a 2 year old tank?

 

On 9/17/2022 at 8:22 AM, Deisler said:

have been raising Mg and over-feeding to fight it

Whatever resource you got that advice from – scratch it off your list of resources. 👍

 

On 9/17/2022 at 8:22 AM, Deisler said:

But not 100% sure as GHA and Lyngbya can look similar...

I think folks like the work "Lyngbya" more  (cuz it sounds cooler than Derbesia!) than the rate at which it is actually found in tanks.  (Unless you find someone ID'ing with microscope pics, which I've never personally seen.)

 

For our discussion, you have green hair algae – a hobby term that applies to all the algae species we would care about.

 

Can you post water test results for everything including NO3 and PO4?  

 

Do you have a cleanup crew?  Please list what you have.

 

Also, tell us more about the tank setup, including the lighting. 

 

[Deisler]

16 hours ago, mcarroll said:

I don't want to assume – does that mean this is a 2 year old tank?

 

Whatever resource you got that advice from – scratch it off your list of resources. 👍

 

I think folks like the work "Lyngbya" more  (cuz it sounds cooler than Derbesia!) than the rate at which it is actually found in tanks.  (Unless you find someone ID'ing with microscope pics, which I've never personally seen.)

 

For our discussion, you have green hair algae – a hobby term that applies to all the algae species we would care about.

 

Can you post water test results for everything including NO3 and PO4?  

 

Do you have a cleanup crew?  Please list what you have.

 

Also, tell us more about the tank setup, including the lighting. 

 

Thank you. Yes it is 2.5yr old tank.

 

NO3 and PO4 both undetectable with Salifert, even when I feed heavily. I assume they are consumed by this algae?

 

Ca 430 Mg 1380  Alk 8.0. I only keep easy corals, Softies and LPS. Two clowns, 1 blenny. All corals are doing ok, but affected by this algae.

 

CUC includes 4 trochus, 1 Nassarius and 3 (long snails, forgot what they are called...)

 

Tank is 60L, with a powerhead and a HOB filter. No chemical filtering. Blackbox light with 4 hr white and 8hr blue (I reduced to 4hr white to control this algae).

[mcarroll]

7 hours ago, Deisler said:

NO3 and PO4 both undetectable with Salifert, even when I feed heavily. I assume they are consumed by this algae?

Possibly.  It would generally be better to have detectable levels.   How is the tank cleaned?  Is there anything besides algae drawing down on the N and P you're adding to the tank through feedings?   (E.g. Filters, water changes, et al.)

 

7 hours ago, Deisler said:

Two clowns, 1 blenny. All corals are doing ok, but affected by this algae.

Do you mean that the algae is growing around them, but that they are still healthy?  Or do you mean that algae is growing ON the corals in some cases?

 

7 hours ago, Deisler said:

CUC includes 4 trochus, 1 Nassarius and 3 (long snails, forgot what they are called...)

At least the 4 Trochus are algae eaters.  From the looks of the couple pictures, I'm guessing you could double the number of herbivores.

 

When you work in the tank manually removing algae, makes sure you work in a small space (1-2" square) and stay in that space until the algae is really gone.  This will make that area ripe for a snail to maintain....and it will be easier to make and see real progress.  (It's easy to go around the whole tank pulling the big algae clumps, but then when you step back it's like very little was actually done to clear any actual space and the algae grows back very fast since it's all still to big for snails to maintain.)

 

If you see any of the spaces that you clear start to become overgrown again, then you know you need more snails....add 1-2 more depending on the size of the snails you have available.

 

10 hours ago, Deisler said:

Tank is 60L, with a powerhead and a HOB filter. No chemical filtering. Blackbox light with 4 hr white and 8hr blue (I reduced to 4hr white to control this algae).

For perspective on quantity of algae eaters, one rule of thumb says that you MIGHT end up with as many as 1 snail for ever 2 liters or so.  You're at the bottom of the scale currently.  🙂 

 

If you're running any mechanical filtration, either make sure you're cleaning it at least once daily OR discontinue mechanical filtering until the algae is under control.

 

If your light is something like a Mars Aqua black box, then you may want to turn the intensity down a bit more.  Do you have a lux or PAR meter to measure the light at your water surface?  

 

As for the blue:white balance, you want something that looks about "20,000K" blue....there should be only enough white in the mix for things in the tank to look good to you.  👍 Turn off Red, Green UV and other channels, if possible.

 

No more than 12 hours of ON time.  If your lights do not do sunrise/sunset dimming, then you may want as little as 2-4 hours of "daytime".  (Corals can get their fill in as little as 10 minutes if light quality is good.)

 

 

[Deisler]

22 hours ago, mcarroll said:

Possibly.  It would generally be better to have detectable levels.   How is the tank cleaned?  Is there anything besides algae drawing down on the N and P you're adding to the tank through feedings?   (E.g. Filters, water changes, et al.)

 

Do you mean that the algae is growing around them, but that they are still healthy?  Or do you mean that algae is growing ON the corals in some cases?

 

At least the 4 Trochus are algae eaters.  From the looks of the couple pictures, I'm guessing you could double the number of herbivores.

 

When you work in the tank manually removing algae, makes sure you work in a small space (1-2" square) and stay in that space until the algae is really gone.  This will make that area ripe for a snail to maintain....and it will be easier to make and see real progress.  (It's easy to go around the whole tank pulling the big algae clumps, but then when you step back it's like very little was actually done to clear any actual space and the algae grows back very fast since it's all still to big for snails to maintain.)

 

If you see any of the spaces that you clear start to become overgrown again, then you know you need more snails....add 1-2 more depending on the size of the snails you have available.

 

For perspective on quantity of algae eaters, one rule of thumb says that you MIGHT end up with as many as 1 snail for ever 2 liters or so.  You're at the bottom of the scale currently.  🙂 

 

If you're running any mechanical filtration, either make sure you're cleaning it at least once daily OR discontinue mechanical filtering until the algae is under control.

 

If your light is something like a Mars Aqua black box, then you may want to turn the intensity down a bit more.  Do you have a lux or PAR meter to measure the light at your water surface?  

 

As for the blue:white balance, you want something that looks about "20,000K" blue....there should be only enough white in the mix for things in the tank to look good to you.  👍 Turn off Red, Green UV and other channels, if possible.

 

No more than 12 hours of ON time.  If your lights do not do sunrise/sunset dimming, then you may want as little as 2-4 hours of "daytime".  (Corals can get their fill in as little as 10 minutes if light quality is good.)

 

 

Thanks a lot. Very useful advice.

 

I siphon sandbed at every WC and manually stir the hard to reach part. 20% WC every week or so. 

 

I am now cutting down feeding to normal level now and will see how algae responds