Brown Algae - Pics Added

Jaws · #1 03-01-2005, 05:10 AM

Here are some pics of the algae. Here's my old link about the subject:
http://www.canreef.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=14631
Not sure why I didn't just add it to that link? Oh well.

Not the clearest pics but you should get the idea. It blows right off the rocks with a turkey baster. All the parameters are good too. The funny thing is that the corals have never looked better either. Any ideas?

Invigor · #2 03-01-2005, 05:21 AM

looks like cyano to me :|

Aquattro · #3 03-01-2005, 05:59 AM

not cyano, but the same thing I have in my tank, and Christy has in hers.

chrisd · #4 03-01-2005, 05:59 AM

I have the same thing growing on my powerheads and in the back corner of the tank as well. I think it's cyano. I always try and wipe it off every so often and it comes off just like cyano. Plus those are pretty much dead spots in my tank as well.

Aquattro · #5 03-01-2005, 06:10 AM

nope, not cyano. My whole tank is covered in it and I've dealt with it for a while. Different structure from cyano, both by sight and touch. In my tank it was/is dinos or growing with dinos. Very snotty and slimey. If you blast it with a baster, it just puffs off the surface, unlike cyano which tends to peel off in small chunks or sheets.

The second round o fit recently killed off all 60 snails in my tank, further reinforcing the dinolagellate theory...

hockey nut · #6 03-01-2005, 07:14 AM

What is the theory?

I've seen this stuff before. Any sure fire way to get rid of it?

Jaws · #7 03-01-2005, 09:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by reef_raf

The second round o fit recently killed off all 60 snails in my tank, further reinforcing the dinolagellate theory...

I've noticed my snails dying one by one as well. I don't like the sounds of this. Would a sea hare take care of the algae?

Aquattro · #8 03-01-2005, 01:52 PM

nope, if it's dinos, it's toxic to anything that eats it.

Delphinus · #9 03-01-2005, 02:41 PM

Sure looks like dinoflagellates.

If that's what it is ... you have my deepest sympathies. It's extremely difficult to get rid of.

If you siphon it away, does it come back within a few hours? I found dinos would have an immense spread rate.

It's toxic to anything that eats it, so control is very difficult. It's basically a red tide ... I believe red tide is also caused by a dinoflagellate.

The zooxanthellae in your corals is also a dinoflagellate, so it's conceivable that conditions favourable to the scum is also good for the good stuff, which is maybe why your corals seem to look good (note - I'm just speculating). But it also means there's no silver bullet ... any kind of med that targets dinos is going to do a bad number on corals and anemones as well.

Anyhow, I've had the misfortune of having a dino bloom in my tank twice now. Both times almost caused me to tear down the tank and quit. In the end, leaving my lights off for about a week (and I mean, no lights, no actinics, no halides, no ambient sunlight, etc.) seemed to knock it back.

However I think that didn't work for Christy, so .... I'm not sure how effective it is in all cases. And of course, having no light is not good for corals and anemones that rely on light ... so ... calculated risk.

Good luck.

Jaws · #10 03-01-2005, 05:10 PM

It definitely develops a lot more when the light is on during the day. If I blow it all of the rocks, it's back in a few hours. What would have caused this?