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Algae?

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Hogie View Drop Down
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    Posted: June 26 2014 at 1:32pm
I've had an outbreak of maybe algae (maybe bacteria). It's brown and really stringy with a consistency more of slime. It reminds me of cyno but not quite. It grows in long strands and is growing from the glass and well as wrapping around corals. It has 1 point of attachment and then has a tail that goes up in the flow and gets longer and longer. What it and how do I eradicate it? The only change ive made on the tank is I switched from Kessil 150 LED to AI nano LED. Could it be cause by too much/too little light? I checked my parameters and Nitrates 0, salinity was low at 1.021 and phosphates were a little hi so I added a phosphate removing sponge (it's only a 6 gallon tank) which will hopefully help.
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Holyzion View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Holyzion Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 26 2014 at 5:03pm
I tried looking around for awhile now to try to nail down the algae for you and from what i found it looks like it could be  Lyngbya. but i am no expert so hopefully someone can chime in and assist you with this issue. 

Often a reddish brown, Lyngbya spp. are a type of cyanobacteria. Even though it looks just like hair algae and is filamentous rather than slimy. It dislodges easily from the rock, has no discernible root or mat structure and grows fast. Lyngbya species seem to grow very fast in warmer tanks, and spread quickly once attached to a powerhead, suggesting they can replicate by fragmentation easily. Nevertheless aggressive manual removal over time can be effective.

Manual Removal -Toothbrush off the rock and glass capture floating mass in nets.

Clean Up Crew- Nerites, Ceriths, Chitons, Blue legs and Ragged Sea Hares all eat it as well as others

Tip - For the most part treat it as you would red slime algae type cyano.

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Mark Peterson View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mark Peterson Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 27 2014 at 6:38am
My first thought when seeing that image is Dinoflagellates. It can looks like dripping snot with a bubble at the end. I know that sounds gross but that's the best way to describe it. In a few days or weeks it goes away, when the biofiltration recovers from the die off of some kind of organism. Was there a recent death in the tank?

I believe Cyano and dinoflagellates can exist together, but then it may be the Cyano that Holyzion identified. In either case, an outbreak of algae is usually brought on by extra nutrients. Even the unseen death of a bacteria population can bring on an algae bloom.
Has the tank overheated recently?
How are the Alk and Ca levels?
May we see a pic of the entire tank?

A new light can create changes. Light acclimation is critical. That leads to my second thought which is, What's up with that acro? It looks bleached, or is that it's natural color?  Was the tank acclimated to the new light by starting at low power/intensity and raising it slowly over 2-4 weeks?

Hopefully these questions will help. Also look in the Reefkeeping Tips for the discussion about eliminating Cyanobacteria/Slime Algae.

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