Is this an algae on the frag disks?

[Idoc]

I have this very fine, fuzzy-like stuff that covers the frag plugs in my coral QT...it is also on the 2 live rocks that i have in that tank as well. In the pic, I can see a few air bubbles. I've been battling diatoms regularly in this tank, but those are receding quite a bit.

I can't keep nitrates or phosphates in this tank! They always test zero! So concerned this might be something bad getting started. I already lost a small frogspawn frag and mushrooms in this tank... suspect due to no nutrients, possibly.

Any ideas what this is? Ideas to get some nutrients in this tank? Maybe dose nitrates and phosphates to help the other LPS frags in there?

 

[Adele]

I have this very fine, fuzzy-like stuff that covers the frag plugs in my coral QT...it is also on the 2 live rocks that i have in that tank as well. In the pic, I can see a few air bubbles. I've been battling diatoms regularly in this tank, but those are receding quite a bit.

I can't keep nitrates or phosphates in this tank! They always test zero! So concerned this might be something bad getting started. I already lost a small frogspawn frag and mushrooms in this tank... suspect due to no nutrients, possibly.

Any ideas what this is? Ideas to get some nutrients in this tank? Maybe dose nitrates and phosphates to help the other LPS frags in there?

 

[Adele]

I’m following because I have the exact same thing just not as dense and no bubbles. I’ll be curious to hear some of the other comments.

 

[Idoc]

Let's see if anyone this evening has some advice on this.

 

[Gareth elliott]

Bryopsis species i think? Also below the plug theres some poking through the eggcrate, kinda looks like Aiptasia but only seeing a small piece of it so could be really wrong on that.

 

[Idoc]

Bryopsis species i think? Also below the plug theres some poking through the eggcrate, kinda looks like Aiptasia but only seeing a small piece of it so could be really wrong on that.

Nope, you were correct. That was a little aptasia on the bottom of the plug! He's already dead and gone, lol. So glad I use a coral QT tank!!! I accepted a rock with mushrooms at Christmas from someone's tank...it has given me aptasia (only 2 found so far) and bubble algae! So, the frags i habe are spending extra time in the coral QT just so i can watch for more little surprises!!! I cleaned off a few tiny bubble algaes today from some other frags I have now found it on. I use a +30 diopter magnifying lens to go over the frags regularly.

But you think it's Bryopsis on the plugs?

 

[Reefaddict1979]

Looks like green hair algae to me How long has this tank been up and running. Also do you have a cuc. The eggcrate looks pretty clean so has to be pretty new

 

[Gareth elliott]

Nope, you were correct. That was a little aptasia on the bottom of the plug! He's already dead and gone, lol. So glad I use a coral QT tank!!! I accepted a rock with mushrooms at Christmas from someone's tank...it has given me aptasia (only 2 found so far) and bubble algae! So, the frags i habe are spending extra time in the coral QT just so i can watch for more little surprises!!! I cleaned off a few tiny bubble algaes today from some other frags I have now found it on. I use a +30 diopter magnifying lens to go over the frags regularly.

But you think it's Bryopsis on the plugs?

Try cutting some the algae off and looking at it with the lens against white paper, if its bryopsis 30x should be plenty to see the ferns. The little species tend to trap a lot of detritus making id difficult.
Regardless what algae type easiest removal imo would be cutting of the plug and putting on a new one.

 

[Idoc]

Looks like green hair algae to me How long has this tank been up and running. Also do you have a cuc. The eggcrate looks pretty clean so has to be pretty new

The coral QT had been running for about 4-5 months. Initially, I just put the frag disks directly on the sand bottom. But they were struggling and receding (the mushroom and the frogspawn) so i built the egg-crate rack and placed them on it just a few weeks ago to see if different levels to the lighting and powerhead made a difference.

I have 1 astraea turbo, a few cerith snails, and 4-5 nassarius snails. I had another astraea but it died recently... think cuz minimal algae. I don't think its GHA... no nutrients at all and this stuff is thriving! I did feed the nassarius snails a mysis shrimp each about 1-2 times per week...hand feeding snails, lol, didn't think i would ever be doing that!

 

[Idoc]

Try cutting some the algae off and looking at it with the lens against white paper, if its bryopsis 30x should be plenty to see the ferns. The little species tend to trap a lot of detritus making id difficult.
Regardless what algae type easiest removal imo would be cutting of the plug and putting on a new one.

I'll take a look at it more closely. I scraped it off the plugs again today with a razorblade. But removing the plug would only help with the frags themselves. This stuff is also coating the 2 live rocks in the tank... and it's now on the egg-crate as well... can really be seen flowing on the underside of the egg-crate.

I also have a +78D and +90D lens if I need more mag... but their focal distances put the stuff pretty close to my face, lol.

 

[Reefaddict1979]

I would take out the nass snails. They don’t eat algae and prefer sand. It’s either gha or bryopsis. So either way there is enough nutrients in the water for it to grow. I prefer trochus snails Find they are the best algae eater imo and will eat bryopsis and gha I would start with 10. I find too few and they will only eat the algae they prefer but add a lot and they will devour all algae. They breed in my tank. I recently added a new frag tank and put frag racks in Well in 4 days everything was cover in all types of algae. I didn’t have enough if there yet I was collecting them from the other tanks. But if I put one of the frag plugs in my other tanks it was picked clean by morning. If a few weeks the cuc caught up with the algae and all is good now.

 

[Idoc]

I would take out the nass snails. They don’t eat algae and prefer sand. It’s either gha or bryopsis. So either way there is enough nutrients in the water for it to grow. I prefer trochus snails Find they are the best algae eater imo and will eat bryopsis and gha I would start with 10. I find too few and they will only eat the algae they prefer but add a lot and they will devour all algae. They breed in my tank. I recently added a new frag tank and put frag racks in Well in 4 days everything was cover in all types of algae. I didn’t have enough if there yet I was collecting them from the other tanks. But if I put one of the frag plugs in my other tanks it was picked clean by morning. If a few weeks the cuc caught up with the algae and all is good now.

Thanks... I'll get some trochus snails and give that a go. I actually do have sand in this tank so the nassarius snails can burrow. I've been thinking of removing it, though. Those nassarius are actually ready to be moved to the DT. Put sand in cuz actually was using this to quarantine corals and any inverts i would get as well.

 

[Reefaddict1979]

Just curious what type of mushroom was it that died

 

[Idoc]

Just curious what type of mushroom was it that died

I think it was a rhodactis mushroom by the best i could tell.

 

[Idoc]

Try cutting some the algae off and looking at it with the lens against white paper, if its bryopsis 30x should be plenty to see the ferns. The little species tend to trap a lot of detritus making id difficult.
Regardless what algae type easiest removal imo would be cutting of the plug and putting on a new one.

There's no fern-like appearance through the 30D lens. I don't think its bryopsis now. It was just a really fine translucent fluff... what i scraped off yesterday is back today. It does have a few tiny air bubbles in it that are easier to see with magnification. I've been trying to find pictures of chrysophytes... and the ones Ive found online look just like it!

 

[Gareth elliott]

There's no fern-like appearance through the 30D lens. I don't think its bryopsis now. It was just a really fine translucent fluff... what i scraped off yesterday is back today. It does have a few tiny air bubbles in it that are easier to see with magnification. I've been trying to find pictures of chrysophytes... and the ones Ive found online look just like it!

Maybe check the tds on your ro/di they require silicates to grow. Or introduce some pineapple sponges from the dt, removing the silicates naturally.

 

[Idoc]

Maybe check the tds on your ro/di they require silicates to grow. Or introduce some pineapple sponges from the dt, removing the silicates naturally.

My TDS is zero exciting my DI resin...i just changed the resin last week as well. The othet filters are about 5 months old. I have sand in this tank... might remove it, really don't need it there and that could be a big source for silicates. Maybe actually dosing some nitrates as well to bring the tank out of zero nutrients... the LPS would provably enjoy that, they've been unhappy for the last few weeks!