Is This Dinos?

[muzikalmatt]

I'm trying to identify this growth I'm getting on my front sandbed and the bottom of my front glass. It started appearing maybe a couple of weeks ago, and it seems to regrow rather quickly when I scrape it off or blow it off of the sandbed. It has a rust color, and in some places on the glass it looks stringy, almost like green hair algae. I'm not seeing any bubbles, but with the frequency of its appearance and the specific locations I'm guessing dinos. Looking for better opinions than my own. Tank is a 3+ year old IM Nuvo Fusion 40.

Parameters as of 2/20:
Temp: 76.6 F
Salinity: 1.026
Nitrate: 12.5 ppm
Phosphate: 0.13 ppm
Alkalinity: 8.2 dKH
Calcium: 410 (tested on 2/8)
Magnesium: 1425 (tested on 1/9)

It's the orangish/rust color lining the bottom glass and patches on the sandbed.

Here's a patch on the sandbed and the glass. (Sorry it's a bit blurry.)

This patch on the glass has a hairy/filament look to it.

Any feedback would be appreciated. Let me know if you need better pictures and I can try again, maybe under daylight spectrum without the orange filter.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Looks like hair algae and diatoms .
Siphon up well, remove off glass with algae sponge, reduce white light intensity and add snails such as:
Nassarius
Astrea
Turbo grazer
Nerite
Trochus

 

[Sean Clark]

+1 for above.

 

[Miami Reef]

To me it kind of looks like film algae.

Unless your RODI is above 0 TDS, you really shouldn’t be getting diatoms in an established tank.

I will agree with the above and get some herbivore snails as they will eat that.

 

[corey904]

+1 to vette
Just regular annoying algae not the dreaded dinos
Also your tank looks to small for a tang so maybe consider a lawnmower Lenny if it’s bothering you that much

 

[muzikalmatt]

Looks like hair algae and diatoms .
Siphon up well, remove off glass with algae sponge, reduce white light intensity and add snails such as:
Nassarius
Astrea
Turbo grazer
Nerite
Trochus

Thanks for the feedback! I have a couple of large nassarius snails, two or three large trochus snails and a large astrea snail. I also have a pincushion urchin but I haven't really seen the snails or urchin go after this stuff yet.

I'm wondering if the ReefBrite XHO's I added several months back have contributed to this algae bloom? Maybe I should dial those back a bit? I already keep my Kessil A360WE on the bluer spectrum. I think I have the color set at 25%.

 

[muzikalmatt]

To me it kind of looks like film algae.

Unless your RODI is above 0 TDS, you really shouldn’t be getting diatoms in an established tank.

I will agree with the above and get some herbivore snails as they will eat that.

I'm pretty sure my RODI is still at 0 TDS. I also had the RODI ICP tested a couple of weeks ago and it came back completely clean, but I will definitely double-check it. It might be worth changing out the sediment filter regardless since it's getting pretty dirty.

 

[muzikalmatt]

+1 to vette
Just regular annoying algae not the dreaded dinos
Also your tank looks to small for a tang so maybe consider a lawnmower Lenny if it’s bothering you that much

It doesn't bother me too much. I just wanted to make sure it's not something I need to get out in front of. It doesn't seem to be spreading beyond these areas so I'll just try to manage it. I have a bicolor blenny already who picks at algae a bit, but I haven't seen him go after this stuff yet.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Thanks for the feedback! I have a couple of large nassarius snails, two or three large trochus snails and a large astrea snail. I also have a pincushion urchin but I haven't really seen the snails or urchin go after this stuff yet.

I'm wondering if the ReefBrite XHO's I added several months back have contributed to this algae bloom? Maybe I should dial those back a bit? I already keep my Kessil A360WE on the bluer spectrum. I think I have the color set at 25%.

It is supported by light so very possible but elevated nitrate and phosphate are the triggers

 

[muzikalmatt]

It is supported by light so very possible but elevated nitrate and phosphate are the triggers

The tank has been hanging around the 10-15ppm nitrate and 0.08-0.15 ppm phosphate ranges for a good year now. I did have a phosphate spike a month or so ago where they creeped up to 0.25 ppm and I've slowly brought it back down with GFO. I definitely have bubble algae but hadn't encountered this stuff until recently.

I will try dialing back the lights a bit and also work on getting the nitrates and phosphates down a bit more as well. Thanks again for the feedback!