bucky1168 Posted October 20, 2007 Share Posted October 20, 2007 I need some help identifying this stuff. The pictures are a little blurry but this stuff if blood red in color and it looks like short fuzz. It feels sort of slimey and does not come off the rock very easy. I hope someone knows what it is and if I need to get rid of it. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef-fisher Posted October 20, 2007 Share Posted October 20, 2007 Appears to be cyano bacteria. not good and can take over rather quickly. watch your alkalinity, keep good flow and do a healthy (20% or so) waterchange. also, you can use a turkey baster to blow it off and suck it out. try to avoid chemicals as they may affect your biological filter in the tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsoz Posted October 20, 2007 Share Posted October 20, 2007 Yup, looks like cyanobacteria. There are medications (antibiotics), but they will also kill some of the good bacteria in you bio-filter, so don't use them. More flow, less nutrients (fish food), and lotsa water changes. You can also shorten your photoperiod for a few days (down to 4 hours or less a day) it should help it disappear. If you can redirect a powerhead in the direction of the cyano it should also help. dsoz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyles Posted October 20, 2007 Share Posted October 20, 2007 If your lucky its cyano, if its the turf stuff, its a nightmare, I got some from some rock I purchased and it has been a real pain to get control of, cyano should blast off with a powerhead or turkey baster, if its the stuff that grows on the rock I have been using urchins to slowly remove it comboed with phosloc to stop it from growing, but honestly there has to be a better way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bucky1168 Posted October 20, 2007 Author Share Posted October 20, 2007 Great..... It does not blow off. It seems it has grown to the rock. So Nyles, you are using phosloc? What causes this stuff to grow? I checked my water parameters and phosphates, nitrites, nitrates, ammonia are all 0 and ph is at 8.3. I have 1 1200 gph powerhead on both sides of the tank. I t seems I have enough water movement. So urchins clean off this stuff? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyles Posted October 20, 2007 Share Posted October 20, 2007 It will grow in good conditions, there is phosphate every time you feed, its just not measurable on a test. Since I have ran phosloc and previously phosban it has ceased to graw but slowly faded away, the urchins help but it probably needs to be removed manually but my rocks are not coming out anytime soon. Im waiting to see if someone has had better luck with another product, mabe if I can get some time today I will snap a close up pick of it for overyone to see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bucky1168 Posted October 21, 2007 Author Share Posted October 21, 2007 That would be great. I am not camera savey enough to get a good in focus pic. I do have a question though, does the Urchin eat on your corals? Everything I have read on the urchin is they could eat or destroy polyp corals. Just curious and which one do you have? Thanks for the help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyles Posted October 21, 2007 Share Posted October 21, 2007 There reef safe tuxedo urchins. There the only ones I would recommend, but if you have frags they better be glued well because they will rip them off the rocks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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