mysterious brown algae

[Sea Turtle]

I have this brown algae growing all over my rocks. It is dark brown and growns in sheets. Sometimes if you get a corner of it you can pull it off like kelp leaves. I have attached some pics bellow. What is it and how do I get rid of it? It is starting to grow all over everything. You know, it's funny. I always thought that my tank would get better as it aged but it seems to be getting worse! :x How do I get my rocks so that they are clean from everything but coraline algae?

 

[Brian5000]

Lobophora:

I have that stuff (though under control now). If it becomes a plague, it can be really nasty as it grows over everything and may even snuff out aggressive soft corals. Apart from the free edges, healthy lobophora is almost impossible to scrape off the rock.

I suggest an aggressive maintenence routine to get this particular "algae bloom" before it becomes a real problem. As the algea starves, it's adherence to the rocks will lighten and it may be peeled off. This may take a little time.

I think the best way to keep your rocks clear is to have a healthy refugium. Otherwise, I find it helps to let some of the macros grow (sargassum, halemedia, etc.) in the display. It really helps to have something to absorb nutrients without overgrowing everything; this takes a lot of the burden off of the tank keeper.

 

[trido]

My Naso tang gobbles that stuff up like candy.

I'd only recommend one if you have a large enough tank to keep it healthy and active though. I'd dont want to alarm any tang police hat might be lurking in the shadows.

 

[Sea Turtle]

Well, this concerns me after battling dyno already, which by the way seems to never leave your tank completely. :x Will large water changes more frequently help to get rid of this?

I do not have a refug but have played with the idea of adding one for some time now. The main problem with that is lack of space.

I take it that the Naso tang is not recomended for my 75 gallon tank, ha?

 

[Anonymous]

Um.. not a Naso, no. Perhaps a Scopas.

 

[Sea Turtle]

I'm starting to understand that I might have a big problem with lobophora. What should I do about it?

 

[Brian5000]

If you can't find a critter to eat it, I would suggest frequent water changes (like weekly) to keep nutrient levels as low as possible. In time, the algae will starve and weaken. You may see it start to flake off the rock and you may find it easier to scrape off.

If you have any macros growing in your tank, let them grow. They eat up a lot of nutrients without harming anything else. When they get too big, pinch them off but leave at least the base behind for it to grow back. I find that even a few of them can go a long way in the absence of a refugium.

 

[Sea Turtle]

Thanks.

I think that I'm going to try to build a refugium this weekend. Don't really know how yet, but I'm going to try. Can anyone give me a good link to instructions on how to build a good one without spending a lot of money? Thing is, I have a couple extra 5, 10 and 20 gallon fish tanks but don't have the tools to dril a hole through them.

 

[trido]

IMO lobophora is one of the least invasive algeas growing in my system. Ive had it since day one (over three years) and its never gotten out of control, its one of seven kinds of algeas in my system, six of which are wild. By looking at your pics, it tends to be encrusting for the most part which other than being insightly (instead of pretty coraline), isnt really a problem at all. When it grows leafy you can simply harvest it.
Look at the bright side. Its far better than HA or briopsis which tend to grow near ten times faster and over take any small frags or colonies.

 

[Brian5000]

IMO lobophora is one of the least invasive algeas growing in my system. Ive had it since day one (over three years) and its never gotten out of control, its one of seven kinds of algeas in my system, six of which are wild. By looking at your pics, it tends to be encrusting for the most part which other than being insightly (instead of pretty coraline), isnt really a problem at all. When it grows leafy you can simply harvest it.

The same is true for me, now. I have small patches of the stuff in my tank, but it's growth is extremely limited. A few years ago when I was staring out, I had it running out of control in my tank. Somehow it just managed to become the dominant algae in the tank and covered pretty much everything fairly quickly. I'm not saying it is always a problem. In fact, by the infrequent posts in this forum about the stuff, I'm guessing it is extremely rare to get a lobophora plague. It definately can be a problem though (as with any algae with the right conditions, I suppose), and especially if it doesn't have anything to compete with for nutrients, the algae should be watched carefully.

 

[Sea Turtle]

Thanks for the good words. I spent all day yesturday building a refugium for the tank. I don't have much room so I had to run the freshwater top off down through the floor to the basement. It's better this way, now it pulls it directly from a 25 gallon pale next to the main RO/DI water storage tank. No more running 5 gallon poland spring jugs up to the tank from the basement every couple days. I am much more happy that I finally have a refugium. I have always wanted one but felt that I didn't have the space. I drilled a 3" hole through the tank and added an overflow tube that dumps the water back into the sump. The water is moved through the refugium by the outflow from the phosban reactor.

Will this clear up the rocks from most of the algae currently on them? Also, will this reduce the amount of times I have to clean the glass in the display? I am also hoping that my pod population will pic up so I can add a mandarin eventually. Check out the pics.

Do I have enough macro algae or should I add more?

 

[Anonymous]

Looking good. Nice job. That should be enough macros, they will grow quite fast as they eat the nutrients.