green slime algae

[tony_caliente]

My water quality parameters are perfect. Lighting T5s 8 hours per day. RO water only. The alage is confine to this one coral skeleton. Any ideas?

 

[dakota9]

How old is the set-up?

 

[smoothie]

Same question as above.
Also coral skeletons are very pourous and can harbor more waste than regular live or base rock. May be the reason it is confined to just that piece. May want to put more flow towards than area after you remove the algae

 

[tony_caliente]

About a year, but just converted to a reef tank a month ago. It had hardly anything in it...just 3 small fish.

 

[smoothie]

Same substrate or new? What kind of filtration are you running? Sump, fuge, skimmer

 

[jennm]

It looks like cyanobacter. (Yes it comes in green, not just red! Nice Christmas colors!)

Take out that piece of coral, rinse it off, it should come right off. Direct more flow toward it.

It could be leaching out phosphate although your chemistry was fine when I checked it last, but leaching phosphate would feed the cyanobacter.

You may want to permanently remove that piece.

Jenn

 

[cr500_af]

Flow is help ful for most with cyano, but it isn't an absolute. The only place it grows in my system is inside the skimmer body.

 

[jennm]

Well, Barry - that's the "best" place for it

Cyanobacter is one of the most primitive life forms on the planet. If Mother Nature hasn't killed it off over the ages, we're not likely to either - the goal is to make it "manageable" (read: not visible). It's likely present in some quantity, in every system.

Jenn

 

[cr500_af]

Absolutely agreed.