Tank update, some pics, identification request, and questions..

[JeridJohnson]

Hello folks..

Well this is going to be a bit of a mixed thread.. I have some updated pics of the tank.. a few questions, and a couple identification requests.. I just cleaned the "glass" before taking the pics so there is some particles floating around.. so here we go..

Here is a pic of the full tank.. It was set up in my house from a Fish only tank the week before xmas.. It just came out of a wicked algea bloom.. things seem to be clearing up pretty good.. This pic shows every fish and shrimp in the tank.. Click on the pictures to see larger ones..


First question.. I am curious what these spots are.. They are forming mostly on the back of the tank and do not come off with the white acrylic safe scrubber.. I need to scrape with a credit card to get them off.. they seem very crusty.. Could it be green coraline? I seem to have a lot of green coraline on some of the rocks (see upcoming pics).



Here is a pic of some of what I believe is green coraline.. Can anyone confirm?


Here are a couple pics of some unknowns in my tank.. This pic has 3 red arrows. The top two arrows point to some strang curley-Q things growing out of holes in my rock.. I dont know what it is but it is definitly attached and growing.. Seems to have some wispy white stuff attached to it.. The thrid arrow points out a little feather duster work with a red feather duster.. its little but very cool looking.


This pic shows some sort of algea or something that is growing.. It seems a bit different than any of the other reddish algeas growing.. Any ideas?


And here are some pics of my softies..

Xenia - half of it got scared while I was cleaning and it hid..


Yellow polyps - my most recent addition


Green star polyps (starting to creep away from the frag)


Anyways.. any info, observation, or advice would be appreciated..

Cheers,
Jerid

[amcarrig]

Pics 2 and 3 are definitely coralline algae...congrats The middle arrow of pic 5 kinda looks like a wafer type of algae and the bottom arrow is a fan worm. Can you get a closer pic of the critters in that picture, particularly the top and middle arrow? Pic 6 is either some type of red fuzz algae or sponge. A close pic would of that would also help.

[JeridJohnson]

I'll try to post a couple close-ups.

[JeridJohnson]

Here is a close-up pic of the growth. It has been a week or so since I took the above pics and you can see that it has grown some more.. Whatever it is it kinda looks cool.. Any ID would be much appreciated.



Thanks,
Jerid

[Bruce]

Hmm thats come crazy stuff...hard to say what it is...maybe some kind of macro algae? is it hard or soft?

[JeridJohnson]

I would consider it semi hard.. it is flexible yet durable... The thick rim is fairly tough and the thinner part is kinda transparrent and paper like.. (that is my scientific description :-? )

[amcarrig]

Scroll algae.


http://joshday.com/blog/2005/06/scro...king-over.html

[JeridJohnson]

Nice ID amcarrig!!! Thanks..

I found this quote online..
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I have a strange looking algae growing in my tank that is brittle to the touch and has 'leaves' that resemble the freshwater Water Hyacinth or the cups and whorls of Montipora capricornis. It is shiny brown and has leaves 1/4" across.

This is probably a species of Padina. This a common brown algae with a wide distribution in the Caribbean, Indian and Pacific oceans. Padina sp. grow on hard surfaces (like rock, shells, and coral fragments) and the species of this genus are the only brown algae that include calcium carbonate in their 'leaf' structure. It is more than likely a nice addition to reef aquaria.
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I guess I will let it grow and see what happens..

Cheers,
Jerid

[amcarrig]

I had this algae in my tank when I first set it up but it eventually died off. Maybe you'll get lucky and yours won't!!