Algae

This post from another web site caught my eye. It makes complete sense to me. Here's the link... if anyone thinks this info is wrong, let me know!

AlgNutrControlFAQs


Solution to Brown Slime AKA Snot Algae. Rick Gibson's investigation, eradication of BGA 12/27/06
G'day crew!
<Richard>
Some months back, I wrote in asking advice, with my 75g reef system suffering from a major onslaught of Brown Slime (AKA "Snot") Algae. I had to do a lot of internet searching to even discover what exactly the stuff was, as it is apparently a pretty seldom seen (thankfully!) form of Cyanobacteria.
<Yes>
I've only seen it once or twice in all of my travels, apart from my own system's demise. Those who have been unlucky enough to encounter it in their own systems seem to have shared in the same lack of success in treating it as I had. I tried virtually everything that I could think of and then some to get rid of it, from frequent vacuums and water changes to tearing the entire system apart and scrubbing everything, to single and double-dose erythromycin treatments, and many other failed remedies. I followed every recommendation from pet shop 'experts', internet reef gurus; and in the end finally followed Bob F's advice, building a small refugium to incorporate into my system.
<Ahh!>
This last project brought the brown slime more or less under control, yet did not completely eradicate it, and I still had to remain vigilant, having to scrub around powerheads, overflows, on the aquarium glass, etc daily, to make sure that the Cyano was kept in check. Then one day, I stumbled onto a solution to the entire problem, quite by accident. This happy accident completely wiped out the offensive Cyano, and I've never seen so much as a trace of it since that time, several months ago. I thought I'd share it with you and your readers, in case other reefkeepers out there run into similar situations and are in need of a "quick fix".
<Please do>
Through a series of accidents - the most notable of which was a heater malfunction - I had an ich outbreak in my tank, and had to do FW dips, followed by Cu treatment, quarantine, and a 6-week fallow period on the main tank. All the while, the Cyano in the main tank continued to grow, as I was still feeding the inverts in the tank. I finally returned the fish to the tank, and on a whim I decided to run a canister filter for a week or two with a filter sock containing SeaChem's Cuprisorb in it, just to make sure that no copper or other heavy metals had found their way into the tank via the fish. Within a week, 2 notable things began to happen: The Chaetomorpha macroalgae in my refugium - which had been a bright, beautiful and vivid green - began to turn pale and transparent, with massive amounts of it sloughing off and dying. At the same time, the brown slime Cyanobacteria just up and vanished without a trace! It took a day or two before I connected the dots and realized that it was the Cuprisorb that was responsible. An internet search led me to an FAQ page on SeaChem's website, where someone had asked quite simply, "...in addition to copper and heavy metals, will Cuprisorb also remove Iron and Manganese from the water"?
<Yes... and these are essential nutrients...>
Seachem's answer was yes. I ran down to the LFS and bought a bottle of Iron additive, and started to put 5 drops per day into the refugium. Within a week, the Chaetomorpha had sprung back to life, and looked as good as ever. It is now overrunning the refugium, and needs to be trimmed back (and sold or traded for goods, I guess).
The Snot Algae has not returned. My first thought about this was that the brown slime must actually have been an algae, and not a Cyanobacteria, since it appeared to be dependent on Iron for survival.
<Mmm, no>
However, I finally located the following excerpt in an article that I read online, entitled: "Treatment Systems for Household Water Supplies"
"Some types of bacteria derive their energy by reacting with soluble forms of iron and manganese. These organisms usually are found in waters that have high levels of iron and manganese in solution. The reaction changes the iron and manganese from a soluble form into a less soluble form, thus causing precipitation & accumulation of black or reddish brown gelatinous material (slime)".
<Ahh, yes>
It would be interesting to see if this same product might also work to eradicate red slime algae/ Cyanobacteria. I hope that you will find this information as interesting as I have.
Regards,
Rick G.
<Thank you much for this reporting... Very valuable indeed. Bob Fenner>

 

I'm definatly going to try that. Nice work!