Cyano or Corraline??

I have some base rock I picked up months ago, the stuff is awesome by the way John.

Anyway, I have places that look like obvious coraline and spots that look just like that picture above. It doesn't seem to harm anything I figured it was basis of coraline propagation or something similar. I had a black cyano outbreak 2 months ago. I treated it and after two weeks it was gone(lets say a month ago it was totally gone). I have spots similar to the pictures above that prevailed through treatment while the other stuff was destroyed as promised

I have deemed it harmless myself and that it must be some stage of coraline growth but personal experiences may vary.

Just my 2 cents and thanks again John for all of the inverts, rock, and great service!

 

Really sounds like coralline to me

 

What is the vinegar test?

 

Calcium is dissolved in vinegar, coralline is calcified. The test is supposed to be done with a stronger acid, usually a 1% hydrochloric acid solution and you look for bubbling.

 

Hey John I took some more pictures to bring to a localreefer. After scrubbing it off it spread more, kind of the way coralline would. He said it looked like cyano as well but my description does not match cyano at all so he sent some pictures to another algae expert. He thought it might be a carpet algae and that it seems to come in only on the rock that looks like mine (Pukani) and that it will carpet the whole rock in place of or in addition with coralline. Have you heard of a carpet algae?

 

It is a generic term that is used in the hobby, similar to "red turf algae". It usually refers to macroalgae that are short and wirey. It doen't looks like it. They can form from single holdfasts or form a mat, but yours seems powdery with no sprouting.

 

I dont thinh he was refering to ref turf algae but could be wrong. He said he had another customer who had it and she took all her rock out and bleached it white but it still grew back from spore form. I will say since I have tried manual removing with scrubbing it has spread further in the tank so I am pretty sure this is not a cyano thing and some sort of other reddish algae.

 

cyano can also spread that way and is more likely too. it lacks the characteristics of most macro algae from the photo, but that may be it, best of luck with it!

 

Thanks, I really hope it isnt. Like you said from a photo it does look like cyano but it doesnt seem to have many of the characteristics of a typical cyano. Time will tell I guess. I do feed very lightly and have a very low bioload at the time but being a new tank anything is possible.

By the way I finally saw some copepods the other night. I have not been able to spot a single pod since I dumped the bag from you in but after a month and looking very closely I saw a few different looking and sizes of little bugs crawling on the rock! Very happy they are there was afraid they didnt take and was wondering what to do

 

Hey John still on the quest to find out this algae as it continues to spread. It keeps getting thicker and has small dense little tufts on the thickest parts. Found a photo and description in an old book (2002) that sounds like it may be it or related to it.

Have you heard of Peysonnelia sp. aka chestnut algae? It states the it is a chestnut-brown reddish coloration and is an encrusting calcified algae that can sometimes develop rhodoliths that will be slightly flexible to the touch. It grows in deep whatever and does not require much light which makes sense because I only had a single 50/50 T8 bulb for the first 2 months. States that it is sometimes imported on liverock (maybe survived in spore form on my Pukani?? not sure if its a deepwater rock or not?) and does well in the aquarium . Looks like there are a few different species that are very similiar so exactly which one who knows.