Black algae & white dots

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ChuckU2

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Jan 16, 2004
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We've got this purplish blackish stuff growing on the bottom of our tank, along with some white spots appearing on the glass. The black stuff kind of peel off in sheets, kind of looking like skin peeling off when you get sunburned. We do our best to clean the class & floor of the tank, but the stuff comes right back within about a day or so. After reading some info found on this site, we dialed in the protien skimmer and it seems to be producing good foam, but after about a week, the problem seems to be getting worse. All tank paramaters seem good, fish, stars, crabs, etc. appear healthy. Ammonia is 0.2, nitrate is 10 mg/l, PH is 8.0. We have plenty of water flow, as there is a good current in the tank.

Attached is a picture of the gunk. Any help identifying or treating would be greatly appreciated.
 
Coundn't get picture to attach

Tried several times to getg the picture to work, but can't. It is 525KB jpeg, which I think should be within the limits that are stated in the post section.

Any ideas?

Thanks,

Chuck
 
White spots on the glass are likely either pods or tube worms. Pods will scurry around, and look like little shrimp/bugs. Tube worms will be stony tubes, often coiled up, that stay in place but can be knocked off with a scraper. Some worms have a fan like appendage, while others will have tiny, clearish tentacles that come out and search for food.

For the other--sounds like a cyano. Nasty stuff. Make sure your alkalinity is in good shape, and increase current. some critters will eat the stuff, but not many. Having enough cleaners to keep the sand bed churned up is a better solution than most. Out-competing the cyano for nutrients with macro algaes will sometimes work--but the macro's can be invasive, so I wouldn't recommend them for the main tank.
 
We just checked the alk. and it is at 3.5 meq/l. Will try and get some more critters to stir the sand.

The white spots are bigger than pods...see them in there too! I would say that they are about 2mm in diameter, do not move, and look like a spot of white paint. They are attached to the glass, and if you scrape one off (which takes a bit of effort), it kind of drifts around the tank in one piece.

Thanks for your help! I'll give your suggestions a try.

Chuck
 
Limpets? Or, patches of coralline algae--it often is white when first growing, then turns purple/red/green.
 
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