What is this crap?

[bones]

Hi...thanks for checking it out. I've had my reef tank up, running and healthy for over a year. It's attributed to frequent water changes, the use of R/O, monitoring of the levels (which are on). etc. Over the last few months a brown shell-like film is coating my lr. It appears to have tiny white hairs growing on the brown shell. It now completely over one rock and in patches elsewhere.

What the heck do you think it is? Algae? Sorry, no pics.

-Bones

[luminary]

some species of lobophora algae probably?

http://www.globaldialog.com/~jrice/algae_page/lobophora.htm

do a search on here for "brown wafer algae" for more info.

[bones]

Thanks for replying. Darn close to what you've shown. Not quite leaf-like...just encrusting. It's hard to scrape off. Any suggestions on how to rid of it?

[phdezra]

Sounds to me like Pseudolithoderma. Most fish do NOT like the taste of it, and few herbivores snack on it. Diadema urchin woudl do the trick though. Naso Tang would work too, but not sure if you want to add one of those.

[Eric Boerner]

Sounds like an encrusting sponge.

http://www.biosci.ohio-state.edu/~eeob/eeob405/aquarium/encrust_sponge.jpg

http://www.seattleaquarium.org/images/021.jpg

http://www.volusiareefs.org/images/redyelencrust1.jpg

http://www.calacademy.org/science_now/images/baycrud1.jpg