Free bag of SD & handful of chaemto + Purple algae question

[biohazard55]

Free Bag of SD for anyone willing to come pick it up. 10 min S of the loop, right on the lake. Also, some chaemto as well that I need to take out.
(Had trouble meeting with talond a week ago).

fyi, 10g tank was tossed.

Question:
I'm starting to get this purple/maroon hair algae/fuzz looking thing growing on some LR.

Pictures didnt come out well, but it doesn't come off easily like hair algae using a toothbrush.

I had a cyano and hair algae problem about 6 months ago which has cleared up with a better skimmer (Remora), UV sterilizer, using phosban, chemi-pure, and 7 hours of lights.

Now, after dropping loads of cash to get rid of the green hair algae, I get this stuff coming up.

Any ideas on what it is, and what to do about it?

Thank you in advance.

[Highlander]

If it's the same stuff I'm thinking of, my blue legs eat it pretty well.

[biohazard55]

Thank you.

I have a total 15-20 hermits including zebras, reg legged, and blue legged. I guess it could be time for some replenishing.

[ostrow]

This sounds EXACTLY like what I have been fighting. You might see my progress thread.

Basically, I got a phosban reactor (how are you "running phosban"?), added carbon to suck up anything it may be leaching, did some water changes, and added an urchin. While the corraline is getting eaten with the algae, the urchin is helping. So is the phosban, which with the reactor I'm running 24/7.

FWIW my hermits, emeralds and snails didn't touch the stuff until it started dying off when I stopped feeding my tank (2 weeks), ran phosban, etc. Now they are going to town.

[Highlander]

Joel,
I didn't think your algae was purple????

[ostrow]

Well, I have partial color blindness and colors differ from tank to tank. It was dark, very dark. So it wasn't the Imperial purple of the Romans. I described it as very dark, blackish I think.

But it is the texture and growth pattern that struck me here. Very low to the rock, growing like a mat (inferring here), doesn't scrape off.

Perhaps is different.

And, shouldn't you be working??

[biohazard55]

lol. I've never heard of using "imperial purple of the romans" to describe errrr anything!

I might venture to call mine a little brownish as well, and it's all maybe 1/8 inch tall, and fuzzing like a brush. I can yank off a tuff with my fingernails.

As for my phosban, I just put in the mesh bag, and put in in my overflow currently.

[ostrow]

That's what I had though I found it hard to pull off.

Try the reactor maybe? They are only $30. Ensures more exposure to the media.

[biohazard55]

Hey Joel,

Main problem with that is that since I don't have a sump, that's a bit more difficult unless I plug everything in-line.

OH well.