Raphael Dalmeida
Active Member
Hi guys,
I've had what looks like this hair algae for months already.
The tank is 2.5 Years, and has gone through a lot. Since my last travel the algae has been terrible.
I'm looking for advise on the ID of the algae and possible strategies for me to get rid of it, specially now that my nitrate is finally under "control".
All my tank details below (long post - video of algae at the end).
Parameters:
-PO4 = 0.08ppm
-Nitrate = 0-5ppm (yellowish on salifert)
-KH = 9.3 DKH
-Salinity = 31 (have been gradually increasing as it was lower and I didn't notice)
Dosing
-All for Reef.
-Vinegar (60ml per day - was 120ml but I halved it last week as my nitrates went down closer to 0).
-Every other week Continuum Aquatics Bacter-M (to supposedly help with algae)
Tank Environment:
-Tank is approx 160 gallon volume
-Small refugium in sump with a chaetomorpha and a bit of halimeda
-Small UAS Turf Algae Scrubber
-22w UV setup around the overflow
-Really high flow 2 gyres and a Jebao MLW-30.
-skimmer nyos quantum 220
Inhabitants (algae eating)
-Tuxedo Urchin
- 6 fighting conch snails
- A few hermit crabs
- A few snails here and there (not many)
- Bicolor Blenny, Sailfin Tang, 2 spot Bristle tooth Tang
- Heaps of live copepods and amphipods (but I have a mandarin)
- 1 Sand sifting starfish
Other inhabitants
-2 clowns , Valentino puffer, 2 wrasses, swallowtail angelfish female, orchid dottyback
-sumped short spine urchin and blue Linckia starfish (went after corals)
-a heap of SPS frags / mini colonies, some zoa's, some LPS, a few softies... Packed with coral (all in good health, encrusting, good polyp extension and better color now with less nitrate).
Lights
-Run 4 pop blooms 100w, approx 12hr period, rumps up to 100% blue and have white at 50% max (white is 10w only).
(Won't likely be changing it as I don't want to impact my SPS, they are doing great).
Here are 2 videos showing the algae to help ID. It's all over the tank but has reduced.
Substrate is mostly clear of any algae, most of it is on rocks.
Every week I manually remove the turfs that are easier to remove, turkey blast the rocks and some weeks I put the filter socks for a day or 2 to capture the loose algae.
I've observed my tuxedo urchin used to go for it, but now he seems mostly interested in my coralline, the tangs are all day at it nibbling... Blenny only gets short algae.
I've had what looks like this hair algae for months already.
The tank is 2.5 Years, and has gone through a lot. Since my last travel the algae has been terrible.
I'm looking for advise on the ID of the algae and possible strategies for me to get rid of it, specially now that my nitrate is finally under "control".
All my tank details below (long post - video of algae at the end).
Parameters:
-PO4 = 0.08ppm
-Nitrate = 0-5ppm (yellowish on salifert)
-KH = 9.3 DKH
-Salinity = 31 (have been gradually increasing as it was lower and I didn't notice)
Dosing
-All for Reef.
-Vinegar (60ml per day - was 120ml but I halved it last week as my nitrates went down closer to 0).
-Every other week Continuum Aquatics Bacter-M (to supposedly help with algae)
Tank Environment:
-Tank is approx 160 gallon volume
-Small refugium in sump with a chaetomorpha and a bit of halimeda
-Small UAS Turf Algae Scrubber
-22w UV setup around the overflow
-Really high flow 2 gyres and a Jebao MLW-30.
-skimmer nyos quantum 220
Inhabitants (algae eating)
-Tuxedo Urchin
- 6 fighting conch snails
- A few hermit crabs
- A few snails here and there (not many)
- Bicolor Blenny, Sailfin Tang, 2 spot Bristle tooth Tang
- Heaps of live copepods and amphipods (but I have a mandarin)
- 1 Sand sifting starfish
Other inhabitants
-2 clowns , Valentino puffer, 2 wrasses, swallowtail angelfish female, orchid dottyback
-sumped short spine urchin and blue Linckia starfish (went after corals)
-a heap of SPS frags / mini colonies, some zoa's, some LPS, a few softies... Packed with coral (all in good health, encrusting, good polyp extension and better color now with less nitrate).
Lights
-Run 4 pop blooms 100w, approx 12hr period, rumps up to 100% blue and have white at 50% max (white is 10w only).
(Won't likely be changing it as I don't want to impact my SPS, they are doing great).
Here are 2 videos showing the algae to help ID. It's all over the tank but has reduced.
Substrate is mostly clear of any algae, most of it is on rocks.
Every week I manually remove the turfs that are easier to remove, turkey blast the rocks and some weeks I put the filter socks for a day or 2 to capture the loose algae.
I've observed my tuxedo urchin used to go for it, but now he seems mostly interested in my coralline, the tangs are all day at it nibbling... Blenny only gets short algae.
