GREEN ALGEA ID? FIXES?

[NickyReefs]

Anyone know how to get rid of this algea? I've tried everything... has been on sand roughly 6 months...I've siphoned sand plenty of time. RODI is all new filters. Tank is not getting sunlight from window. Some disappears at night. Comes back fast after siphoning. 12hr photo period with 2 hour ramp up/down.

Waterbox 130
2 kessil a360x
2 icecap 4k gyres
Socks/skimmer/carbon

Feed 1 cube a day
3 tangs
Midas blenny
Royal gamma
Tomato clown
Anthias
Chromis
Tons of snails/hermits
2 conchs

Parameters:
(All have been stable as a rock)
Alk 8.0
Cal 434
Mag 1397
No3 5
Po4 0.03
Ph 8.1 - 8.3
Temp 78

 

[HankstankXXXL750]

Here is what someone suggested to me. It sound solid, but I haven’t done it yet so can’t tell you how well it works.

“Looks like you're getting various types of nuisance algae grwoing and clumping your sand together. I'd suggest siphoning off the top layer od sand, rinse well in fresh water, soak for a day or so in H2O2 (it's so cheap I use a full bottle but enough to cover the sand is all you need), rinse again in fresh water and let it sit for a day or two then return to your system.

I would try to leave as mush sand as possible when siphoning as there's a lot of important biology in the sand.”

 

[NickyReefs]

Here is what someone suggested to me. It sound solid, but I haven’t done it yet so can’t tell you how well it works.

“Looks like you're getting various types of nuisance algae grwoing and clumping your sand together. I'd suggest siphoning off the top layer od sand, rinse well in fresh water, soak for a day or so in H2O2 (it's so cheap I use a full bottle but enough to cover the sand is all you need), rinse again in fresh water and let it sit for a day or two then return to your system.

I would try to leave as mush sand as possible when siphoning as there's a lot of important biology in the sand.”

Whatever I vacuum out it just grows ontop of the next layer.

 

[TokenReefer]

Do you have any snails/cuc in the tank? I think I a conch (?) anything else? You may just need a algae eater at this point...

 

[NickyReefs]

Do you have any snails/cuc in the tank? I think I a conch (?) anything else? You may just need a algae eater at this point...

2 conch... 30 assorted snails... 10 nasariius.. around 10 hermits... non of wich wants to touch the stuff.

 

[TokenReefer]

2 conch... 30 assorted snails... 10 nasariius.. around 10 hermits... non of wich wants to touch the stuff.

Wow ok; so that's covered. Won't pretend to be an algae expert, maybe someone knows why that is... I'll follow tho

 

[NickyReefs]

Wow ok; so that's covered. Won't pretend to be an algae expert, maybe someone knows why that is... I'll follow tho

Haha ya.. I'm at a loss too...

 

[NickyReefs]

Bump.

 

[HankstankXXXL750]

There are some algae that the snails etc just don’t seem to tackle. The fact that when you siphon it just grows back right away, would tell me that the algae is there and grows when exposed to the light.

Of course you don’t want to eliminate your sand by constantly siphoning, but maybe the cleaning the person suggested to me could help, if you do a little refining of cleaning so much now and pulling some more when the first batch is ready to go back in. Maybe the “clean sand” would act as a light shield keeping the layer below from being able to grow.

Just throwing out options.

 

[MrGisonni]

Sand sifting starfish will help. And I am a fan of fighting nuisance algae with desirable algae. Caulerpa or red gracilaria macro algae will out competed the others after a while. These macroalgaes look good in the display and are easy to clip back. Watch that your nutrients don't bottom out, mine stripped NO3 out quickly to the point I have had to dose NO3.

 

[bblumberg]

Are you sure that this is not cyanobacteria? Most snails will not touch that. Trochus snails will eat cyano so adding some could be one option. Have you tried putting standard drug store hydrogen peroxide directly on the algae areas? Get a long coral feeding tube that allows you to suck up a liquid and then apply it directly to a patch. This should kill cyano or algae. One like this

Coral Feeder - IceCap

Ultimate Precision for Target Feeding IceCap's Coral Feeder is the perfect tool for pinpoint feeding of your corals. The plastic squeeze ball lets you have the ultimate control over how much food you are sucking up into the shaft as well as how much food you are dispensing to each coral. We...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

 

[NickyReefs]

Sand sifting starfish will help. And I am a fan of fighting nuisance algae with desirable algae. Caulerpa or red gracilaria macro algae will out competed the others after a while. These macroalgaes look good in the display and are easy to clip back. Watch that your nutrients don't bottom out, mine stripped NO3 out quickly to the point I have had to dose NO3.

Have 3 sand sifting stars in tank... have tried a refugium once before and just bottomed out nutrients so have had one in a long time.

 

[NickyReefs]

Are you sure that this is not cyanobacteria? Most snails will not touch that. Trochus snails will eat cyano so adding some could be one option. Have you tried putting standard drug store hydrogen peroxide directly on the algae areas? Get a long coral feeding tube that allows you to suck up a liquid and then apply it directly to a patch. This should kill cyano or algae. One like this

Coral Feeder - IceCap

Ultimate Precision for Target Feeding IceCap's Coral Feeder is the perfect tool for pinpoint feeding of your corals. The plastic squeeze ball lets you have the ultimate control over how much food you are sucking up into the shaft as well as how much food you are dispensing to each coral. We...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

Not sure if it's cyano... it's green but not bright green... more of a dark brown green. If I was to spot treat with h202 it would take months to hit every part of the sand. Grows at an alarming rate.

 

[TokenReefer]

I like the refugium to compete idea fwiw. If your nutrients are getting too low you can lessen the photo schedule in the fuge accordingly or put the skimmer on a timer... It's an adjustable solution...

 

[NickyReefs]

Just keeps growing...

 

[TokenReefer]

It is interesting to me based on my (limited) knowledge that the gsp is not outcompeting whatever that is...unless the sandbed is leeching nutrients and it's growing before the gsp can get to it? Just spit balling... how's your flow on those areas of the sand?

 

[NickyReefs]

It is interesting to me based on my (limited) knowledge that the gsp is not outcompeting whatever that is...unless the sandbed is leeching nutrients and it's growing before the gsp can get to it? Just spit balling... how's your flow on those areas of the sand?

I thought the same thing... I considered my GSP to basically be my refugium haha... sand I siphon and stir pretty regularly and never see much of any detritus come up from it... flow it's pretty agressive sometimes sand will whip up but rarely.

 

[TokenReefer]

I considered my GSP to basically be my refugium haha

I would too lol

ok I'm out of ideas atm lol

 

[NickyReefs]

Top down view... no flow... whites on max. It looks terrible . Don't mind my dieing sps they just don't do well in my tank. I don't think 2 kessils is enough light. About to feed the corals.

 

[TokenReefer]

About to feed the corals.

Skip it. Idk maybe its feeding that algae as well; see if it reduces over time... just an idea...