Ulva algae removal

[Reef_puck]

That is pretty much what the parameters have been for 2 months. There is nitrate and po4. I added a few frags (before the outbreak) and they are dead or about to. There existing few corals are not doing well. This is how there tank has been since the beginning. So there is something more I am missing.

Letting the Ulva sit there would just get worse? Unless I remove it - correct? I mean it’s not going away on its own.

 

[Glenner’sreef]

1. Find the source, food/ro filters/ not enough export
2. Manual removal during water changes
3. cleanup crew can help but its not long-lasting solution

I would start with three 30% water changes in a week to help rebalance the tank and remove nutrients. Then find the source you can simply replace all ro/di filters or do an ICP test to confirm RO water nutrient levels. Make sure not to overfeed and dial in the skimmer for more of a wet skim. Having a refugium is very helpful and something I recommend on most setups. At the end of the day getting nutrients in check and keeping them stable is the only solution to algae outbreaks long-term. Good luck

Is this Travis of FishOfHex? Didn’t know you were on Reef2reef. Big fan, appreciate all your videos. Hope to here more from you. Glenn

 

[KC2020]

That is pretty much what the parameters have been for 2 months. There is nitrate and po4. I added a few frags (before the outbreak) and they are dead or about to. There existing few corals are not doing well. This is how there tank has been since the beginning. So there is something more I am missing.

Letting the Ulva sit there would just get worse? Unless I remove it - correct? I mean it’s not going away on its own.

The Ulva will only diminish when the rocks become covered in Coraline. Reefs have algae, so do reef tanks.

 

[Spare time]

It’s not hair algae. It’s leafy Ulva.

Could you add a fox face to a tank with a tang already in it without causing mayhem?

Ah an urchin will destroy it.

 

[Reef_puck]

I am just looking at ideas,

hypothetically if I let the Ulva maybe die out or even clean it out. So the reef will have some algae - How do I get corals to live?

Apparently something is not working here.

- The light change has spurned the algae to thrive. That means an excess of nutrients not being picked up by the ICP test or the Salifert test kits or the Hanna meters.

- The light change did not fix the coral living issue. I am talking Zoas, mushrooms, hammer, tiny torch head, and a leather. These are basic corals that don’t live or grow.

Forget sps. They last a week. There has to be something to make it fade that fast.
-
Say it is something in the water that is affecting the corals even though the ICP test does not show it, 80% change? 100% change, replace the rock and water? Or 20gallons a week (tank is 90’plus sump)

I am temped to setup a new 10 or 20g tank with new rock, cycle it and move some of the frags left to see what they do. I guess that would confirm the source water, salt or if it’s the rock.

Buy a new 8 stage ro/di system?

I use Red Sea pro salt - stay or change?

 

[slingfox]

I dealt with a massive ulva outbreak early one that was similar or even worse than yours. Here are suggestions, most of which have already been mentioned:

1) Manual removal. There is no more effective clean-up crew than human beings. I use an electronic, rechargeable, waterproof grout brush from Amazon. Be prepared to do this once to three times a week. It is preferred to remove the rocks and do this outside the tank. This can be cumbersome so it is fine to do in-tank removal paired with large water change and relying upon your mechanical removal to cleanup the water column. You need to get the algae to a short length for your CUC to be effective.

2) More cleanup crew. Specific recommendations are a mix of 35+ snails including turbo, Astrea, Trochus, etc. Get a wide variety. I got one inch turbos and had 6 grow to 2.5-3.0 inch in size. I ended up giving most of them away once my algae got under control. I replaced them with smaller species of snails. Also get at least 2 urchins. No other cleanup crew can shred algae from rocks as effectively as they can. If you don't have one, get an Algae Blenny. Those guys are super hard workers. Tangs are also useful.

3) I would also stop with the Rowaphos.

4) Don't rush into getting coral. Start with a few cheap LPS and see if they survive. You have a lot of coraline algae so should be able to grow coral.

5) For CUC, try to keep them off the glass and on the rocks. This means moving them manually from the glass to the rocks and keep the glass (including the back glass) clean so they aren't tempted to hang out on the glass all day. Every CUC member on the glass is one not doing any rock cleanup work for you.

6) I recently got a lettuce nudibranch. Seems to be working hard all day. I wish I got a second one for my 110g display. They sell them on saltwateraquarium.com. I prefer to order from them since the specific come in very healthy and clean. ReefCleaners has wider variety and sometimes better pricing but have a rougher time in transport to the West Coast where I am.

 

[KC2020]

- The light change has spurned the algae to thrive. That means an excess of nutrients not being picked up by the ICP test or the Salifert test kits or the Hanna meters.

No it doesn't. It means the algae has enough nitrate and phosphate to grow. That does not equal an excessive level. You're drawing an incorrect conclusion.

Algae is part of the ecosystem that you're trying to create. You're not going to eliminate it. You have to mange it.

 

[Reef_puck]

No it doesn't. It means the algae has enough nitrate and phosphate to grow. That does not equal an excessive level. You're drawing an incorrect conclusion.

Algae is part of the ecosystem that you're trying to create. You're not going to eliminate it. You have to mange it.

I am lost then. How does one manage it? Constant scrubbing all live rock? I thought keeping excess nutrients low would help against a large outbreak.

Maybe this, what is the downfall, besides an eyesore, does all the rock covered in Ulva bring? If this is normal? I would think smothering corals and eventually filling the tank the algae?

 

[Reef_puck]

Gonna also need a rigid brush. Just tried with a toothbrush and not much came off the rock. Also. This will be a re aquascaping as the rock is moving as I scrub.

 

[KC2020]

I am lost then. How does one manage it? Constant scrubbing all live rock? I thought keeping excess nutrients low would help against a large outbreak.

Maybe this, what is the downfall, besides an eyesore, does all the rock covered in Ulva bring? If this is normal? I would think smothering corals and eventually filling the tank the algae?

As I said in earlier replies, the Ulva will eventually be unable to grow as the rock becomes covered in Coraline algae. Until then keeping it to a minimum by letting it grow to where you can pull it off or scrubbing it off with something is how you can manage it. I use a $4 tile grout cleaning brush I bought at Target. Much stiffer than a tooth brush.

In order to grow Coraline quickly you should raise your alkalinity. It starts to really grow at about 9 dKh. You've got a very good start on Coraline. Now it just takes time and patience.

 

[irischan]

if I were you, I will keep this blessed tank because it is just a heaven for tangs with unlimited food. Indeed I tried to culture ulva as fresh food for tangs but failed.

 

[FishOfHex]

Is this Travis of FishOfHex? Didn’t know you were on Reef2reef. Big fan, appreciate all your videos. Hope to here more from you. Glenn

It is and thank you Glenn. Im working on a couple of videos for next week.

 

[Glenner’sreef]

It is and thank you Glenn. Im working on a couple of videos for next week.

Excellent! Looking forward to it.

 

[Joe.D]

It’s not hair algae. It’s leafy Ulva.

Could you add a fox face to a tank with a tang already in it without causing mayhem?

I had a whitetail Bristletooth tang established in a 75g display when I added my one spot fox face. Tang went after him a few times - foxface flashed his dorsal a few times and that put an end to the harassement for those 2 - now they are buddies and hang together.

It’s been probably 15 months since I added the foxface. he was smaller than the tang when I got him, now he’s about an inch or so bigger.

 

[Reef_puck]

Update: been scrubbing the rock the best I can. Trying to avoid landslides of the rocks. Pulled out allot of algae. Note to all of you are running. Herbie style drain in your overflow. You will have to watch and clean allot of scrubbing this stuff off the rocks.

Ulva keeps growing. Urchins eating some but can’t keep up. Where they do travel they leave the rock bare as they eat the coralline as well. Making more area for spread to. Will continue at weekly scrubs for now.

Old coraline is about gone on back glass. The few corals still look the same and not growing. Maybe one day.

My main concern is not being able to grow corals. Something is not right still. Did all the testing and lighting and flow etc, followed recommendations here. Still no coral growth on even basic corals. And most die off.
Fish seem fine.

Latest
Alk is 8.0
Ca 450

Will monitor another month I guess and if no coral growth then I don’t know what to do. I know the algae won’t be gone but some sign of positive improvement should be shown. My guess a complete tear down and restart if I want to spend the money on all new LR. I don’t know what I did wrong or what is wrong so I don’t know what the outcome would be. I see tanks posted here that are a few months old that grow corals. And yet this will be 2 years this winter and can’t grow anything.

 

[Reef_puck]

This is what the tank looks like now. I had to make the lights white only for the pics

 

[Aquariumaddictuk]

I had an ulva issue along with valonia & run ULNS.
No easy way around it unfortunately you need to work harder than your CUC and get them to finish off the job.
A Stanley blade & siphon is your best option with ulva.
Any free floating bits will stick to powerheads for easy removal.
It's an ongoing battle and involves lots of work but you will get there eventually.
I dipped my frag racks and powerheads in peroxide to kill off any stray ulva before rinsing thoroughly in RODI

 

[Reef_puck]

Did you have to remove the rock to scrub. From the scrubbing so far I have created landslides and all of the base pieces are covered as well. I am continuing to scrub a few times a week but at it’s getting to the point the rock pile is collapsing/falling.

With this battle I can not add corals and the corals there are still not growing. I am debating if it’s worth not starting it over as if I have to pull the rock it will never go back the same way and the few corals will probably not make it.

Also with all the scrubbing, the fish have to be getting stressed out.

 

[G&B Reefing]

Hi! I am by no means an expert. Been at this for about a yr and a half so still super rookie. My only suggestion/comment is that your clean up crew numbers from a previous comment seems light. I have a 26 gal tank with the following at last count.

2x tubo snails
8x astrea snails
12x trocus snails
4x nassarius snails
16x hermits

These guys keep my algae in check (rock and glass)! If i scale by volume you should have >3x the count.

 

[Reef_puck]

2 pincushion urchins
4 nassarius snails
~20 astrea snails
A few hermits
2 emerald crabs

I do need to add more snails - got to trust ordering online as the LFS don’t carry allot