What Algae is this?

[hube]

I’m at the 8 month mark, I’ve had dinos and cyano and finally am moving on to the next stage, or so I think. I’m getting this algae and I am torn as to if it is either turf or GHA. My algae CUC died off during my dino outbreak and before buying them again I want to make sure they’d be sustained in here with this algae. Any identifications or advice is welcomed, thank you!

Ammonia/Nitrite: 0
Phosphate 0.05ppm
Nitrate: 30ppm

 

[VintageReefer]

It’s gha.

Turf algae is more plastic feeling, gha is soft like cotton

 

[hube]

It’s gha.

Turf algae is more plastic feeling, gha is soft like cotton

Great. What do you recommend?

 

[shakacuz]

Great. What do you recommend?

more clean up crew, and perhaps an algae eating fish. how big is your tank? can you post pictures of how your rocks are set up?

 

[hube]

more clean up crew, and perhaps an algae eating fish. how big is your tank? can you post pictures of how your rocks are set up?

This is the last quick pic I took of my tank a couple of days ago, I can get a better one in an hour or so. My stock so far is a clown, firefish, kupang damsel, ywg, and a skunk cleaner. For my cuc I have a nassarius and a cerith. I have a 30 gallon tank. All my corals are glued in but the only thing I’m afraid of is my rockwork so I’m a bit worried about getting a Mexican Turbo. Would a blenny help?

 

[shakacuz]

This is the last quick pic I took of my tank a couple of days ago, I can get a better one in an hour or so. My stock so far is a clown, firefish, kupang damsel, ywg, and a skunk cleaner. For my cuc I have a nassarius and a cerith. I have a 30 gallon tank. All my corals are glued in but the only thing I’m afraid of is my rockwork so I’m a bit worried about getting a Mexican Turbo. Would a blenny help?

i would get a hector goby and court jester goby for that size tank. they help with algae and are reported to eat cyano, so that’s a plus. this claim comes from algaebarn so maybe buy it from their stock. more snails of different kind (cerith, trochus, astarea (both regular and ninja star), nerite, money cowrie, and a single turbo snail should be a good squad. i would buy 1-4 of each periodically until the algae is dealt with. i like hermit crabs but they leave too many snails laying around from eating off snails. i’m slowly converting to snails only and hermits in the sump

 

[hube]

i would get a hector goby and court jester goby for that size tank. they help with algae and are reported to eat cyano, so that’s a plus. this claim comes from algaebarn so maybe buy it from their stock. more snails of different kind (cerith, trochus, astarea (both regular and ninja star), nerite, money cowrie, and a single turbo snail should be a good squad. i would buy 1-4 of each periodically until the algae is dealt with. i like hermit crabs but they leave too many snails laying around from eating off snails. i’m slowly converting to snails only and hermits in the sump

I’ll get on it, thank you. Should I do anything with my rockwork before setting a turbo snail loose?

 

[shakacuz]

I’ll get on it, thank you. Should I do anything with my rockwork before setting a turbo snail loose?

nah. i have one in my 40B and it doesn’t knock anything over. its more of an issue once “full grown”

 

[hube]

nah. i have one in my 40B and it doesn’t knock anything over. its more of an issue once “full grown”

Awesome, thanks!

 

[VintageReefer]

Mexican turbo on my experience are only ones that eat hair algae. Do you have a sump on this tank?

 

[hube]

Mexican turbo on my experience are only ones that eat hair algae. Do you have a sump on this tank?

I’ll start searching for a turbo snail then, hopefully I don’t get any rocks flying around the tank lol. I do not have a sump.

 

[shakacuz]

an urchin can also work well, and keep coralline algae at bay.

 

[ScubaSkeets]

Here's a list of the most common questions/suggestions you'll get, in no particular order, and my PERSONAL response and/or response to them

1. "You need a CUC (clean-up crew) and/or other herbivores"
I have placed several large orders from reefcleaners, plus purchased locally. It did not help. My herbivore fish didn't put a dent in my algae issues. Are they keeping the algae to a minimum now that the long hair algae is gone? Probably, as they are always grazing.

2. "You need to manually remove it and/or brush it off"
Easier said than done, no matter how many cans of "Elbow Grease" you may have. I have done it. It's a pain. The algae returned anyway.

3. "Use a turkey baster to blast the algae off the rocks"
It's algae!! Not dust! If it's difficult to pull it off with your fingers or brush it off, what makes people thing a simple turkey baster is going to work?!

4. "You need to do a ~3 day blackout"
This worked for me...temporarily. However, the algae just came back after a while. Also, it's probably not a pleasant experience for the fish living in the pitch dark for ~3 days.

5. "You need to reduce your nitrate and phosphate levels"
Yes, but no one says how you do that...you are just supposed to do it. Also, my nutrient levels were nominal, but I still had long hair algae in my tank.

6. "Is your tank near a window? UV rays will cause algae to grow"
My fish room has no windows whatsoever, and I still had algae issues

7. "Use xxx chemical, Vibrant, NoPox, vodka dosing, etc"
Who wants to use chemicals if they don't have to? Overdosing will possibly cause worse issues than algae. My last time using Vibrant, I woke up to find several of my fish dead

8. "You're overfeeding"
Probably true, but personally, I want my fish to be fat and happy. There are ways to mitigate the negative effects that may come with overfeeding. I overfeed, but my N is <10, and my P is ~0.03.

9. "You need more flow"
If algae can grow ON my pumps..where obviously the flow is the strongest, what makes one think flow is going to do much of anything anywhere else?

10. "Change/reduce lighting periods"
I've done that too. No effect. Maybe there's this perfect lighting combination/schedule out there, but I haven't found it.

So, what's left? Perhaps, not THE perfect, one and only solution for everyone, but what has worked for me (and others) is an algae scrubber. While the store bought ones are somewhat pricey, there are DIY solutions that can be built for under $100. I made mine several months ago and my tank has never been this alage-less for this long. My lighting is on 11 hours a day, I feed quite heavily, and I am heavily stocked with fish, and my Nitrates have ranged from 0.01-0.10. Phosphates range from 0.00-0.08

 

[VintageReefer]

I agree with scuba’s post 1000%
Some real advice right there

 

[Nano_Man]

It's funny if you turn over a piece of live rock in your reef you will find it like new cause its not getting any light. So really are we talking light as the main culprit. Thoughts

Here's a list of the most common questions/suggestions you'll get, in no particular order, and my PERSONAL response and/or response to them

1. "You need a CUC (clean-up crew) and/or other herbivores"
I have placed several large orders from reefcleaners, plus purchased locally. It did not help. My herbivore fish didn't put a dent in my algae issues. Are they keeping the algae to a minimum now that the long hair algae is gone? Probably, as they are always grazing.

2. "You need to manually remove it and/or brush it off"
Easier said than done, no matter how many cans of "Elbow Grease" you may have. I have done it. It's a pain. The algae returned anyway.

3. "Use a turkey baster to blast the algae off the rocks"
It's algae!! Not dust! If it's difficult to pull it off with your fingers or brush it off, what makes people thing a simple turkey baster is going to work?!

4. "You need to do a ~3 day blackout"
This worked for me...temporarily. However, the algae just came back after a while. Also, it's probably not a pleasant experience for the fish living in the pitch dark for ~3 days.

5. "You need to reduce your nitrate and phosphate levels"
Yes, but no one says how you do that...you are just supposed to do it. Also, my nutrient levels were nominal, but I still had long hair algae in my tank.

6. "Is your tank near a window? UV rays will cause algae to grow"
My fish room has no windows whatsoever, and I still had algae issues

7. "Use xxx chemical, Vibrant, NoPox, vodka dosing, etc"
Who wants to use chemicals if they don't have to? Overdosing will possibly cause worse issues than algae. My last time using Vibrant, I woke up to find several of my fish dead

8. "You're overfeeding"
Probably true, but personally, I want my fish to be fat and happy. There are ways to mitigate the negative effects that may come with overfeeding. I overfeed, but my N is <10, and my P is ~0.03.

9. "You need more flow"
If algae can grow ON my pumps..where obviously the flow is the strongest, what makes one think flow is going to do much of anything anywhere else?

10. "Change/reduce lighting periods"
I've done that too. No effect. Maybe there's this perfect lighting combination/schedule out there, but I haven't found it.

So, what's left? Perhaps, not THE perfect, one and only solution for everyone, but what has worked for me (and others) is an algae scrubber. While the store bought ones are somewhat pricey, there are DIY solutions that can be built for under $100. I made mine several months ago and my tank has never been this alage-less for this long. My lighting is on 11 hours a day, I feed quite heavily, and I am heavily stocked with fish, and my Nitrates have ranged from 0.01-0.10. Phosphates range from 0.00-0.08

 

[ScubaSkeets]

It's funny if you turn over a piece of live rock in your reef you will find it like new cause its not getting any light. So really are we talking light as the main culprit. Thoughts

Sorry, but im not really sure what you're saying, other than when you (can) turn your rocks over, they are nice and pretty

 

[Nano_Man]

Just your thoughts algae not growing with no light?
Used black outs to great success

 

[ScubaSkeets]

Just your thoughts algae not growing with no light?
Used black outs to great success

I have done 3 or 4 blackouts over the past 3-ish years All were successful, temporarily. Algae grew back, hence the more than 1.
Also, I didn't say light did not cause algae. It surely does. Just my personal experience with blackouts and/or lighting changes did not result in success as long term as my DIY algae reducer.

 

[Reefering1]

I have done 3 or 4 blackouts over the past 3-ish years All were successful, temporarily. Algae grew back, hence the more than 1.
Also, I didn't say light did not cause algae. It surely does. Just my personal experience with blackouts and/or lighting changes did not result in success as long term as my DIY algae reducer.

That's pretty cool how can this be applied to OPs tank?

 

[VintageReefer]

Turning off lights will prevent algae growth but you can’t keep a tank without light indefinitely.

If the tank has a problem, when the light comes back, it will fuel the algae again.

Also one other reason the underside of the rock is clean is lack of water flow.

I use a algae scrubber and it eliminated 95% of my tanks display and prevents it from returning. I no longer need to use a skimmer and I haven’t done a water change in 2+ years