Algae problem

[Jimbhoy13]

I have a Waterbox 130.4 which has been running from July 2020. A lot of stuff was transferred from my Aqua One 180.
I am running in my sump a reef octo 152-s, a Pacific Sun algae reactor with Cheato, bio balls.

As you can see in videos I have a lot of algae on back glass, on rocks and in substrate. It has been like this for a couple of months. I’m often in up to my elbows pulling it out. The longer parts come away fairly easily (very slimy texture when pulled out) but it keeps coming back.
Fish and corals are doing well (Tomini tang doesn’t seem interested in the algae). A tuxedo urchin gets about the tank but has no effect on algae. I have blue and red legged hermit crabs but no snails.
Can anyone specifically identify the algae and how to tackle it. I think my parameters are not far out but something is obviously feeding it.

pH 8.3

phosphate 0.05

nitrate 1

alk 8.0

calcium 360

magnesium 1160

salinity 1.026

temperature 26

ammonia & nitrite zero



Thanks in anticipation of your replies. Jim



Thanks in anticipation of your replies.

 

[EvanDeVita]

It’s GHA. (Green hair algae). It seems to have grown quite a lot, in the future it’s best to attack it when it’s still new.
Here’s a plan of attack:
Take out as much of it as you can using tararees, your fingers. Etc..
Go to your LFS and get a sea hare. If acclimated properly, it will ravage your tank of unwanted algae. You will need to return it as soon as it eats on the algae, so make your LFS is ok with this.
If you don’t want a sea hare, here are some alternatives:
Sea urchin (I recommend a tuxedo)
Blue leg Hermits
Trochus snails.

hope this helps!

 

[Bfragale]

The po4 and no3 readings look low because the green hair algae is consuming the nutrients.

I would start with this: manual removal at lease once a week, reduce feeding, change filter socks more often. Add some snails to your clean up crew. Give it a few weeks and if your seeing improvement then your on the right track.

also if your running a refugium you could run light longer to promote the cheato to uptake nutrients for more hours in the day.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Videos were very helpful. Its not hair algae but what is known as Lyngbya.
Often a reddish brown, Lyngbya spp. are a type of cyanobacteria. Even though it looks just like hair algae and is filamentous rather than slimy. It dislodges easily from the rock, has no discernible root or mat structure and grows fast. Lyngbya species seem to grow very fast in warmer tanks, and spread quickly once attached to a powerhead, suggesting they can replicate by fragmentation easily. Nevertheless aggressive manual removal by hand over time can be effective.
For Manual Removal: Use a Toothbrush and brush it off the rock and glass capture floating mass in a net or siphon immediately.
For the most part , you can also treat it as you would red slime algae type cyano by adding 1.5ml of hydrogen peroxide at night and cleaning filters daily for 7 days and reduce or turn off white lights for the same time period..

 

[Jimbhoy13]

Thank you all for your speedy responses. I can definitely try some of the methods you have suggested. I will update if (when) I make any progress. I have two kessil 360x. I know I can change colour, intensity and the violet red and green. I’m not sure how I specifically change just the white part though.

 

[Jimbhoy13]

Wow. Just watched a YouTube video about the lyngbya bloom 7 years ago in the Delray/Boynton beach reef ( caused by nearby sewage going into the sea). That stuff is just like the algae I have. Scary to think it can be so widespread in a real reef. So sad to see the effect it had.

 

[Jimbhoy13]

Anyone know what the op is on my name avatar?

 

[Waters]

Anyone know what the op is on my name avatar?

Stands for original poster (of the thread).....I think?

 

[G Santana]

I recently purchased an urchin, the thing is amazing, it eats EVERYTHING!!!
The biggest drawback is that it carries around my snails everywhere it goes lol

Best lawnmower ever.

 

[Jimbhoy13]

I recently purchased an urchin, the thing is amazing, it eats EVERYTHING!!!
The biggest drawback is that it carries around my snails everywhere it goes lol

Best lawnmower ever.

Yes mine does too :)

 

[Cbones1979]

Dealing with what I think is hair algae in my sand. Been pulling sheets of it our weekly. It growns mostly in the front of the tank in the open area

 

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

Lettuce nudibranch. Urchin. These + carbon and lowering nutrients. Smaller more frequent wcs. More flow maybe in the tank.
A big task. You got this.
D