Algae starting to bloom in relatively new tank

[Enderthexen]

Hey all,

I have a relatively new 180g tank (4 months), which finished the initial cycle 4-5 weeks ago.

I’ve put a handful of fish in there and have put in a decent sized CuC in there. I noticed this past week that some type of algae has started growing on the sand. Now it’s starting to grow on the rock as well.

Ammonia, nitrite, and phosphates at 0. Nitrates around 20. I’m working on bringing that down through water changes, addition of Chaeto, slowing down feedings (I was feeding too much too frequently initially), protein skimmer, biopellets and reactor, and vodka method.

My questions for you all are,

1. What type of algae is this? Image attached.
2. Is there anything I could do in addition to what i’m already doing or anything I should change in what i’m doing to combat this before it takes over my display?

Thanks!

 

[glb]

What’s your light schedule? If you don’t have coral, you could turn off the lights for a few days to get rid of it. That being said, your tank is still pretty new, and it will go through stages of all sorts of algae, which is normal . I’m not sure what kind yours is. I’d do some water changes to bring down the nitrates. I wouldn’t go with biopellets or vodka dosing with such a new tank. If you know the source of the nitrates was overfeeding, once you get them down, the algae should take care of itself. Be patient, new tanks certainly go through an ugly stage!!

 

[Hop2jr]

Turn off lights for a few days

 

[Enderthexen]

Thank you both for the responses! Just out of curiosity, will biopellets or vodka method do harm to a new tank? Or is it more that they are unnecessary? I previously had the lights on a 12 hour schedule. When I originally noticed the growth, I brought the lighting period down to about 8 hours. I don't have any coral so I decided to go with your advice last weekend and turn off the lights for at least a few days. I'll be at 3 days into lights off tonight, algae (or whatever it is) looks the same. I think it has grown in thickness and spread a little in some areas (especially on the rocks). I've reduced feeding and brought the nitrates down to about 10ppm, I will be doing a few more 20-30% water changes this week to bring the nitrates down further. Do you think there would be any issue leaving the lights off for a few more days? I know dealing with these things can take weeks or even months, but I'm hoping to stop the growth and minimize the spread. I'll get closer pictures of one of the most affected areas of the tank tonight. Thanks!