Algae?

[yayaaa]

I’m new to posting on here. I always come here for any advice. I’m kinda in a pickle here. Aquarium has been running for 6+ months already, test strip states the parameters are where I want them to be but in having this algae buildup I believe it is, not sure which kind tho… I don’t know how to add a picture so if someone can tell me how to do that because the picture will give a better idea

 

[yayaaa]

Here’s a picture and video

 

[yayaaa]

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[Cali Reef Life]

Lets start with the basics.

How often do you do water changes and the % of water.

Also I dont see any clean up crew to remove the alage. Snails and hermit crabs you can probably get 5 to 10 small snails and 5 to 10 hermit crabs.

Might be best to get 5 of each wait a couple weeks get more.

You can also brush the alage off and then siphon the water after cleaning rock with a small brush.

OXO Good Grips Deep Clean Brush Set​

I dont see a filter on the tank do you have one hang on back or skimmer/ sump?

If no you will need to be the filter and do more water changes.

 

[yayaaa]

Lets start with the basics.

How often do you do water changes and the % of water.

Also I dont see any clean up crew to remove the alage. Snails and hermit crabs you can probably get 5 to 10 small snails and 5 to 10 hermit crabs.

Might be best to get 5 of each wait a couple weeks get more.

You can also brush the alage off and then siphon the water after cleaning rock with a small brush.

OXO Good Grips Deep Clean Brush Set​

I dont see a filter on the tank do you have one hang on back or skimmer/ sump?

If no you will need to be the filter and do more water changes.

I often do water changes depending on the parameters of my water, if I do a water change it’s 25% sometimes more. I do have a cleanup crew but they aren’t do a good job. I have been scrubbing the algae off everyday. I do have a filter on the tank (canister filter) the filter also has UV light inside of it. Thank you so much on your recommendations!

 

[Cali Reef Life]

I often do water changes depending on the parameters of my water, if I do a water change it’s 25% sometimes more. I do have a cleanup crew but they aren’t do a good job. I have been scrubbing the algae off everyday. I do have a filter on the tank (canister filter) the filter also has UV light inside of it. Thank you so much on your recommendations!

Well whats often for you once a week? I would increase clean up crew and try and get different types of snails.
Are you cleaning the canister filter every 3 weeks? What are you feeding the fish and how much.
Do you test for phosphates and nitrates. what do use to test your nitrate and phosphate ?
Do you use an RODI filter?

I say this because I thought I was fine and realized the test kit was 250% off the value and why I got algae.
I increased cleaning started vacuuming sand bed and bought over 50 new clean up crew. My algae gone down by 25% in 2 weeks. I also did 10% water changes twice a week larger tank.

I expect a report back in 1 month time with better results you got this gotta put in the work! :)

 

[Dkmoo]

those looks like very common green hair algae. very common in a young tank.

you also need to understand that the nitrate and phosphate levels that you are testing only show how much is remaining in your water after all the organisms (corals, algae, bacteria, etc.) had consumed what they need. so, while an elevated No3 and po4 levels may suggest that it'll cause algae issues, having "perfect" parameter levels doesn't mean that you'll have less algae issues. in fact, you can have 0 no3 and 0 po4 and have a huge algae outbreak (b/c the algae has consumed all the nutrients).

it looks like you are trying to raise corals too, so limiting waste (either by aggressive filtration, reducing light/feed, etc) really is not an option b/c since algaes are simpler organisms than coral, they tend to grab the available nutrients faster than corals. so, then it just becomes a numbers game of how much or how fast a "good" organism (coral, beneficial bacteria) can absorb the nutrient vs how much/fast the bad algaes can. in a young tank like yours, the bad currently significantly outweights the good.

the tried and true methods are therefore:
1) keeping up with your water change to at least remove the "excess" leftover nutrients b/c right now its fueling predomanantly the "bad" organism.
2) things that eat algae will help combat the bad population (but remember they poop too, so it's only a temporary solution that "delays" the nutrient cycle, excluding the small amount of nutrient that gets locked up in their own biomass as they grow)
3) manual removal
4) get a refugium - a strange of hair algae growing in the fuge is 1 less hair growing on the display tank
5) most importantly - time: keeping this up and eventually the "good" population will start to become bigger than the bad and will be able to out-compete the algae: ie:
a) your rocks are covered with coraline - bare rocks like what you have are prime real estate for new organisms to settle on, and algaes are the first settlers. Eventually coraline will take over which will limit where algae can grow.
b) coral biomas increase and eclipse algae biomas
c) beneficial bacteria reach sufficient diversity and stability.

keep up the hard work and it will eventually pay off. unfortunately there's no real shortcuts here for long-term and permanent algae control other than letting the tank mature.

 

[yayaaa]

those looks like very common green hair algae. very common in a young tank.

you also need to understand that the nitrate and phosphate levels that you are testing only show how much is remaining in your water after all the organisms (corals, algae, bacteria, etc.) had consumed what they need. so, while an elevated No3 and po4 levels may suggest that it'll cause algae issues, having "perfect" parameter levels doesn't mean that you'll have less algae issues. in fact, you can have 0 no3 and 0 po4 and have a huge algae outbreak (b/c the algae has consumed all the nutrients).

it looks like you are trying to raise corals too, so limiting waste (either by aggressive filtration, reducing light/feed, etc) really is not an option b/c since algaes are simpler organisms than coral, they tend to grab the available nutrients faster than corals. so, then it just becomes a numbers game of how much or how fast a "good" organism (coral, beneficial bacteria) can absorb the nutrient vs how much/fast the bad algaes can. in a young tank like yours, the bad currently significantly outweights the good.

the tried and true methods are therefore:
1) keeping up with your water change to at least remove the "excess" leftover nutrients b/c right now its fueling predomanantly the "bad" organism.
2) things that eat algae will help combat the bad population (but remember they poop too, so it's only a temporary solution that "delays" the nutrient cycle, excluding the small amount of nutrient that gets locked up in their own biomass as they grow)
3) manual removal
4) get a refugium - a strange of hair algae growing in the fuge is 1 less hair growing on the display tank
5) most importantly - time: keeping this up and eventually the "good" population will start to become bigger than the bad and will be able to out-compete the algae: ie:
a) your rocks are covered with coraline - bare rocks like what you have are prime real estate for new organisms to settle on, and algaes are the first settlers. Eventually coraline will take over which will limit where algae can grow.
b) coral biomas increase and eclipse algae biomas
c) beneficial bacteria reach sufficient diversity and stability.

keep up the hard work and it will eventually pay off. unfortunately there's no real shortcuts here for long-term and permanent algae control other than letting the tank mature.

Thank you for your advice! I will be applying this to my routine! Will keep you posted