Anything I should worry about?

[DT Prime]

Tank is just under a month old, I used Real Reef Rock and one piece of live rock from a friend which is on the left and has what I assume is GHA on it. This one I'm not sure about though, and it has a sort of fern quality to it which I've seen used with bryopsis so just want to make sure it's not a problem, it's on the mid-right side of the rock work mostly on the higher parts:

Thanks in advance and apologies if there was a better place to put this that I missed!

 

[mcarroll]

Shut the lights down until you get corals if you want to. There's nothing in there to use excess nutrients, so algae are going to proliferate.

 

[Wiz]

I am not sure that that is hair algae. Looks like it may be bryopsis. I would get it out quick until you know

 

[Salty1962]

+1 on the Bryopsis. I'd take it out and rasp it while the tank is young, otherwise you'll have a constant battle on your hands ;)

 

[DT Prime]

Bummer, Reefcleaners.org says there are a few fern like hair algae species that look like bryopsis but aren't so was hoping it was one of those :( It comes off easily with my fingers and disintegrates if I rub them together and I don't see root structures, is there a good method you would recommend to determine for sure if its byropsis before I pull everything out? Lights are off for now either way.

The rock on the left is the one that I thought had the hair algae originally:

Right rocks:

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Bryo looks like feathers or ferns.

If it's falling apart kill it now while it's weak.
It's actually what you want to do with peroxide and tech m soloutions. Make it weak and kill it with a brush.

 

[Branespikin]

I think i got the same thing growing in my tank. Mine is also been up for like a month or so. All ceramic rock but used a rock from friend to seed just like you.

 

[DT Prime]

I think i got the same thing growing in my tank. Mine is also been up for like a month or so. All ceramic rock but used a rock from friend to seed just like you.

Does it pull out easily in your fingers and dissolve if you rub them together? Maybe it's just a better picture but I don't think mine have the same dark base, would that be the root structure? Thanks for chiming in!

 

[Branespikin]

When i try to pull it it just melts in my fingers so i cant really rip it from the base. Since these shelves are removable i pulled out a few and scrubbed them clean its been clean since then prob few days. Ill pull out the remaining rock and scrub them todsy.
Yeah the base is a bit darker. I hope i can get rid of this. My phosphates are at zero and i got an emerald crab and some snails yesterday to help

 

[DT Prime]

When i try to pull it it just melts in my fingers so i cant really rip it from the base. Since these shelves are removable i pulled out a few and scrubbed them clean its been clean since then prob few days. Ill pull out the remaining rock and scrub them todsy.
Yeah the base is a bit darker. I hope i can get rid of this. My phosphates are at zero and i got an emerald crab and some snails yesterday to help

Yeah this is where I wish I had fewer bigger rocks :( Gonna keep the lights off and add some hermits and see if they go for it, if not will have to tear it down I guess. Still hoping it's something harmless, trochus seem to be going for it slowly and it doesn't really look like most of the pictures of bryopsis I'm seeing which look longer/stringer and brighter green, mine look like tiny versions of the bushes from zelda ocarina of time if anybody remembers those haha.

 

[DT Prime]

Quick update, atill not running lights and it seems to be stalled or retreating with the handful of trochus I have, planning on picking up a couple hermits this week and seeing if they finish it off. I also sent a picture in to John at reefcleaners.com who was kind enough to take a look and also thought it was hair algae. Fingers still crossed, will update again in a week or so.

 

[DT Prime]

For anyone interested can confirm it was not bryopsis, just funky new tank growth. Been a little over a week and tank is almost completely clear with a few days of no light and a 7 trochus/4 red leg hermit CUC, I didn't remove or scrub any rocks:

Thank to those who chimed in either way, hope this can serve as an example of fern-like hair algae for others.

 

[Branespikin]

Did the trochus and hermits eat the algea or was it the lights and GFO get it done?

 

[TitansFan32]

You should pick what you can off with your hands and emerald crabs should do the trick

 

[DT Prime]

Did the trochus and hermits eat the algea or was it the lights and GFO get it done?

The trochus definitely ate some of it, though I didn't see any really go out of their way for the hair algae until the glass was already pretty cleaned up. The hermits also ate some but also not aggressively. They seem to prefer the diatom growth on the sand and smaller rocks, but they are also all pretty small. Turning the lights off for a few days definitely weakened it, after 2 days the tufts closest to the bottom looked like dead trees. I also dosed a crap load of pods and have been adding phyto every few days since around the same time I added the CUC and stopped running lights, I know they're supposed to eat nuisance algae to some degree too.

Haven't run any GFO, just granulated carbon from the start. I haven't been able to get any phosphate readings above 0 and my nitrates have been around 20 since cycling.

So long story short, I'm not sure what impact each had but the combo seems to have worked. There are still a few small tufts but they look pretty anemic compared to before. The biggest improvement came in the 36 hours I was out of town, of course :)

 

[Branespikin]

The trochus definitely ate some of it, though I didn't see any really go out of their way for the hair algae until the glass was already pretty cleaned up. The hermits also ate some but also not aggressively. They seem to prefer the diatom growth on the sand and smaller rocks, but they are also all pretty small. Turning the lights off for a few days definitely weakened it, after 2 days the tufts closest to the bottom looked like dead trees. I also dosed a crap load of pods and have been adding phyto every few days since around the same time I added the CUC and stopped running lights, I know they're supposed to eat nuisance algae to some degree too.

Haven't run any GFO, just granulated carbon from the start. I haven't been able to get any phosphate readings above 0 and my nitrates have been around 20 since cycling.

So long story short, I'm not sure what impact each had but the combo seems to have worked. There are still a few small tufts but they look pretty anemic compared to before. The biggest improvement came in the 36 hours I was out of town, of course :)

Good to hear you got rid if that man. Now you can focus on stocking up the tank not Algea!!

 

[Debramb]

You're tank looks great, I love the layout!