Green algae in reef tank

calanprc

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I have green algae taking over the rocks and sand bed of my 9th old reef tank. It seems to be affecting one section of my Duncan. My phospate is .04 and nitrates HR is 1.6. Can someone suggest what I can do? I applied some Vibrant yesterday. It seems to be helping a little. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

9DB8ECBB-8DDE-4DF9-B061-2C06B5F3F209.jpeg F3F89D7B-71AA-4D8E-B8F9-9AC0C1615B34.jpeg ACE6185C-DF51-44E1-9045-605D7A146062.jpeg 0B490149-251E-4C67-9F37-C4E9FA96CA46.jpeg
 

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What does your clean up crew consist of? Read up on Vibrant and make your own decision but I will never use it again. I Have a tad of the same algae in my tank but I don't get to see it long, I have turbos and trochus that tend to keep it under wraps pretty well.
 
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calanprc

calanprc

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What does your clean up crew consist of? Read up on Vibrant and make your own decision but I will never use it again. I Have a tad of the same algae in my tank but I don't get to see it long, I have turbos and trochus that tend to keep it under wraps pretty well.
I have a few turbo snails. A lot of mine died over the past several months. Would a firecracker shims eat them? How many do you recommend for a 100 gallon display tank?
 

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I have a few turbo snails. A lot of mine died over the past several months. Would a firecracker shims eat them? How many do you recommend for a 100 gallon display tank?
I believe you said the tank is 9 months old? Turbos are typically pretty hardy unless there are any levels of copper or lots of parameter swings. They get pretty large as far as snails go, I have 3 fully grown in my 60 breeder along with 9 trochus which dont get as large. In a 100 id probably start with 5 if you can find them large. But id find out why they are dying first. A good Clean up crew combo is a must from my opinion in a reef tank. I dont rely on shrimps personally to combat any kind of algae, I prefer snails.
 
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calanprc

calanprc

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I believe you said the tank is 9 months old? Turbos are typically pretty hardy unless there are any levels of copper or lots of parameter swings. They get pretty large as far as snails go, I have 3 fully grown in my 60 breeder along with 9 trochus which dont get as large. In a 100 id probably start with 5 if you can find them large. But id find out why they are dying first. A good Clean up crew combo is a must from my opinion in a reef tank. I dont rely on shrimps personally to combat any kind of algae, I prefer snails.
Thank you early on I had some swings in my water parms. I have a six stage RO/DI filter for my water. I change the filters and resins regularly. I hope I don’t have copper? I may have to send out for an ICP test. Is there any product I can safely use to get rid of this green algae? I have two radion XR 15 blues that are set on the AB+ setting. I lowered the time from 11hrs to 8. Not sure what else I can do?
 

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Thank you early on I had some swings in my water parms. I have a six stage RO/DI filter for my water. I change the filters and resins regularly. I hope I don’t have copper? I may have to send out for an ICP test. Is there any product I can safely use to get rid of this green algae? I have two radion XR 15 blues that are set on the AB+ setting. I lowered the time from 11hrs to 8. Not sure what else I can do?
Algae loves phosphates and nitrates. They are a part of every tank and we all have algae. Your RODI should be taking care of any copper, You can always get a TDS meter and test the water coming out of the RODI system. It is likely not copper if you are using RODI though. The only products I would use to combat algae as far as chemically or bottled would be a bacteria supplement. The bacteria supplement would work just by using up the nutrients faster or out competing the algae for resources. You already reduced the light time which will help for sure, just be sure your corals respond accordingly. If it were me I would test my water and if it looks good then hop on over to your LFS and see what they have as far as trochus, turbos. You can also go with a tuxedo urchin. They are algae eating machines, but they will munch on coralline algae as well. The companies Dr. Tims, Brightwell, and Fritz all offer bacteria supplements.
 
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calanprc

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Algae loves phosphates and nitrates. They are a part of every tank and we all have algae. Your RODI should be taking care of any copper, You can always get a TDS meter and test the water coming out of the RODI system. It is likely not copper if you are using RODI though. The only products I would use to combat algae as far as chemically or bottled would be a bacteria supplement. The bacteria supplement would work just by using up the nutrients faster or out competing the algae for resources. You already reduced the light time which will help for sure, just be sure your corals respond accordingly. If it were me I would test my water and if it looks good then hop on over to your LFS and see what they have as far as trochus, turbos. You can also go with a tuxedo urchin. They are algae eating machines, but they will munch on coralline algae as well. The companies Dr. Tims, Brightwell, and Fritz all offer bacteria supplements.
Thank you for your suggestion!!! According to my tds meter there is 0 tds coming out. I will try the snails that you mentioned first. And then maybe one of the other bacteria supplements. Can this green algae kill my LPS corals? My tank has plenty of flow. I have two EcoTech MP-40s running.
 

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Thank you for your suggestion!!! According to my tds meter there is 0 tds coming out. I will try the snails that you mentioned first. And then maybe one of the other bacteria supplements. Can this green algae kill my LPS corals? My tank has plenty of flow. I have two EcoTech MP-40s running.
Algae generally harms corals by sapping up all the nutrients first or smothering them. You should be fine. With 0 TDS and your params ok, you should be well on your way with some good hard working snails and such. You will notice well ahead of time if the algae starts to smother your corals so you will be fine as long as you dont just let the tank go and do nothing to control the algae. I am glad I could be of help never hesitate to ask!
 
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Algae generally harms corals by sapping up all the nutrients first or smothering them. You should be fine. With 0 TDS and your params ok, you should be well on your way with some good hard working snails and such. You will notice well ahead of time if the algae starts to smother your corals so you will be fine as long as you dont just let the tank go and do nothing to control the algae. I am glad I could be of help never hesitate to ask!
Thank you for your advice. I was getting worried.
 

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I have green algae taking over the rocks and sand bed of my 9th old reef tank. It seems to be affecting one section of my Duncan. My phospate is .04 and nitrates HR is 1.6. Can someone suggest what I can do? I applied some Vibrant yesterday. It seems to be helping a little. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

9DB8ECBB-8DDE-4DF9-B061-2C06B5F3F209.jpeg F3F89D7B-71AA-4D8E-B8F9-9AC0C1615B34.jpeg ACE6185C-DF51-44E1-9045-605D7A146062.jpeg 0B490149-251E-4C67-9F37-C4E9FA96CA46.jpeg 0

vibrant will mess your tank up. you will never get good biodiversity by using vibrant 9 weeks in. Your tank is super young, and that looks like dry rock, algae will grow on it.
 
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calanprc

calanprc

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vibrant will mess your tank up. you will never get good biodiversity by using vibrant 9 weeks in. Your tank is super young, and that looks like dry rock, algae will grow on it.
My tank in 9 months old. Yes, I have the dry Marco rocks. Will Vibrant mess up the biodiversity of a 9 month old tank?
 

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