Green Film Algae Advice!

[Chiefmaster30]

Anyone know what causes green film algae on glass! All of my tank parameters are right on. Nitrates are 0, phosphates are 0. I clean it one day the next day it's back. Is this gonna be a normal daily routine? What is causing this? My black box leds are on 8 hours a day, blues on 2 more hours after that.

 

[Reeferdood]

Yep,
It is a normal part of reefing.
I clean my glass everyday even if my phosphate and nitrate is undetectable, bright lights like LED's will not help you..
All part of the deal I am afraid....

 

[dbl]

Agreed. Put a positive spin on it and use the time to look closely at the tank. Good way to keep an eye on things.

 

[PerplexyHexy]

Stupid question... i ask alot of them... hahahhaha! Whats the best way to clean it off the glass??? I scrub... scrub... scrub... and I cannot get it off the glass...

 

[wkscott]

This type of alga needs just 3 things to grow quickly.
Light
Water
Nutrients
Of course, all aquariums supply this. Your tests may show zero nutrients but in fact, the alga is using up the nutrients as quickly as you can test for them. This is also why it comes back so quickly after scrapping the glass.
Your lighting period is good, however your LEDs may be turned up too high. Excessive light, combined with just a little bit of nutrients in the water will cause the alga to coat your glass. What are your blue and white settings?

Someone on this forum will probably immediately tell you to get some snails to fix the problem. Although most snails WILL eat this type of alga, they will just leave clean trails on the glass but it will still look ugly and you'll have to manually clean the glass anyway.

How new is your tank? I rarely get this alga on my glass as my tank is established and I pretty much have my nutrients and lighting under control .

 

[PerplexyHexy]

I have 3 huge turbo snails in mine and all they do is make nasty swirl marks all over the glass... sorry to bust in here on your post @Chiefmaster30... i have the same issue right now!!!

 

[wkscott]

Stupid question... i ask alot of them... hahahhaha! Whats the best way to clean it off the glass??? I scrub... scrub... scrub... and I cannot get it off the glass...

This type of alga comes right off without much scrubbing at all...unless you let it build up for a few weeks. Almost any aquarium scrapper removes this.
If you're having a difficult time, then you are probably dealing with coraline alga.

 

[PerplexyHexy]

Its very difficult... when I scrape it with my cleaning stuff its crusty... not soft or easy to remove

 

[PerplexyHexy]

I have an in-tank felt algae scraper and I use a glass safe scotch-brite wand to clean the glass... I cannot get it off still!!!

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Its very difficult... when I scrape it with my cleaning stuff its crusty... not soft or easy to remove

that might be coralline.

 

[DED65]

Mr. Clean original magic erasers work well for me, even on coraline.

 

[PerplexyHexy]

Green???? Sorry... im fairly new to the hobby... still learning!!!

 

[PerplexyHexy]

Ive read there are several types of coralline... I already asked you today salty... I was worried that I have a case of the uglies, but I guess maybe its something different...

 

[PerplexyHexy]

Guess I should start my own thread instead of ambushing fellow friends' posts... sorry again!

 

[wkscott]

Its very difficult... when I scrape it with my cleaning stuff its crusty... not soft or easy to remove

You probably have coraline alga. It can be green but tends to be pink. You'll need a metal aquarium scrapper and be very careful not to scratch the glass. If you have an acrylic tank, you shouldn't use a metal scrapper and good luck to you.

 

[Chiefmaster30]

This type of alga needs just 3 things to grow quickly.
Light
Water
Nutrients
Of course, all aquariums supply this. Your tests may show zero nutrients but in fact, the alga is using up the nutrients as quickly as you can test for them. This is also why it comes back so quickly after scrapping the glass.
Your lighting period is good, however your LEDs may be turned up too high. Excessive light, combined with just a little bit of nutrients in the water will cause the alga to coat your glass. What are your blue and white settings?

Someone on this forum will probably immediately tell you to get some snails to fix the problem. Although most snails WILL eat this type of alga, they will just leave clean trails on the glass but it will still look ugly and you'll have to manually clean the glass anyway.

How new is your tank? I rarely get this alga on my glass as my tank is established and I pretty much have my nutrients and lighting under control .

My tank is 9 months old. Only had leds for a month or 2 though. I have whites set at 30% and blues set at 50%.

 

[revhtree]

This is the worst part of reefing! LOL!

I think it's possible to run a tank with only needing to clean the glass maybe once a week.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

My tank is 9 months old. Only had leds for a month or 2 though. I have whites set at 30% and blues set at 50%.

You tank is making great strides towards balance. It only gets better as it matures..
getting other organisms to compete with nuisance algaes for food is a good key. some use refugiums, some gfo and carbons to remove them. another thing that will compete for that food is.....CORAL!

 

[Ty Hamatake]

I have an in-tank felt algae scraper and I use a glass safe scotch-brite wand to clean the glass... I cannot get it off still!!!

I just recently got the Flipper and I love it. I haven't used it on coralline yet, but it takes my Spirorbis off without a problem. It's a magnetic cleaner so you do need to be careful about getting sand in there and scratching the glass, but it has made my life a whole lot easier.

 

[teamlounge]

Remember this type of algae growth is a good thing. Reef tanks need the good algae to survive and make everything work. Get a magnet cleaner...if you do it regularly should be easy.