Help with ID

greg1786 · Aug 22, 2021

Hey all. I am in need of some assistance. I have developed what i thought to be a hair algae problem, however im not really sure. Ive been keeping reef aquariums for the better part of 10 years but this system is relatively young, only about 10 months old. I started the system with all dry rock and sand. The rock was live rock from my previous system. I bleach cured and dried all the rock before beginning this new system with it. I do 10% weekly water changes using rodi Water. Weekly water tests, current params are
Temp 78
Sg 1.025
Ph 8.1
Alk 8.8
Cal 420
Mg 1350
P04 .02
N03 1.4
I feed Larrys herbivore frenzy and NLS pellets daily, Nori for the tang , and occasionally i will buy some free swimming pods from the LFS for the bluestripe pipefish. Tank inhabitants are
Purple tang, starry blenny, pair of clowns, bluestripe pipefish, blue mandarin, diamond goby, firefish, pair of cleaner shrimp, large serpent star, 3 pincushion urchins, two fighting conchs, dolabella sea hare, 4 lettuce nudis, 2 mexican turbos, 12 nass snails, 24 nerites, 12 ceriths, 12 trochus, and about 48 assorted reef hermits ranging from very tiny to about small/medium.
I use reef crystals salt, run a reef octopus skimmer rated for 150 gallons, two reef breeders wavemakers for flow and run a 6ft metal halide/led combo light that consists of 3 250watt 20k ushios, 2 150watt 14k phoenix, and two 72" current orbit marine pro leds.

Ok so i think i covered everything up there about the system, now about this algae. It started in two very small isolated patches no bigger that a quarter in different parts of the tank about 3 months ago. I would remove it by hand during water changes. Slowly i noticed it began showing up in other places and before i knew it, it was everywhere. During water changes i will remove rocks that arent cemented togetger and scrub them in a bucket, rinse them in fresh saltwater and then put them back in the tank only for the algae to regrow within a couple days. I manually remove some of it everyday to keep it somewhat under control. Two weeks ago i got a dolabella hoping it would mow it down, hasnt touched it. I try putting it directly on patches of the algae and it just crawls away uninterested. So then i thought maybe its briopsis and i went and bought 4 lettuce nudis a few days after that. Theyve reacted identically to the sea hare. The tang doesnt go near it, the blenny spits it out if it accidentally eats it while picking at the rocks, the urchins arent interested and none of the snails or hermits eat it. I truthfully dont know what it is or what to do about it. I am not one for using chemical treatments so i wont do the vibrant route or any algaecides. Ideally I'd love for someone to help me Id it, figure out the aource and eliminate it, and then find a reef creature who wants a huge buffet of the stuff lol. Anyway sprry for the long post. Here is a few photos. Any help is so greatly appreciated! Thanks ahead of time folks!!

brmreefer · Aug 22, 2021

Hair algae.

I've went through this very similar scenario where my DT's rocks were growing hair algae around the 1 year mark of my main DT. Tried sea hairs, numerous snails, and a couple blennies with no luck. Learned that getting a new inhabitant with the hopes of mowing it all down did not work...at least for me. Started running more macro algae in my fuge to out compete, but I don't know if that may have solved my situation back in the day (probably 2 years or so now). Eventually, it all just kind of faded away and has not returned. Here is my current stock:

Foxface (DT)
Convict Tang (DT)
Some small hermit crabs (Very few left)(DT)
Various other fish members that are not dedicated herbivores (DT)
1 Large Zebra Moray Eel (DT)
Various Inverts (Fuge)(Ceriths, Turbos, some hermits)
Large Chaeto Ball in (Fuge)
Patches if Hair Algae in (Fuge)

I think I have a combination of the following working for me:

Fish (Herbivores) in main DT
Running Rowaphos in Sump (Mainly for the heavy feeding especially for the eel)
Macro and Micro Algae in Sump out competing DTs for PO4

I suspect my rock may have started leaching PO4 as I've heard of this before as the rock and water column tries to achieve some sort of equilibrium in regards to overall PO4 levels. I also heard that PO4 readings during tests could sometimes not provide the true level for the entire system as some or most levels could be trapped within rock work.

I believe your system may just be going through a phase and will eventually get better as long as it is continually be worked on. Me personally, I would not buy any more inverts as a way to treat it, but that is just my personal opinion based on my experiences thus far.

See what other's experiences are as they chime in too. Your parameters are pretty close to my system's as well as an additional note and does not seem off. Hope it all works out.

outhouse · Aug 23, 2021

fluconazole always works for me. I had some stubborn stuff and vibrant and fluc has worked miracles.

greg1786 · Aug 23, 2021

brmreefer said:
Hair algae.

I've went through this very similar scenario where my DT's rocks were growing hair algae around the 1 year mark of my main DT. Tried sea hairs, numerous snails, and a couple blennies with no luck. Learned that getting a new inhabitant with the hopes of mowing it all down did not work...at least for me. Started running more macro algae in my fuge to out compete, but I don't know if that may have solved my situation back in the day (probably 2 years or so now). Eventually, it all just kind of faded away and has not returned. Here is my current stock:

Foxface (DT)

Convict Tang (DT)

Some small hermit crabs (Very few left)(DT)

Various other fish members that are not dedicated herbivores (DT)

1 Large Zebra Moray Eel (DT)

Various Inverts (Fuge)(Ceriths, Turbos, some hermits)

Large Chaeto Ball in (Fuge)

Patches if Hair Algae in (Fuge)

I think I have a combination of the following working for me:

Fish (Herbivores) in main DT

Running Rowaphos in Sump (Mainly for the heavy feeding especially for the eel)

Macro and Micro Algae in Sump out competing DTs for PO4

I suspect my rock may have started leaching PO4 as I've heard of this before as the rock and water column tries to achieve some sort of equilibrium in regards to overall PO4 levels. I also heard that PO4 readings during tests could sometimes not provide the true level for the entire system as some or most levels could be trapped within rock work.

I believe your system may just be going through a phase and will eventually get better as long as it is continually be worked on. Me personally, I would not buy any more inverts as a way to treat it, but that is just my personal opinion based on my experiences thus far.

See what other's experiences are as they chime in too. Your parameters are pretty close to my system's as well as an additional note and does not seem off. Hope it all works out.

Thanks for the advice. I have a pretty good size ball of red ogo in the sump and theres not a stitch of the hair algae in there. I am going to get some chaeto to add to the nutrient export. Ive been kicking around the idea of putting my gfo reactor into the mix too but i have been apprehensive about doing too many things too quickly. Ill start with the chaeto and give that a few weeks first. If i dont see a fhange ill implement the gfo reactor. Either way i really appreciate the response. I will update this thread to keep a record of the situation. If anyone else has any similar experience or advice all is welcome. Heres a full tank shot just for the record