Is this Turf Algae on The Rocks?

R33fDaddy

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Is this Turf Algae on my rocks? If so what's the best way to get rid of it?

Salinity 1.026
Temp 77 Degrees
Alkalinity 11.2 dkh
Calcium 500 ppm
Magnesium 1470 ppm
Nitrates 30ppm
Nitrite 0ppm
Phosphates 0ppm

Nutrient Export:
10% Water change weekly
Filter Floss changed every 3 days
Skimmer
Algae Scrubber (online one month)
NoPox (4ml daily)
Currently no inverts

20210621_231602.jpg
 
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R33fDaddy

R33fDaddy

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Can't see the rocks/ or algae without a close up.

Why are your phosphates zero? What are you measuring them with?
I'm using a Seifert Phosphate kit to test. My rocks are covered in some sort of green Algae. It's not hair Algae and it doesn't lift off the rocks at all. Can't pinch it or blow it off.
 

KrisReef

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Generally, folks say you have some phosphate present if you are growing algae. You might be lucky and have a green coralline algae growing? Time will tell.
 

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Agreed without a closer pic can't say anything for sure but they do look a bit fuzzy and from your description I would suspect turf, hair, or bryopsis. You say it is not hair but there are so many different forms. Turf would fit the description for sure but as Blasterman said it is generally dense, however it is slow growing so it may not yet be established.
Turf is one of those tuff ones, Mexican turbos are the only sure bet but given that you have no cuc I'd recommend you start with a mix of different things. Cerith for the sand, nerites, Astrea and/or trochus for high up on the rocks. It's up to you if you'd like to mess with Mexican turbos or Hermits but getting a cuc established is a solid start.
 
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R33fDaddy

R33fDaddy

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Agreed without a closer pic can't say anything for sure but they do look a bit fuzzy and from your description I would suspect turf, hair, or bryopsis. You say it is not hair but there are so many different forms. Turf would fit the description for sure but as Blasterman said it is generally dense, however it is slow growing so it may not yet be established.
Turf is one of those tuff ones, Mexican turbos are the only sure bet but given that you have no cuc I'd recommend you start with a mix of different things. Cerith for the sand, nerites, Astrea and/or trochus for high up on the rocks. It's up to you if you'd like to mess with Mexican turbos or Hermits but getting a cuc established is a solid start.

Thanks I ditched the clean up crew last year because the snails have such short life spans. Guess I gotta get something that will eat the snails when they die in places I can't reach.

I'll take a close up picture tomorrow.
 
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R33fDaddy

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Generally, folks say you have some phosphate present if you are growing algae. You might be lucky and have a green coralline algae growing? Time will tell.

I'll invest in a better Phosphate test once I use this one up. I'm sure I have some Phosphates. Harvested the scrubber Today and this is what it looked like after 7 days of growth.
20210621_180922.jpg
20210621_180951.jpg
20210621_181044.jpg
20210621_182301.jpg
 

Suohhen

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Zero nutrients is a symptom of out of control algae.
If you want something that'll eat dead snails hermits, a couple Bumblebee snails, and nassarius snails for the sand are my go to.
Snails not lasting long is a troubling issue. I have some snails that are over 5 years old but I've also had many snails that didn't last long at all.
One thing I discovered is that the quality of the LFS has a big impact on longevity. These guys are already expensive but spending $2/per at a junk lfs and having 20% survive is an awful investment vs driving a bit further and paying $3/per for a 80% survival rate.
How old is this system?
 
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Zero nutrients is a symptom of out of control algae.
If you want something that'll eat dead snails hermits, a couple Bumblebee snails, and nassarius snails for the sand are my go to.
Snails not lasting long is a troubling issue. I have some snails that are over 5 years old but I've also had many snails that didn't last long at all.
One thing I discovered is that the quality of the LFS has a big impact on longevity. These guys are already expensive but spending $2/per at a junk lfs and having 20% survive is an awful investment vs driving a bit further and paying $3/per for a 80% survival rate.
How old is this system?

Going on two years for this system. I bought five Turbo Snails a month ago and none of them made it through Quarantine. I also bought two trochus snails at that time and they are still alive in Quarantine. Maybe it's the type of snails I'm buying? I will add the ones you mentioned to my list.
 

Suohhen

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Going on two years for this system. I bought five Turbo Snails a month ago and none of them made it through Quarantine. I also bought two trochus snails at that time and they are still alive in Quarantine. Maybe it's the type of snails I'm buying? I will add the ones you mentioned to my list.
I feel like larger snails actually do more poorly unless given the right conditions. I had bumblebees, nerites, and cerith survive years of a neglected system with ooc cyano and hair and repeated attempts to keep Astrea, Trochus, Mexican with no success.
When my system is stable I have no problem at all keeping them alive. I also see a lot of threads about having trouble specifically keeping trochus and astrea alive. Also think about the bad reputation that Astrea have as not being able to right them and yet many of us can keep them alive for as long as any other snail. My opinion on this is that any snail that is struggling/dying is going to have trouble righting itself and given that these snails stay out in the open during the day they are very easy to keep track of. Cerith on the other hand I can find one or two at a time during the day and look at night and see all 10 on the glass.
So Astrea are my favorite snail by far when your tank can support them but what makes for a good environment i can't say exactly. But yeah unless algae is under control my advice is always, start slow, only buy from the absolute best source, and get the base crew setup.
Lastly turbos are pigs so unless you are adding algae to the qt it might be hard in the typical setup to give the enough to eat.
 

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This is a type of surface algae which will establish further and turn into turf algae. It does not scrub easily and best cleaned outside of the tank especially if there is any matter decaying. best cleaning method is blasting with a pressure washer or similar method.
After cleaning it, some helpful cleanup crew will be Cerith snails, Nerite snails, Astrea snails, limpets and chitons. Pods will feed on it but not quickly enough compared to its progressed growth.
 
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R33fDaddy

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This is a type of surface algae which will establish further and turn into turf algae. It does not scrub easily and best cleaned outside of the tank especially if there is any matter decaying. best cleaning method is blasting with a pressure washer or similar method.
After cleaning it, some helpful cleanup crew will be Cerith snails, Nerite snails, Astrea snails, limpets and chitons. Pods will feed on it but not quickly enough compared to its progressed growth.
That's not really an option for me but thanks.

The Algae is not really bothering anything it's just unsightly and I want to get control of it before it starts to become a problem. Thanks for the tips though.
 

vetteguy53081

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That's not really an option for me but thanks.

The Algae is not really bothering anything it's just unsightly and I want to get control of it before it starts to become a problem. Thanks for the tips though.
And youre correct- aesthetically unsightly and of no harm. Reducing white light will also help
 

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