Newb help with algae i.d pls

[Steamreefer]

Hey all. New to salt water but kept lots of freshwater in the past. Im still struggling to i.d algaes.

Tank is around 8 or 9 months old
Dkh9
Cal450ish
Mag1350ish
S.g 1.026

Nitrate I think 5-10 hard to tell on the salifert test

Phosphate I've been dosing with brightwell and its kind of all over the place. Can't keep a steady reading and getting sick of testing it so much. Ive been trying to keep it under .1 but off zero.

Skimmer I've turned off

20% religious bi weekly water change including a deep gravel vac

I have to stir the sand almost daily but every 2 days for sure or it looks terrible and I have a pretty big cuc consisting of 10-15 snails and a conch.

Other than the sand and some what I believe to be turf algae on the rock work but not bad by any means and recently got an urchin who's eating it.

It seems to get slightly better for a while and then worse other times. Been like this for months.

I think under normal sunlight it appears green. Under blue it appears brown, maybe very slightly hairy. No slime to it.

 

[Steamreefer]

Another

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

It looks like hair algae is starting to grow. How is the flow along the sandbed? In the video it looks kind of low flow, do yo have powerheads in the tank?

Is that sand or crushed coral? just curious

Personally I would turn the skimmer back on. If algae is growing on the sand and the rocks, then the water has plenty of nutrients and doc's, the skimmer will help with that. What do you have for filtration besides the skimmer?

 

[Steamreefer]

Its caribsea special grade I believe.

I have 2 dmp40s on this tank but it blows around the substrate if theyre set too high. Flow on the sand bed is minimal but there is some flow.

i turned off the skimmer in hopes to try stabilize phosphate. Skimmer is a curve 9

Along with the skimmer I run 3 filter socks and thats it.

If I up the flow how do you all keep it from digging holes in the substrate? I kind of regret using the caribsea seems a little too fine.

It looks like hair algae is starting to grow. How is the flow along the sandbed? In the video it looks kind of low flow, do yo have powerheads in the tank?

Is that sand or crushed coral? just curious

Personally I would turn the skimmer back on. If algae is growing on the sand and the rocks, then the water has plenty of nutrients and doc's, the skimmer will help with that. What do you have for filtration besides the skimmer?

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

A skimmer pulls dissolved docs which will eventually turn into nitrate, but a skimmer has no influence on phosphate.

Filter socks should be cleaned out every few days or weekly at most, the food trapped inside rots affecting water quality.

Again I would turn the skimmer on since it is the only form of nutrient export on your system. A skimmer also has the added benefit of oxygenating the water.

Flow is very difficult to arrange, its really a pita. I find the easiest way is to position the powerheads so they are facing each other, so the flows meet and bounce off each other to create random flow pattern.

 

[Steamreefer]

OK ill turn the skimmer back on. I change the filter socks every 2-3 days.

I recently picked up microbacter clean and started dosing it at the max amount.

Powerheads are facing each other and also have 2 tangs in the tank.

So we're going with hair algae then? As long as it isn't dinos or something really bad ill keep working at it.

You dont think this is diatoms?

A skimmer pulls dissolved docs which will eventually turn into nitrate, but a skimmer has no influence on phosphate.

Filter socks should be cleaned out every few days or weekly at most, the food trapped inside rots affecting water quality.

Again I would turn the skimmer on since it is the only form of nutrient export on your system. A skimmer also has the added benefit of oxygenating the water.

Flow is very difficult to arrange, its really a pita. I find the easiest way is to position the powerheads so they are facing each other, so the flows meet and bounce off each other to create random flow pattern.

 

[Subsea]

“A skimmer pulls dissolved docs which will eventually turn into nitrate, but a skimmer has no influence on phosphate.“

@Mr. Mojo Rising
If bacteria are a major component of skimmate, phosphate will be a portion of their biomass. A recent article by @Beuchat calculates that the ratio of N:P is 5:1.

“Therefore: Ratio = (7 × 62) / (1 × 95) ≈ 4.5. In practical terms, this means that during bacterial assimilation stimulated by carbon dosing, nitrate typically decreases about four to five times faster than phosphate when expressed in mg/L.“

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/what-really-happens-when-you-dose-carbon-denitrification-vs-bacterial-assimilation.1150403/#post-14310094

 

[Steamreefer]

Bump. Anyone else confirm with hair algae even though it seems to re-establish after a day or 2 after stirring the substrate

 

[Steamreefer]

Bump

 

[Subsea]

GHA is a catch all for a large group. A name is not as important as a plan of action.

Consider dosing with silicates and grow diatoms to outcompete brown stuff in sand. Everybody eats diatoms so increase your CUC with emphases on detrivores.

 

[Steamreefer]

GHA is a catch all for a large group. A name is not as important as a plan of action.

Consider dosing with silicates and grow diatoms to outcompete brown stuff in sand. Everybody eats diatoms so increase your CUC with emphases on detrivores.

I have at least 15 snails a conch 2 shrimp and an urchin already in a 4 foot tank. More?

How can I confirm this is hair algae?

 

[TheReefAbides]

How many gallon is your tank?

Here’s a rule of thumb post.. +- 1 per gallon

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/how-many-cuc-critters-per-gallon-of-tank-do-you-have.1106649/

 

[Steamreefer]

How many gallon is your tank?

Here’s a rule of thumb post.. +- 1 per gallon

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/how-many-cuc-critters-per-gallon-of-tank-do-you-have.1106649/

100gal system. I need 100 snails at $5 each? Bro thats expensive lol

 

[Fish Fan]

100gal system. I need 100 snails at $5 each? Bro thats expensive lol

Reach out to @coralmonsters.judy, she'll set you up with a CUC package for your tank at a great price

CORAL MONSTERS

Explore top-quality aquarium supplies at CORAL MONSTERS. Transform your tank today with our vibrant fish and coral options!

coralmonsters.com

Good luck!

 

[BryanM]

@Steamreefer Personally I'd do yourself a favor and be content to run phosphates anywhere from .1 to .3... trying to maintain .06 is a nightmare, as you are experiencing.

My tank is still in the process of lowering from +.9, without seemingly any ill effects... its noteworthy that I only have a few acros, otherwise its all torches, frogspawn, softies, etc.

 

[Steamreefer]

Im in canada

 

[Steamreefer]

Reach out to @coralmonsters.judy, she'll set you up with a CUC package for your tank at a great price

CORAL MONSTERS

Explore top-quality aquarium supplies at CORAL MONSTERS. Transform your tank today with our vibrant fish and coral options!

coralmonsters.com

Good luck!

Im in canada 1 blue leg hermit is $5 here lol

 

[Steamreefer]

@Steamreefer Personally I'd do yourself a favor and be content to run phosphates anywhere from .1 to .3... trying to maintain .06 is a nightmare, as you are experiencing.

My tank is still in the process of lowering from +.9, without seemingly any ill effects... its noteworthy that I only have a few acros, otherwise its all torches, frogspawn, softies, etc.

Ya my phos levels fluctuate all over the place.

Starting to get worried its dinos. I can stir my sand 1 evening and have it look decent by the next evening its almost all brown.

But in the sunlight (not blue lights) the stuff on the sand is green. Can dinos be green under full spec lighting?

 

[Steamreefer]

Reach out to @coralmonsters.judy, she'll set you up with a CUC package for your tank at a great price

CORAL MONSTERS

Explore top-quality aquarium supplies at CORAL MONSTERS. Transform your tank today with our vibrant fish and coral options!

coralmonsters.com

Good luck!

 

[Dogeatbird]

The 1 per gallon recommendation is an old standard for CUC.

Would a 10 g system support 10 CUC in the long term.

The OP current crew may keep up with perceived conditions.

Would adding a few more detrivores help, possibly…

Pristine sands? Remember that natural ecotypes also have wave and tidal shifts. Which periodically scours sand beds..

Rationalize your expectations through the lens of an artificial 4’ x 2’ bed.

Identification of all the organisms responsible for that pristine condition is impracticable. For one also must recognize that mechanical as well as biological processes apply.