Post-cycle algae/pest identification

Paloma’s

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Hi! My tank finished cycling about 6 weeks ago, and I have some clownfish and some snails in the tank at the moment. In the past week or two (a few weeks after lights were turned on), I have noticed this brown grass-looking stuff appear on my glass and some rocks. I have a conch that I think has eaten some of it on the sandbed/bottom of the glass, but the snails have not touched it. I was wondering what it is and if I should worry about it at all
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mcarroll

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Welcome to the (green) Hair (algae) Club for Men (and women)!

That is long enough you'll have to remove it by hand. Do it like this:


Its growth indicates your CUC is too small (talking herbivores only....like that Turbo in the pic) and possibly that your tank is lacking nutients to growing things other than hair algae....please post all the water test results you have on hand.

A UV filter will slow or stop the spread while you get a handle on things.....so will a micron filter.
 

Tahoe61

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Are you sure that's not Byropsis? The last images depicte a fern like growth pattern.
 
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Paloma’s

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Welcome to the (green) Hair (algae) Club for Men (and women)!

That is long enough you'll have to remove it by hand. Do it like this:


Its growth indicates your CUC is too small (talking herbivores only....like that Turbo in the pic) and possibly that your tank is lacking nutients to growing things other than hair algae....please post all the water test results you have on hand.

A UV filter will slow or stop the spread while you get a handle on things.....so will a micron filter.
Thanks for the advice. I am concerned it could be Bryopsis based on how it looks.

Here are my parameters at the moment. I know some parts are a bit low so I am switching salts after my bucket of instant ocean salt runs out in a few weeks:

360 ppm potassium
1170 magnesium
8.05 ph
365 calcium
0.1 phosphate
5 nitrate
7.7 alkalinity
 
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Paloma’s

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Are you sure that's not Byropsis? The last images depicte a fern like growth pattern.
Yeah it feels more like bryopsis from what I can tell. Do you have any advice for dealing with it? I just started adding macrobactr clean today
 

Tahoe61

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slingfox

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Yeah it feels more like bryopsis from what I can tell. Do you have any advice for dealing with it? I just started adding macrobactr clean today
Manual removal along with a flucanozole product like Reeflux can handle the Bryopsis. Since you have no coral then you don’t have to worry about livestock being affected. You should also use this as an opportunity to beef up the clean-up crew (add more snails, a tuxedo urchin, a few emerald crabs). Since your tank is growing algae well you can likely start to add coral.
 

mcarroll

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Thanks for the advice. I am concerned it could be Bryopsis based on how it looks.
I'm concerned that you're waiting around to find out! 😆 Pull that outta there – like yesterday!

Here are my parameters at the moment. I know some parts are a bit low so I am switching salts after my bucket of instant ocean salt runs out in a few weeks:

360 ppm potassium
1170 magnesium
8.05 ph
365 calcium
0.1 phosphate
5 nitrate
7.7 alkalinity
Those numbers look fine...although your specific gravity might be low based on the ca, alk and mg numbers you're posting. NO3 could be low.....I wouldn't want it lower than 5.

I don't see a reason in the numbers to switch salts unless it's convenient for some reason. 👍

IMO raise salinity (maybe double check your hydrometer calibration) to correct your mineral numbers and re-test everything after that.
 

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