Start of the ugly stage?

[jiffyjhn]

I started seeing small hair-like growth and brown spots emerging on my white rock scape. It’s been years since I set up a new tank so forgot what the beginning of ugly stage looked like. Here is some pictures:

can anyone id these hair and brown spot(right side of second picture). I will add CuC in the next week and would like to know what type of algea these are and choose the cuc accordingly. Thanks!

 

[jiffyjhn]

Tank is 32g aio and about 2 months old.
Build thread:https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/fijicube-32g-aio-build.839699/#post-9151726

 

[jiffyjhn]

bump. The hairs are getting longer and there is more brown covering the rocks.

Going to pick up a CUC tomorrow. Any suggestions on what to get for CuC and how many to get?

Also what's a good algae eating fish for a 32 gallon tank?

 

[taricha]

the green is not "uglies". It's green algae, maybe bryopsis or similar.

 

[thatone08]

How new is the tank. Brown is most likely diatoms. If you don’t have coral in I would turn off the lights.

 

[jiffyjhn]

the green is not "uglies". It's green algae, maybe bryopsis or similar.

Both the hair and the spots are more brown than green. I had Bryopsis in other tanks before it looked different. Could be diatoms + hair algae? I’ll post more pics shortly

 

[jiffyjhn]

How new is the tank. Brown is most likely diatoms. If you don’t have coral in I would turn off the lights.

tank is about 2 months old. I have a few zoa and Duncan coral only

 

[thatone08]

You could turn the lights of for two days, and see if that helps. Also siphon as much as you can of that out. Could also use vibrant.

what are your parameters at?

 

[jiffyjhn]

new photo of the algae

I hope it's just hair algae.diatoms and not bryopsis

 

[jiffyjhn]

You could turn the lights of for two days, and see if that helps. Also siphon as much as you can of that out. Could also use vibrant.

what are your parameters at?

thanks will siphon it out on next water change.

ammonia: 0
nitrite:0
Nitrate: 5
Phosphate(old test kit expired need to get a new kit before I can check it)

 

[vetteguy53081]

These have roots which indicate bryopsis. Pull all by hand and root must be removed with either a dental pick OR small crochet needle. Unlike hair algae, reducing lights wont do much. Pin cushion or tuxedo urchins, Emerald Crabs, chitons, and even the larger astrea snails will eat this type of algae, but often cant consume it faster than it can grow, or the algae lingers half eaten.
Ways to get rid of it:
-Remove all you can by hand. Just be careful about it, and if you can pull the rock out to remove it all the better. If it has taken hold in the sand, sift it out with a net. If you don't remove the roots, it will grow back.
-Starve it out by lowering nutrients as nuisance algae has a harder time taking hold, or coming back after manual removal.
- Repeat every time you see a little bit come back. Try to be aggressive when removing these species.

 

[thatone08]

Do the brown spots look like this too, or more filmy? What do you have as a clean up crew now?

 

[jiffyjhn]

Do the brown spots look like this too, or more filmy? What do you have as a clean up crew now?

The brown spots got a lot bigger and fused into larger brown areas with fuzzy looking texture. Doesn’t look like a slimy film.

I just bought a couple of trochus snails. And some blue leg hermits. Acclimating them now.
Should I get a emerald crab if it’s bryopsis?

 

[thatone08]

The brown spots got a lot bigger and fused into larger brown areas with fuzzy looking texture. Doesn’t look like a slimy film.

I just bought a couple of trochus snails. And some blue leg hermits. Acclimating them now.
Should I get a emerald crab if it’s bryopsis?

Do you have brown spots on the sand and glass also?
The crab I will let @vetteguy53081 answer that. Don’t have experience.

 

[vetteguy53081]

The brown spots got a lot bigger and fused into larger brown areas with fuzzy looking texture. Doesn’t look like a slimy film.

I just bought a couple of trochus snails. And some blue leg hermits. Acclimating them now.
Should I get a emerald crab if it’s bryopsis?

Although emerald crab May attack it, I trust a politician more than I trust an emerald crab.

 

[jiffyjhn]

I don’t like emerald crab either. Had one in my old tank and was a neusance.

update: Put in the trochus snails in and they are going to town on the brown stuff. Hopefully they will eat the hairy stuff too.

 

[jiffyjhn]

 

[jiffyjhn]

Do you have brown spots on the sand and glass also?
The crab I will let @vetteguy53081 answer that. Don’t have experience.

Yes both the brown stuff and hairs are on the sand and glass also. Here is a picture

 

[thatone08]

I would mix up your snails a bit. Since it doesn’t look like you have to many corals on the rock currently from the pictures. A few turbos wouldn’t hurt anything. As far as the rooted stuff in the sand. That will be easier then on the rock. Maybe the hermits will take care of it. Or you can do a few nassarius to stir up the bed and hopefully floats up and into the over flow. Or a turkey baster to suck it up, in between vacuuming the sand.

Brown stuff on glass. I know it’s ugly to look at, but resist cleaning the glass until the day before your doing a water change . Otherwise it will just end up on the sand and rock and spread like crazy.

 

[jiffyjhn]

Update:
The trochus snails are doing a fantastic job. The areas they have gone thru, all the brown stuff is gone and most of the hair/bryopsis is gone as well.

Going to add a couple of nassarius snail and a turbo snail. Also skipping feeding and leaving my lights off a few days while keeping the chaeto light on.

New skimmer is arriving next week so hopefully that will help lower nutrients as well