Struggling with conflicting advise on how to deal with GHA

[MzunguReef]

Hi everyone, I'm relatively new to all this and am struggling with conflicting advise on how to deal with GHA so any help would be massively appreciated.

My 15g tank has been running for almost exactly 12 months now and has been doing just fine until a month or so ago when there was a bunch of Cyano started appearing on the sand and then rocks.

Tank has plenty of rock, sand bed, 1 Royal Gramma, 2 x clowns, and some soft corals and LPs. I've attached a pic for reference, some pics taken straight after water change so some of the corals aren't fully open. My return pump puts out 1200 lph and flow is through RFG. I am going to add a wavemaker to try and increase flow in areas at back of tank, although flow is generally already OK, but just one or two areas that could be improved upon. Salt is Instant Ocean.

Parameters at start of outbreak (salifert kits)

Salinity 1.026
Temp 26°C
Nitrate 0.5
Phosphate 0.015
Alkalinity 7.6 dkh (usually stable at 8.2ish)
Calcium 355

I learned that cyano was likely due to my low nutrients. I don't run a skimmer or carbon etc, just a bunch of dry rock and bio filters. I do a 10l (about 25% of actual water volume after rock etc added) water change religiously once a week.

I started dosing Cyano Clean (live bacteria) and increasing my feeding to try and raise my nitrate and phos up.

Now, a month or so on my Cyano is almost completely gone but has been replaced by GHA which is growing all over now.

Current params

Salinity 1.026
Temp 26°C
Nitrate 2. 5
Phosphate 0.05
Alkalinity 8.2 (this generally stable)
Calcium 390

My LFS has told be that I should continue trying to raise my phos and Nitrates, but surely this is just adding fuel to the fire as it were?? Everywhere else I read that u need to reduce phos and nutrients.

Any help/pointers /advise/clarity would be very much appreciated.

 

[brandon429]

Everyone has their fav recommended way and can show you in their tank how that way worked. Then as the threads build on option X you’ll have people state it didn’t work, so outcomes vary.


here’s my favorite way, we use others reefs for proofing its not my own tank

Algae Identification

Any opinions on what type of algae this is growing on my rocks and sand bed?

www.reef2reef.com

any nano that runs a rip clean comes out looking, ripped clean lol enjoy your first read into reef tank surgery

thats very good quality rock you have, which is why we never dipped or dosed anything above. Working those rocks on the counter as in surgery allows you to not hit the good areas and focus on the bad areas, to preserve its look and emerge without the algae but keeping the other growths. Five different reefs above run the exact same rip clean method for various invasion challenges, it’s the same action in any tank.


the reason it’s not harmful is because this is how we move reefs home to home, and skip the cycle. They arrive at the new home bright and shiny, nobody complains

Using the same method for gha detailing doesn’t make it bad all of a sudden it’s just applied on a tank not moving homes. Your tank isn’t bad currently but a solid surgical run merely sharpens it up for this coming year and at 15 gallons it’s easy to do. The opening post shows how you’d use one simple rock as a test run vs do the whole tank at once. Remove and detail one rock and put back for observation and if you like it’s outcome, do the tank from the bottom up as a complete job

 

[dedragon]

All those pieces look to be firmly attached so I would suggest a pincushion, halloween, or tuxedo urchin. As long as the corals cant be moved it is a good option as they will mow down algae, natural and it will do the job for you

 

[Quietman]

It can be difficult to sort through everything. Your tank is coming out of a cyano issue so it's a tad out of balance. The GHA is very good at quick nutrient uptake and will out compete everything but cyano.

Until your tank gets that new balance keep applying the basics and increase actions based on tank response.

From what I see it's not bad at all. Keep up with weekly at least manual removal of GHA. Some use suction during water changes and others to a sock in sump or just put in separate container next to tank. I've done all. My best is to clamp a filter sock over the rim hanging inside display and just pull off and dump in. Keep a long turkey baster handy to blow off and suck up loose GHA.

Learn to live with some GHA. If it's not distracting a little isn't a bad thing unless its choking a favorite coral.

For nutrients keep low but detectable. Again nothing really out competes GHA and if it gets established or out of control you'll have to go to the next level...more CUC, chemicals, hob ATS, rock removal.

But for now, I wouldn't do anything drastic as your tank looks pretty good. Best advice, keep up with the manual removal for a few months, watch the nutrients and then see if it's better, same or worse.

 

[Aqua Man]

My 15g tank has been running for almost exactly 12 months now and has been doing just fine until a month or so ago when there was a bunch of Cyano started appearing on the sand and then rocks.

Nice little tank you have! Looking good!

Next water change pull out what you can with fingers and then get at it with a toothbrush.
@Quietman also gave great advice!!

 

[brandon429]

Notice how the color palette in the pics above are shifting away from darks/reds/purples and into green walls, sand with waste pockets that lends a yellowish hue

Where the walls haven been cleaned it’s totally green, this system is pumping algae onto all non coralline surfaces



the overall look of the tank is changing into pastel green and cream, oligotrophic reefs have strong contrasts in the after pics we show above

rip cleaning is not extreme, it’s a way of instating perfection, there isn’t another way to see those pics other than if we could earn that outcome without the rip clean every nano owner would just gravitate towards that method to save the work.


eutrophication is coming, from the dieoff of killed organisms vs export, these small nanos only store so much waste in addition to daily fare


a rip clean resets that color palette into contrasting colors, no green walls and no pocketed sand feeding a massive challenge coming, keep this in mind


trading back and forth between invasions happens when buildup surpasses export, that’s occurring, the gha is merely the first warning marker.


Shadow_k

drab color palette heading eutrophic but intercepted before gha phase




after, laser contrast no plant base growing, no trade off invasions

many folks prefer to coax that clean condition vs rip it into shape. This is a backup option if you need to save it

 

[MzunguReef]

Everyone has their fav recommended way and can show you in their tank how that way worked. Then as the threads build on option X you’ll have people state it didn’t work, so outcomes vary.


here’s my favorite way, we use others reefs for proofing its not my own tank

Algae Identification

Any opinions on what type of algae this is growing on my rocks and sand bed?

www.reef2reef.com

any nano that runs a rip clean comes out looking, ripped clean lol enjoy your first read into reef tank surgery

thats very good quality rock you have, which is why we never dipped or dosed anything above. Working those rocks on the counter as in surgery allows you to not hit the good areas and focus on the bad areas, to preserve its look and emerge without the algae but keeping the other growths. Five different reefs above run the exact same rip clean method for various invasion challenges, it’s the same action in any tank.


the reason it’s not harmful is because this is how we move reefs home to home, and skip the cycle. They arrive at the new home bright and shiny, nobody complains

Using the same method for gha detailing doesn’t make it bad all of a sudden it’s just applied on a tank not moving homes. Your tank isn’t bad currently but a solid surgical run merely sharpens it up for this coming year and at 15 gallons it’s easy to do. The opening post shows how you’d use one simple rock as a test run vs do the whole tank at once. Remove and detail one rock and put back for observation and if you like it’s outcome, do the tank from the bottom up as a complete job

All the rock is fixed together so I wouldn't be able to take out one piece at a time.

 

[MzunguReef]

All those pieces look to be firmly attached so I would suggest a pincushion, halloween, or tuxedo urchin. As long as the corals cant be moved it is a good option as they will mow down algae, natural and it will do the job for you

I had actually started considering an urchin. Would be a super cool addition to the tank. Would an urchin be happy in such a small tank (15g) that is arguably not fully matured?

 

[MzunguReef]

It can be difficult to sort through everything. Your tank is coming out of a cyano issue so it's a tad out of balance. The GHA is very good at quick nutrient uptake and will out compete everything but cyano.

Until your tank gets that new balance keep applying the basics and increase actions based on tank response.

From what I see it's not bad at all. Keep up with weekly at least manual removal of GHA. Some use suction during water changes and others to a sock in sump or just put in separate container next to tank. I've done all. My best is to clamp a filter sock over the rim hanging inside display and just pull off and dump in. Keep a long turkey baster handy to blow off and suck up loose GHA.

Learn to live with some GHA. If it's not distracting a little isn't a bad thing unless its choking a favorite coral.

For nutrients keep low but detectable. Again nothing really out competes GHA and if it gets established or out of control you'll have to go to the next level...more CUC, chemicals, hob ATS, rock removal.

But for now, I wouldn't do anything drastic as your tank looks pretty good. Best advice, keep up with the manual removal for a few months, watch the nutrients and then see if it's better, same or worse.

Thanks for your response... Tbh some GHA doesn't bother me at all but my inexperience of dealing with it and some of the horror stories of it completely taking over peoples tanks is why I'm getting concerned. I have been trying to remove as much as I can by hand when I do WC but some of the rock at the back of the tank is difficult to get to. Would using a tooth brush to get it off the rocks simply spread the GHA fibres even more around the tank? I assume that if the GHA is still spreading then continuing to feed more than usual as advised by LFS is probably the wrong thing to do? Would the fact that the GHA is still spreading whilst phosphate readings are still showing very low simply mean that the actual phosphate levels are infact much higher and that the GHA is consuming it hence the low readings? If this is the case then I imagine it's not easy to know when your phosphate readings are true or not and if so what would be the best way of knowing that your heading in the right direction?

 

[MzunguReef]

Nice little tank you have! Looking good!

Next water change pull out what you can with fingers and then get at it with a toothbrush.
@Quietman also gave great advice!!

Thank you! It's only a small tank but it's already starting to take over my lifeWould using a toothbrush not make the situation worse by spreading the gha fibres throughout the tank?

 

[fish farmer]

Thank you! It's only a small tank but it's already starting to take over my lifeWould using a toothbrush not make the situation worse by spreading the gha fibres throughout the tank?

Attach the toothbrush to a stiff siphon tube....stainless steel straws are nice, you can really scrape the rock with them. With every water change, pull some out.

I would also consider maybe adding additional snails like a mexican turbo or trochus snails, try a couple in your size tank.

I think your nutrient levels are fine especially since you do have some algae growing in there.

And once that red mushroom gets comfortable and spreads, GHA will be the least of your worries .

 

[dedragon]

I had actually started considering an urchin. Would be a super cool addition to the tank. Would an urchin be happy in such a small tank (15g) that is arguably not fully matured?

should be fine just start with a really small one from live algaebarn, they should come in around 1inch or less. Once the algae is gone supplement with some nori or seaweed based pellets. They work pretty well just to hold back excess algae and are very easy to keep

 

[bnord]

Sweet tank, nicely decorated and balanced corals in it. I also have a 15 gallon peninsula and deal with tufts of algae here and there as well.
Manual removal and regular water changes keep it in check, but really waiting for more Coraline algae to cover up the gaps.
One thing I remarked at your photos is how clearAnd crisp they appear, reflecting in abundance of white light. Was this set this way for the photos? Removing/reducing whites reds and greens from your spectrum certainly will help if no one else has suggested that

and i have a couple of red hermits and 2 small urchins to help.

Some say tail spot blennies add to the clean up too

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

cyano is not caused by low nutrients. You jumped out of the frying pan into the fire....

How to Stop Red Slime Algae in Your Aquarium

Learn the basics of red slime algae (cyanobacteria) in saltwater aquariums, including the most common causes and how to get rid of it.

www.thesprucepets.com

 

[NEFFx]

Dose Hydrogen peroxide is good for Cyano and GHA.
Look at you nutrients. siphon a bit of the sand if you havent in a while. get a cleaner crew if you havent.

 

[Scdell]

Don't get fooled by low po4 readings. If you have GHA then you have more PO4 than you think. It's leaching from the rock. GHA is very efficient at using any PO4. Take it down SLOWLY keeping an eye on the tank. Don't worry about a 0 PO4 reading with a test kit. Keep your Nitrate where it is. Maybe raise it a touch. Nothing good happens quick. Take it slow and it'll go away. Patience.

 

[MzunguReef]

Attach the toothbrush to a stiff siphon tube....stainless steel straws are nice, you can really scrape the rock with them. With every water change, pull some out.

I would also consider maybe adding additional snails like a mexican turbo or trochus snails, try a couple in your size tank.

I think your nutrient levels are fine especially since you do have some algae growing in there.

And once that red mushroom gets comfortable and spreads, GHA will be the least of your worries .

Haha! I Love that red mushroom... And it has just dropped its first baby

I'll try your scrubbing method, seems easy enough and my wife happens to have a stainless steel straw so will give it a go on next wc on Sunday.

I've already go some cuc in there, but might had an urchin as a final addition... Currently have...
2 x trochus + 100s of tiny ones
1 x red hermit
1 x Halloween hermit
1 x dwarf blue hermit
1 x Mexican blue hermit
1 x emerald crab
2 x cleaner shrimp
2 x nassarius snails
2 x cerinth snails
2 x bumble bee snails

 

[MzunguReef]

Sweet tank, nicely decorated and balanced corals in it. I also have a 15 gallon peninsula and deal with tufts of algae here and there as well.
Manual removal and regular water changes keep it in check, but really waiting for more Coraline algae to cover up the gaps.
One thing I remarked at your photos is how clearAnd crisp they appear, reflecting in abundance of white light. Was this set this way for the photos? Removing/reducing whites reds and greens from your spectrum certainly will help if no one else has suggested that

and i have a couple of red hermits and 2 small urchins to help.

Some say tail spot blennies add to the clean up too

Thanks buddy! The coraline is starting to take a hold but its growing quite slowly I've been told my calcium (390 at last test) is a little low and could be a limiting factor?

The light is a standard fluval Evo light which unfortunately doesn't have the ability to be tweaked. It only has 3 setting which are blue, blue/white or white. Photo was taken with blue/white setting. I tend to have blues on at beginning and end of day with whites/blue on for 5-6hrs in the middle of the day.

 

[MzunguReef]

Dose Hydrogen peroxide is good for Cyano and GHA.
Look at you nutrients. siphon a bit of the sand if you havent in a while. get a cleaner crew if you havent.

I do have cuc and occasionally siphon the sand where possible. I'm trying to avoid putting any nasty/strong chemicals in there if I can as don't trust myself to get dosing right. I've resigned myself to the slow and steady option for now.

 

[MzunguReef]

cyano is not caused by low nutrients. You jumped out of the frying pan into the fire....

How to Stop Red Slime Algae in Your Aquarium

Learn the basics of red slime algae (cyanobacteria) in saltwater aquariums, including the most common causes and how to get rid of it.

www.thesprucepets.com

Thank you for the link... Really useful and concise info in there! My lighting could certainly be one of the contributing factors as its a fairly low quality non programmable Fluval light. I have just reduced light period from 9.5hrs hrs to 8hrs so will wait and see if that makes a difference.

It sounds like by following the advise of my LFS and trying to increase phosphates and Nitrates Ive actually exacerbated the issue and put the tank even further out of "balance"