Ulva outbreak and low nutrients

[mp2022]

Hi all, I have a 40sh gallon mixed reef that has been going through various phases of algae. Green hair algae, then bubble algae, and now Ulva lettuce algae with milder degrees of GHA. My tank is about 6 months old at this point, and my parameters are around:

pH 8.3
Salinity 35
Nitrates are undetectable
Phosphate 0.03-0.04
Mg 1200-1230
Ca 390-400
Alk 8

I have 6 fish - 2 clowns, court jester goby, orchid dotty back, striped blenny, and watchman goby

CUC - a bunch of nassarius/astrea/cerith snails; 2 brittle stars; sea cucumber; 2 emerald crabs; 2 pitho crabs

I dose with all-for-reef and supplement further to keep my Mg from dropping below 1200.

I have a refugium that is now completely full of chaeto. The lettuce just keeps growing, and I am assuming the reason my nutrients are low is that it and the cheato just keeps consuming them.

I would like to get my nitrates higher, but I am concerned dosing nitrates will further fuel the lettuce outbreak. I wouldn't really care too much about the lettuce, except its now encroaching on my Montis, which are now just starting to take off, and am concerned it will stifle the growth.

So my questions are:
1) Can lettuce and algae outbreaks in general stall coral growth? I have read mixed opinions on this.
2) What is the best way to curb or reduce the lettuce algae while not further bottoming out nutrients? My CUC is decent but thinking of adding Turbos to help with this.

Appreciate the help!

 

[Ziggy17]

If you can get your hands on a sea hare, they make short work of most algae. But because it’s a small tank, once it’s gone, you will need to rehome it as it will starve.

Start dosing some nitrate if you can and slowly bring it up to 10ppm ish. There’s a DIY recipe on this forum or buy some commercial stuff. Keep in mind that once the lettuce is gone, your nitrate will naturally come back up as it’s not being consumed by algae any more. It’s just a band aid until the tank is macro algae free.

 

[Dread Pirate Dave]

Hi all, I have a 40sh gallon mixed reef that has been going through various phases of algae. Green hair algae, then bubble algae, and now Ulva lettuce algae with milder degrees of GHA. My tank is about 6 months old at this point, and my parameters are around:

pH 8.3
Salinity 35
Nitrates are undetectable
Phosphate 0.03-0.04
Mg 1200-1230
Ca 390-400
Alk 8

I have 6 fish - 2 clowns, court jester goby, orchid dotty back, striped blenny, and watchman goby

CUC - a bunch of nassarius/astrea/cerith snails; 2 brittle stars; sea cucumber; 2 emerald crabs; 2 pitho crabs

I dose with all-for-reef and supplement further to keep my Mg from dropping below 1200.

I have a refugium that is now completely full of chaeto. The lettuce just keeps growing, and I am assuming the reason my nutrients are low is that it and the cheato just keeps consuming them.

I would like to get my nitrates higher, but I am concerned dosing nitrates will further fuel the lettuce outbreak. I wouldn't really care too much about the lettuce, except its now encroaching on my Montis, which are now just starting to take off, and am concerned it will stifle the growth.

So my questions are:
1) Can lettuce and algae outbreaks in general stall coral growth? I have read mixed opinions on this.
2) What is the best way to curb or reduce the lettuce algae while not further bottoming out nutrients? My CUC is decent but thinking of adding Turbos to help with this.

Appreciate the help!

Are you harvesting your chaeto and lettuce? Taking it down to a level that keeps it from removing all of your nitrates seems like an easy step to try.

Edit note: also consider a shorter lighting schedule for your refugium to curb it's growth.

 

[Dread Pirate Dave]

I'm not a fan of ulva for refugiums, personally. This is one of the reasons:

Did my Ulva go sexual?

I added some Ulva to my sump fuge and it has generally done very poorly. However, a few weeks ago I start noticing green specs on the back glass of the display. Over time I realized that they are tiny Ulva! Assuming this is the case, I didn't realize that ulva would "Stick" to things to grow.

www.reef2reef.com

 

[CHSUB]

The lettuce just keeps growing, and I am assuming the reason my nutrients are low is that it and the cheato just keeps consuming them

Your assumption is completely false according to all science in the known universe, Glass Boxes and The Matrix are the exception but only because reality is a simulation.

 

[mp2022]

Your assumption is completely false according to all science in the known universe, Glass Boxes and The Matrix are the exception but only because reality is a simulation.

Lol well what I meant by that comment is that despite my 2-3x/day heavy feedings, I am assuming that the reason my nitrates are low is that their rate of uptake/utilization by the Chaeto and nuisance algae is fast enough such that the amount of detectable nitrates in the tank remains low. But I am just learning this stuff so I wouldn’t be surprised if I am wrong…

 

[CHSUB]

Lol well what I meant by that comment is that despite my 2-3x/day heavy feedings, I am assuming that the reason my nitrates are low is that their rate of uptake/utilization by the Chaeto and nuisance algae is fast enough such that the amount of detectable nitrates in the tank remains low. But I am just learning this stuff so I wouldn’t be surprised if I am wrong…

Yes, but that is a good thing. Heavy feeding, healthy fish and corals and low to undetectable no3 with hobby test kits is perfect! Harvest/remove the algae as it grows….