What algae is this?

[DmitryB]

I just ordered some Ammonium Chloride and will start adding that when it comes in. Adding manually I think is best??

I personally let my dosing pump handle it because I prefer to add very small amounts very frequently instead of dumping in a lot of ammonia at once. However, I started with dosing manually and this worked as well. Only if there is a lot of nitrogen demand and you won't see any changes in nitrate over time you might need to use a dosing pump if you don't want to dump in too much ammonia at once.

You dose it all the time? How many things do you dose? I was really hoping to never have to dose more than AFR. LOL.

 

[EnterName]

You dose it all the time? How many things do you dose? I was really hoping to never have to dose more than AFR. LOL.

Ammonia 24x2mL,
Phosphate 4x1.5mL,
and AFR because I got lazy and didn't want to have something like 3-part (Balling) anymore.

I dose ammonia and phosphate constantly as otherwise they would drop below detectable levels, I don't have many fish right now and will need to set up a new quarantine tank before I can add more. Additionally I prefer having to dose nutrients instead of trying to keep them down. Dosing is much easier than removing, especially if you are lazy with water changes

 

[Subsea]

“I prefer having to dose nutrients instead of trying to keep them down. Dosing is much easier than removing, especially if you are lazy with water changes”

I do not consider this lazy. I consider it strategic. However, I am a “Laissez faire reefer”

 

[vetteguy53081]

It's a new tank, only up for a few months. Is this normal green algae/ugly phase? I'm concerned about the air bubbles on it? Or are these dinoflagellates? (This is under white lights; it looks brown under blue lighting.)

Looks to be turf and slime algae. Not dinos

 

[DmitryB]

So this algae is just.... ridiculous. I mean, it is attractive in its own way, but this is not the tank I'm trying to run! So... what do I do here? What's the fix? Just give it time? The filtration on the system now is skimmer (started less than a week ago) and caeto in a refugium (started a few days ago.) Anything I can and should be doing? It's a little cray cray.

 

[Rob A]

Dump a bunch of Hermits in there they will eat it and at minimum they will help keep it in check.

 

[DmitryB]

Dump a bunch of Hermits in there they will eat it and at minimum they will help keep it in check.

I am expecting a CUC on Tuesday (so far the only creatures in there are a few snails that hitchhiked with live sand.) There are 16 scarlet hermits and a crapload of snails coming, plus two conchs. They'll eat all that??? Will a Yellow Tang eat that? (I'm expecting a baby one from Biota.)

 

[dvgyfresh]

I am expecting a CUC on Tuesday (so far the only creatures in there are a few snails that hitchhiked with live sand.) There are 16 scarlet hermits and a crapload of snails coming, plus two conchs. They'll eat all that??? Will a Yellow Tang eat that? (I'm expecting a baby one from Biota.)

Yes , that is the clean up crews job. You will probly need to help with manual removal as well

 

[dvgyfresh]

I am expecting a CUC on Tuesday (so far the only creatures in there are a few snails that hitchhiked with live sand.) There are 16 scarlet hermits and a crapload of snails coming, plus two conchs. They'll eat all that??? Will a Yellow Tang eat that? (I'm expecting a baby one from Biota.)

I have about 15-26 snails , 10-20 hermits , 2 urchins , 1 conch - 20G to give an example and I still need to get in and help remove algae

 

[DmitryB]

I am expecting a CUC on Tuesday (so far the only creatures in there are a few snails that hitchhiked with live sand.) There are 16 scarlet hermits and a crapload of snails coming, plus two conchs. They'll eat all that??? Will a Yellow Tang eat that? (I'm expecting a baby one from Biota.)

I have about 15-26 snails , 10-20 hermits , 2 urchins , 1 conch - 20G to give an example and I still need to get in and help remove algae

 

[DmitryB]

Trying to remove some of the hair algae by hand and it's like brushing a cat! It won't stay still, hair gets loose and flies everywhere, and you realize no matter how much you pull, you're not even making a dent. Is there an efficient way to remove these in large quantities by hand? Has anyone invented a hair algae lawnmower? If not, why not?

 

[CheifReeferNB]

Are you sure this is hair algae and not a species of Bryopsis? If the latter is the case a CUC will do nothing. I’d pull some out and identify. Bryopsis is very common on Florida rock.


If Hair Algae:

Easiest thing you can do is turn off the lights and manually remove as much as you can. CUC won’t really touch the algae when it’s long and flowy. Keep the lights off once you add the snails/inverts

Your best bet is turbo snails, pitho crabs and urchins. They are the best for eating larger filamentous algae. Trochus/margaritas and astreas are not great at that ime. Yellow tangs are good but bristletooths are more voracious for picking at rock.

If Bryopsis:

Some of the algae you’ve shown looks to be fern like (see below), which is a dead giveaway that it’s Bryopsis. If that is the case your only option is either a full tear down or nuke with fluconazole and turn UP the lights ironically. You then have to hope every last spore got killed (easier in a tank with no coral, since you can run it for much longer)

 

[DmitryB]

Are you sure this is hair algae and not a species of Bryopsis? If the latter is the case a CUC will do nothing. I’d pull some out and identify. Bryopsis is very common on Florida rock.


If Hair Algae:

Easiest thing you can do is turn off the lights and manually remove as much as you can. CUC won’t really touch the algae when it’s long and flowy. Keep the lights off once you add the snails/inverts

Your best bet is turbo snails, pitho crabs and urchins. They are the best for eating larger filamentous algae. Trochus/margaritas and astreas are not great at that ime. Yellow tangs are good but bristletooths are more voracious for picking at rock.

If Bryopsis:

Some of the algae you’ve shown looks to be fern like (see below), which is a dead giveaway that it’s Bryopsis. If that is the case your only option is either a full tear down or nuke with fluconazole and turn UP the lights ironically. You then have to hope every last spore got killed (easier in a tank with no coral, since you can run it for much longer)

I mean, I'm not sure. Just following advice on here! You bring bad news. I know anything is possible, but a full teardown would cause a nervous breakdown. What are the downsides of fluconazole? Google tells me it's invert and coral safe.

My fish list for this tank is fluid and I'm not opposed to Bristletooth Tang. (Though I have a Yellow and a Hippo on order to be delivered next Friday the 28th. Both of those are aqucultured so they'll be tiny.) Is 170 ok for a Bristletooth and what's the compatibility with Yellow and Hippo? (Did not anticipate having a Tang tank! LOL)

 

[allof fish]

I mean, I'm not sure. Just following advice on here! You bring bad news. I know anything is possible, but a full teardown would cause a nervous breakdown. What are the downsides of fluconazole? Google tells me it's invert and coral safe.

My fish list for this tank is fluid and I'm not opposed to Bristletooth Tang. (Though I have a Yellow and a Hippo on order to be delivered next Friday the 28th. Both of those are aqucultured so they'll be tiny.) Is 170 ok for a Bristletooth and what's the compatibility with Yellow and Hippo? (Did not anticipate having a Tang tank! LOL)

A bristletooth should get along fine. I belive that’s standard green hair algae. In the earlier videos I don’t think those are Dino’s more likely cyano which does release bubbles are oxygen. The first thing I would look at is your water. How good is your rodi system and are you at 0tds. In my old tank I attributed hair algae to my water as my tds started creeping up as I didn’t have a meter on it and silicates were high in icps. That’s not also the cause but soemthing to keep in mind. I definitely would add a heavy cuc. I like snails the most and I would try to shoot for 1 per g. In a newer tank uglies are to happen. My new tank is 1 month old and although I don’t have algae like that I do have a little film algae on glass and cyano on sand. Just need to let system mature for awhile and everything else will naturally out compete it.

 

[CheifReeferNB]

Are you sure this is hair algae and not a species of Bryopsis? If the latter is the case a CUC will do nothing. I’d pull some out and identify. Bryopsis is very common on Florida rock.


If Hair Algae:

Easiest thing you can do is turn off the lights and manually remove as much as you can. CUC won’t really touch the algae when it’s long and flowy. Keep the lights off once you add the snails/inverts

Your best bet is turbo snails, pitho crabs and urchins. They are the best for eating larger filamentous algae. Trochus/margaritas and astreas are not great at that ime. Yellow tangs are good but bristletooths are more voracious for picking at rock.

If Bryopsis:

Some of the algae you’ve shown looks to be fern like (see below), which is a dead giveaway that it’s Bryopsis. If that is the case your only option is either a full tear down or nuke with fluconazole and turn UP the lights ironically. You then have to hope every last spore got killed (easier in a tank with no coral, since you can run it for much longer)

I mean, I'm not sure. Just following advice on here! You bring bad news. I know anything is possible, but a full teardown would cause a nervous breakdown. What are the downsides of fluconazole? Google tells me it's invert and coral safe.

It is “reef safe with caution” at best. You can read the forums about people’s entire tank dying overnight or all their corals bleaching. In my case, it killed all of my SPS and some of my snails. Fish were fine. It really is a roll of the dice it seems.

Other problem with fluconozale is it won’t kill every bit of it. It will return once you remove it from the water unless you overdose or extend the treatment. Bryopsis roots deep within the rock and can remain dormant for months. For me, it came back almost immediately.

I was disappointed to find out that the Florida live rock I ordered had it on it. I wish they listed that as a “hitchhiker” because you’re almost guaranteed to get some on it.

 

[The Ugly Phase]

that's just ur rocks becoming alive

 

[CheifReeferNB]

Are you sure this is hair algae and not a species of Bryopsis? If the latter is the case a CUC will do nothing. I’d pull some out and identify. Bryopsis is very common on Florida rock.


If Hair Algae:

Easiest thing you can do is turn off the lights and manually remove as much as you can. CUC won’t really touch the algae when it’s long and flowy. Keep the lights off once you add the snails/inverts

Your best bet is turbo snails, pitho crabs and urchins. They are the best for eating larger filamentous algae. Trochus/margaritas and astreas are not great at that ime. Yellow tangs are good but bristletooths are more voracious for picking at rock.

If Bryopsis:

Some of the algae you’ve shown looks to be fern like (see below), which is a dead giveaway that it’s Bryopsis. If that is the case your only option is either a full tear down or nuke with fluconazole and turn UP the lights ironically. You then have to hope every last spore got killed (easier in a tank with no coral, since you can run it for much longer)

I mean, I'm not sure. Just following advice on here! You bring bad news. I know anything is possible, but a full teardown would cause a nervous breakdown. What are the downsides of fluconazole? Google tells me it's invert and coral safe.

My fish list for this tank is fluid and I'm not opposed to Bristletooth Tang. (Though I have a Yellow and a Hippo on order to be delivered next Friday the 28th. Both of those are aqucultured so they'll be tiny.) Is 170 ok for a Bristletooth and what's the compatibility with Yellow and Hippo? (Did not anticipate having a Tang tank! LOL)

Easiest way to tell if it’s Bryopsis or not is to take it out and see if you can see fern like structures. It can be very small and hard to tell. There’s many different species.

 

[DmitryB]

A bristletooth should get along fine. I belive that’s standard green hair algae. In the earlier videos I don’t think those are Dino’s more likely cyano which does release bubbles are oxygen. The first thing I would look at is your water. How good is your rodi system and are you at 0tds. In my old tank I attributed hair algae to my water as my tds started creeping up as I didn’t have a meter on it and silicates were high in icps. That’s not also the cause but soemthing to keep in mind. I definitely would add a heavy cuc. I like snails the most and I would try to shoot for 1 per g. In a newer tank uglies are to happen. My new tank is 1 month old and although I don’t have algae like that I do have a little film algae on glass and cyano on sand. Just need to let system mature for awhile and everything else will naturally out compete it.

I totally get the ugly phase, I'm just really paranoid about everything and this algae is just getting longer and longer! And I'd remove it manually, but sheesh! Just seems impossible.

I'm now researching Bristletooth Tang. (Same as Kole?) There are appear to be different color variations. I assume they're all the same as far as behaviors? And also looking at a Tuxedo urchin. I have 3 hitchhiker urchins (I think it's 3, definitely 2 and I think I saw another one) that came with the rock (look like Purple Spiky urchins), but they're pretty small and not sure they're doing a whole lot for this algae.

Interestingly my 40 gallon avoided the hair algae (fingers crossed!) I have some regular green algae and even that's decreasing slowly.

I only just put in a skimmer on this 170 but it's not easy dialing it in. Just started a refugium less than a week ago. And a UV (very oversized) is in the works.

My RO/DI water is pretty good. I turned my original 5 stage into 7 stage and it is a 0 tds.

 

[DmitryB]

that's just ur rocks becoming alive

A little less alive would be great!!

 

[The Ugly Phase]

A little less alive would be great!!

why bright white rocks look horrible