What's the first thing you do when you see it? Panic?

[mattdg]

1.) manual removal
2.) reduce feeding to encourage tangs to eat algae and reduce nutrient throughput
3.) check PO4 and replace GFO if necessary
4.) check RODI filters
5.) Inspect tank for anything that may have died. If that is the problem see step 6.
6.) Increase daily light duration in the algae scrubber
7.) Large Water Change (40%) (2x back to back over two weeks, if something died)
8.) If it is HA or Bryopsis and encroaching on coral growth, Fluconozole 2 treatments back to back, two weeks each. First clean all pumps (especially return pump) to be sure all aquarium filters and components are fully submerged during treatment. Remove carbon and skimmer cup for entire one month treatment.

I never add additional cleanup crew to take care of a problem having to do with excess nutrients, but I will replace critical members such as my abolone if it has passed due to age.

 

[brandon429]

@Calm Blue Ocean

id like to work that tank remotely if you want to, some details stand out in your description, mainly the willingness to directly access, we can work wonders with that

lemme know if you want to try a neat custom changeup it will zap that algae right out. I can see by the rocks in the background the tank is new and just needs some gardening tricks nbd

lemme know if you want to run some simple pre model tests on a single example rock, we don’t have to work the whole tank until we get just the test rock fully compliant (Common algae solutions change up your whole reef parameter set before even knowing if it works, or have you dose retail meds into the tank not knowing if they work, we can pre model)

if you don’t want to change course/ understood, it might work out in time. But sometimes these threads get me good work thread jobs so I ask for participants.

 

[Twitchy]

Out of curiosity, under what scenario anywhere in life is panic a useful response?

I think most situations usually involve running from large cats.

 

[gary henkel]

If I see Algae, the first thing I do is try to get as much of it out as I can. I’ll pull it out by hand and do a water change using a small hose to suck out every bit that I can get. The next thing I will do is test my water. Water perimeters have a lot to do with algae.

I always have an ICP test ready as well. I will take water samples and mail it in ASAP just to be sure. The last time I had a bad algae out break it was due to some parameters I could not test for with home test kits. It has been well over a year since I’ve had any algae outbreak.

To be honest the best method for removing algae is not getting it in the first place. (DUH!!) Having a plan in place when you get it is great, but having a preventative routine is even better.

I run macroalgae in a reactor and I also check my water parameters religiously... to a fault. I don’t care if others think I am wasting my time/money by the amount I test. I want the best looking tank I can have and I want the best life I can give my inhabitants.

absolutely agree with you but i would add i do water changes while waiting for results.
gary

 

[Calm Blue Ocean]

@Calm Blue Ocean

id like to work that tank remotely if you want to, some details stand out in your description, mainly the willingness to directly access, we can work wonders with that

lemme know if you want to try a neat custom changeup it will zap that algae right out. I can see by the rocks in the background the tank is new and just needs some gardening tricks nbd

lemme know if you want to run some simple pre model tests on a single example rock, we don’t have to work the whole tank until we get just the test rock fully compliant (Common algae solutions change up your whole reef parameter set before even knowing if it works, or have you dose retail meds into the tank not knowing if they work, we can pre model)

if you don’t want to change course/ understood, it might work out in time. But sometimes these threads get me good work thread jobs so I ask for participants.

The tank turns four months old this week so yes, still just getting started. Amazing how quickly it can go from stark white dry rock to fields of green! Other than the initial bacteria to start the tank there have been no types of bottled intervention, just the work of regular water changes, a small scrub brush, and a hungry CUC. For now I'm finally seeing positive progress so I'm going to stay the course but thank you for your offer! I will come back to this if I find myself losing ground.

 

[Lasse]

I order more CUC and more variants of CUC.

Sincerely Lasse

 

[Debramb]

Kinda chill and watch!

 

[Pistol Peet]

I bang my head against the wall over and over as hard as I can I do it hard enough the next time I look I don't see it don't see anything LOL;Nailbiting

 

[NigelRichardson]

As a new reefer I find this whole topic terrifying....

The whole "Algae's coming - it's not here yet, but everyone gets it - Its going to happen to you - just you wait until the ugly tank phase comes - lots of people quit and break down the tank when they cant get past it" fear is killing me...

Its not happened yet, but the expectation that it can / will.... I must be the only person in the world who'd in some way like it to happen just so I can "tick the box" - the suspense is almost worse than an outbreak !

 

[PokeFish]

As a new reefer I find this whole topic terrifying....

The whole "Algae's coming - it's not here yet, but everyone gets it - Its going to happen to you - just you wait until the ugly tank phase comes - lots of people quit and break down the tank when they cant get past it" fear is killing me...

Its not happened yet, but the expectation that it can / will.... I must be the only person in the world who'd in some way like it to happen just so I can "tick the box" - the suspense is almost worse than an outbreak !

HAHAHAH IT WILL COME SOON! It already happen to me.

 

[brandon429]

legit concern. I wouldnt say its the majority of outcomes, total invasion, but a good solid 40% are going to see that especially due to using all dry rocks with no primed surfaces, coralline (actually physically rejects algae) etc

so here are tuning tricks that will make a measurable dent in the 40% likelihood, we use these in the nuisance algae forum lots of times:

1. no more rock stacks, arches, expoxied arrangements like we'd wished for. If you want to raise the chance of success, make a scape that is removable from the tank / can be set on the kitchen counter. However you want to arrange it, make that the outstanding character of your aquascape, removability vs locked in the tank until 2030 and nine reasons you cannot access the rocks outside the tank. that alone means we can fix nearly any issue you will have from aiptasia to algae.
The number one issue in the nuisance algae forum is reasons they can't/won't access their rocks out of the tank (just glued them, too big, Id have to unstack it all) anticipate excuses, remove them beforehand in your design.

in many tanks we drained down the water, accessed the rocks in the air but still inside the tank. killed the algae, wiped it off the rocks, refilled. be creative in access.

2. if you have a massive tank and that can't be done, Im sorry lol. guess its more helpful for smaller tanks.

3. white vs blue light spectrum output. Having medium to strong white spectrum lighting/ 10K look vs the windex ugly blue 20K look causes a notable shift in plant growth, heavier blues and less whites is less uglies as a noted pattern. only take pics in white light, run it blue for less uglies.


4. Do not start a reef by adsorbing phosphates and nitrates in attempts to starve expected algae unless you want dinos, make accessibility and hand guiding outside the tank occasionally the go-to method. at the start, let your phosphates and nitrates be what they will, dont even test for them for the first few months. be physical, vs chemical, be hand-accessing the rocks for cleaning, keep your params in line to grow corals not starve algae. for the win at the start, be doing water changes, guide out the uglies like we tend a new garden for dandelions by ripping them out of the soil.

 

[HuduVudu]

As a new reefer I find this whole topic terrifying....

The whole "Algae's coming - it's not here yet, but everyone gets it - Its going to happen to you - just you wait until the ugly tank phase comes - lots of people quit and break down the tank when they cant get past it" fear is killing me...

Its not happened yet, but the expectation that it can / will.... I must be the only person in the world who'd in some way like it to happen just so I can "tick the box" - the suspense is almost worse than an outbreak !

Quality live rock goes a long way toward "stopping" algae outbreaks.

 

[brandon429]

sure does. I like to see interesting little clues in all the invasion threads: in about 90% of cases algae is not anchored on the coralline spots. about 98% actually

once we search through the invasion threads for the before pics, we can see coralline stopping algae


also stops algae: coral flesh


that means if your rock surfaces are all coral mouths, no algae can grow physically, having nothing to do with phosphate or nitrate or starving algae.


nobody has a plerogyra bubble coral with algae on the bubble, not anyone. coral flesh/lps flesh is 100% bioexcluding better than coralline.

bare areas, corallite exposure areas all legit anchor points. but not where flesh goes

maximizing things that reject algae is nice because they dont stress your corals or bleach them as a form of withholding something.

Dinos are not affected by rejection as easily, so plan around not causing dinos in trying to beat hair algae by using parameter controls

zoanthids are opposite, they can have algae anchor on them and on the little bits of inclusions picked up in the basal tissue

 

[adobo]

I think most situations usually involve running from large cats.

I know it sounds counter-intuitive but turning your back and fleeing a predator is usually the worst thing to do. It triggers them to pursue and attack. This is true of predatory sharks and it is true for large cats.

 

[schuby]

I know it sounds counter-intuitive but turning your back and fleeing a predator is usually the worst thing to do. It triggers them to pursue and attack. This is true of predatory sharks and it is true for large cats.

And bears!

 

[ShepherdReefer]

I am currently dealing with, what I think it is, tough-algae. I have sent both the seawater and RO water for ICP analysis. Nothing really stood out. The other day, I decided to perform an analysis on my own because even though the Hanna phosphate tester said the display seawater was 0.03 does not mean that is true. Well, it is true but if the algae feed on phosphates and I have a problem with algae, then the phosphates are really higher than 0.03. So I looked at the ICP analysis for the RO water and noticed the silicon was 21.71 and the display tank seawater was 0.30. That got me to think. I reached out to a friend and after our discussion, I make a fresh patch of RO water, the TDS meter read somewhere around 23. After 5-minutes, I discarded that RO water and started over, TDS read 000. ln the past when making RO for either ATO or water for a water change, I would just turn on the RO machine and start making water.
Well, if the TDS meter is reading 23, that could be causing the phosphates. Now, I run the RO for 5-minutes, discard, re-ran for 5-minutes, and test. If the TDS is 000, then I will continue to make water for the WC. After making a new batch of seawater, I tested the phosphates and read 000.

With that, I made up some RO water for the ATO a few days ago. I decided to test the water in the ATO tank. The TDS was like 030 something. Yesterday, I removed the water and made a fresh patch with a TDS reading of 000. today, I tested the RO water and it read 003...don't know why it went from 000 to 003.

I will see if this works. Over 30-years as fish only tanks, a newbie with corals/fish tank.

 

[oldbob50]

Algae is part of a reef environment. A healthy reef needs it. In fact, green hair algae is the only thing that will grow in my fug. So it is my nutrient export algae and the rocks and walls are covered with it. The pods love it. I have a few small patches of GHA in the DT but my CUC keeps it to a minimum. What they don't get, gets sucked out with a siphon hose or spot hit with H2O2. In general, I'm trying for a natural reef environment, so my tank is anything but pristine. If I see a coral reacting to something growing on or near it, then I would take action to correct the situation but I don't freak out about algae growing on the rocks. In a balanced system, the algae is just one essential part and it will not become a problem unless the system is unbalanced.

 

[BackToTheReef]

In a previous life it was a little of all of the above. Now it is a little more take a step back and figure out what is happening. Is it normal stuff or is something out of the ordinary making itself known...well that's the goal on the next tank at least.

 

[Karling]

I hope to always have that type of algae under control. I have picked up a very healthy group of fish that are all built for cleaning something or another.

Work Crew
1 Bristle Tooth Tang - Lawn Mower
1 Yellow Tang (I wish now I would have gotten three) - Lawn Mower
1 Banded Gobi - Lawn Mower
1 Six Line Wrasse - Pests
1 Fairy Wrasse - Lawn Mower/Pests
1 Midas Blenny - Lawn Mower (Occasionally) This fish is weird
1 Coral Beauty - Lawn Mower

None Work Crew
2 Clowns -
1 Gramma -
2 Anthias

I still want to pick up two or three more fish. likely this is my list

Hippo Tang
Foxface
Copperband Butterfly or Pyramid Butterfly

 

[NigelRichardson]

Quality live rock goes a long way toward "stopping" algae outbreaks.

100% Paleo sand and Marco rocks - Oh - and keeping ALL of my fingers crossed - all of them. All the time...