Algae all over rocks

[nyc_love]

Hello everyone. Over the last week, the rocks in my tank are getting covered with this algae. The tank is 150 gallons and about 3.5 month old. Only two fish in the tank right now are two maroon clowns which went in about 6 weeks ago. Any help would be appreciated. I am not sure what to do.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Hello everyone. Over the last week, the rocks in my tank are getting covered with this algae. The tank is 150 gallons and about 3.5 month old. Only two fish in the tank right now are two maroon clowns which went in about 6 weeks ago. Any help would be appreciated. I am not sure what to do.

What are your chemical levels? Also, do you have pictures? Videos don't always load right at times

 

[tbrown]

Does it vacuum easily off the rocks?

As mentioned above what are your phosphates and nitrates?

Did you have any recent deaths like snails or crabs?

Most likely it's just a stage in the ugly phase since your tank is so new.

Did you start with live rock/live sand, brand new water or seeded water from a different system?

What is the intensity and color spectrum of the lights?

 

[RedoubtReef]

First off, this is fairly normal. It's part of a tank maturing. Most likely you need to make sure you have good flow, and add a clean up crew. Lots of different snails, urchin(s), and possibly hermit crabs. Also, if you are feeding frozen food, rinse it in RODI before you feed. Post pics and parameters when you can.

 

[nyc_love]

Thanks for the comments everyone. Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate are all at 0. Phosophate is at 0.25 so I think that's a bit high.

I have a Rowaphos Reactor that's been running for a month and I am just waiting on some more Rowaphos so I can change out the media. I also have a 25 watt UV sterilizer that's been running 24/7 for about 2 weeks (had a bacteria bloom resulting in cloudy water that cleared up with the UV).

I don't have a clean up crew right now but have some hermit crabs in a QT tank that I'll add in in a week or so. I am using CaribSea LifeRocks and used live sand. Besides the initial filling of the tank which used regular water from the tap (sigh), I have an automated daily 3 gallon water change via a Neptune DOS which is using RO/DI water with 0 TDS.

The two maroon clowns seem very happy and eat very well. A couple weeks ago, I had an overfeeding incident which was immediately followed by the bacteria bloom.

I am hopeful this is just the new tank uglies (and maybe lingering from the overfeeding). For now, I have turned off the lights and the room the DT is in is fairly dark with the blinds closed so I am hopeful that the lack of lights will help scale this back.

Refugium being setup next week (just waiting on the delivery of my IceCap 36XL sump).

Any other guidance will be appreciated. Thanks everyone!

 

[tbrown]

The phosphate is highish but mainly just because your nitrates are 0. Bring those up some and it could actually help. I was having similar issues because my phosphates were zero and my nitrates were 35. Now my nitrates are 35 and my phosphates are around 0.06 and my algae is under control.

 

[Reef Psychology]

Thanks for the comments everyone. Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate are all at 0. Phosophate is at 0.25 so I think that's a bit high.

I have a Rowaphos Reactor that's been running for a month and I am just waiting on some more Rowaphos so I can change out the media. I also have a 25 watt UV sterilizer that's been running 24/7 for about 2 weeks (had a bacteria bloom resulting in cloudy water that cleared up with the UV).

I don't have a clean up crew right now but have some hermit crabs in a QT tank that I'll add in in a week or so. I am using CaribSea LifeRocks and used live sand. Besides the initial filling of the tank which used regular water from the tap (sigh), I have an automated daily 3 gallon water change via a Neptune DOS which is using RO/DI water with 0 TDS.

The two maroon clowns seem very happy and eat very well. A couple weeks ago, I had an overfeeding incident which was immediately followed by the bacteria bloom.

I am hopeful this is just the new tank uglies (and maybe lingering from the overfeeding). For now, I have turned off the lights and the room the DT is in is fairly dark with the blinds closed so I am hopeful that the lack of lights will help scale this back.

Refugium being setup next week (just waiting on the delivery of my IceCap 36XL sump).

Any other guidance will be appreciated. Thanks everyone!

I get this kind of slimy growth when nutrients are out of wack. Typically when phosphates are starting to rise. Personally, I don't like trying to raise nitrates because nailing balance is extremely hard. I'm guessing once you get phosphates back in line your problem will go away.