Trying to get my reef back on its feet. There is not a lot of this algae on in a few places. But id like to get rid of it before it becomes a big problem. Can i dip a bowerbanki frag in 50/50 h202. Is there anything i can add that will eat this type of algae. Or should i remove the rock from the tank and apply h202. Tank is about a year old. Plan on dipping my zoa frags in h202 to get rid of algae
Algae id please
- Thread starter Fishko
- Start date
- Tagged users None
JGT
5000 Club Member
Green hair algae. Manually remove/siphon out, check NO3 and PO4 are in range, lessen feeding, shorten light intervals, add CUC if you don’t have and a tang or 2 depending on tank size and lawnmower blenny. Be patient. Will take time to eradicate.
Jilly92
Valuable Member
Emerald crab has made a big dent in algae in one of my pico tanks,urchin helped as well.Trying to get my reef back on its feet. There is not a lot of this algae on in a few places. But id like to get rid of it before it becomes a big problem. Can i dip a bowerbanki frag in 50/50 h202. Is there anything i can add that will eat this type of algae. Or should i remove the rock from the tank and apply h202. Tank is about a year old. Plan on dipping my zoa frags in h202 to get rid of algae
Subsea
5000 Club Member
I regularly dip live rock with corals in a 10% solution of H202 for ten minutes.
www.reefcleaners.org
Bryopsis pennata and B. plumosa
Some of the hardest to remove common species of macroalgae encountered in the hobby are B. pennata and B. plumosa. These two species have noticeable discernible midribs (center portion of the algae), that are wider than their branches. They also form a mat like root system on the rocks.
B. pennata (pictured on the left) has irregular and more sparse branching than its closely related cousin B. plumosa which has more symmetrical and fuller branching. (picture coming)There are many, many species of Green Hair Algae that have feathery branching, and are not necessarily members of the Bryopsis genus, nevermind B. pennata and B. plumosa. Simply because the hair algae in your system has branches does not mean it is one of these algae species.
The reason hobbyists despise finding this algae in their tank is because cleaner crews rarely finish it off when they snack on it. Sea hares, Pitho Crabs, nudibranchs, urchins, Emerald Crabs, chitons, and even the larger Astraea tuber will eat both of these species, but often do not consume it faster than it can grow, or the algae lingers half eaten.
PS. Check out reefcleaners link to better identify undesirable algae.
Reef Cleaners
A good guide to identify most of the nuisance algae that plagues the hobby. Complete with pictures and suggested treatments
Bryopsis pennata and B. plumosa
Some of the hardest to remove common species of macroalgae encountered in the hobby are B. pennata and B. plumosa. These two species have noticeable discernible midribs (center portion of the algae), that are wider than their branches. They also form a mat like root system on the rocks.
B. pennata (pictured on the left) has irregular and more sparse branching than its closely related cousin B. plumosa which has more symmetrical and fuller branching. (picture coming)There are many, many species of Green Hair Algae that have feathery branching, and are not necessarily members of the Bryopsis genus, nevermind B. pennata and B. plumosa. Simply because the hair algae in your system has branches does not mean it is one of these algae species.
The reason hobbyists despise finding this algae in their tank is because cleaner crews rarely finish it off when they snack on it. Sea hares, Pitho Crabs, nudibranchs, urchins, Emerald Crabs, chitons, and even the larger Astraea tuber will eat both of these species, but often do not consume it faster than it can grow, or the algae lingers half eaten.
PS. Check out reefcleaners link to better identify undesirable algae.
Jilly92
Valuable Member
I cant believe your tank is a year old and you haven't ran into any hair algae yet, thats baffling lolTrying to get my reef back on its feet. There is not a lot of this algae on in a few places. But id like to get rid of it before it becomes a big problem. Can i dip a bowerbanki frag in 50/50 h202. Is there anything i can add that will eat this type of algae. Or should i remove the rock from the tank and apply h202. Tank is about a year old. Plan on dipping my zoa frags in h202 to get rid of algae
Im very shocked too. Recently my phosphate spiked. So it explains the hair algae. But here is proof
recently neglected the tank with school. But have more free time right now. Really want to get everything fixed, corals are a little angry right now. Tank had been cycling since of august 2019. Had fish only for a few months because i had to save up for lights
Jilly92
Valuable Member
Did you have any live rock to start off with or did you do dry rock? Cyano sucks I'm dealing with a little of that too. Ive had my tanks since August just took a pic for another postIm very shocked too. Recently my phosphate spiked. So it explains the hair algae. But here is proof
I started with dry rock the cyano has gone away. It was because i was messing around with aminos. Chemi clean worked very well for me, just drove skimmer nuts. Kept power heads running to the surface and skimmer overflowing for oxegenation. Looks like its only on back glass for you. I have a little only on the back glass now. I did a half dose of chemiclean a few months ago. But maybe try manual removal?
Jilly92
Valuable Member
Not on the back glass lol I painted lightening bolts with black sky and some glitter in the bolts, so maybe that's reflecting lol. My cyano is in front on the sand bed. Ya I thought about ordering amino too, but I need to get a couple more tests before I start dosing. You can see it better in this pic. I used chemiclean once I started pico tank and turned the sandbed lime green, so I'm iffy on that.
