At wits end with GHA

[mcarroll]

All magic bullets seem to be over-rated.

If you have or can get a microscope (including a $10 toy scope off amazon/ebay) you can look closer and maybe get a real idea of what algae it is.

Snails being cut off from other food sources would be the main key here....lighting the bucket would probably not be an issue. However you want to play it. Since there don't appear to be any corals, then dark may be just as well.

 

[justinm]

Well I’m starting to think it’s Green Turf Algae. Any ideas on what to do for this?

 

[mcarroll]

Can you remove it manually it does it seem too well-rooted to pull off the rock? Turf algae is usually tough, anchored to the rock.

As far as getting something to eat it, green algae that are up against nutrient limitation are likely to be less palatable. This may be the case for yours if nothing is eating it.

In fact, nutrient-limited algae that's subject to damage (i.e. grazing) might be even more likely to be unpalatable.

Plus even if I'm wrong on that tangent, your CUC has been light...and I think you were still planning to add more last I remember. If you can borrow an herbivore fish from your 120, that would be ideal. Or buy one for the 40 that you can transfer into the 120 when it gets too big. (Assuming you have room.)

Spot Treating
If you want to try h2o2, try spot-treating some of this in the tank. During lights-on, use a small ≤5mL syringe loaded with grocery store h2o2 (with the pumps off) to cover 1-2 square inches of rock that has the offending algae. That algae will be gone in a day or so. I'd be tempted to manuall drop a large snail onto that patch on Day 2 and let him start working his way out.

You can work through the tank in patches like that to help things a long, but I would do no more than one patch a day.

Keep adding small additions to the CUC until you see them making a difference.

 

[mcarroll]

Oh, and if you aren't already (and if possible) you should be manually removing all you can. Scrub and siphon too if that seems to help.

 

[Gareth elliott]

This is anecdotal at best.
While battling bubble algae i got gha or turf algae all over my rock work. I did a multiprong attack.
Cleaned all my rocks as best i could.
Did multiple pwc in that week.
Changed my filter sock on the last day.
Reduced daily feeding to a 1/5.
Upgraded my fuge light.
Dosed 1ml of peroxide per 10 gallons every day.
Added gfo and carbon. Rated carbon for tank size gfo 1/4 tank size.
I did not actually test no3 or po4 but assumed it was growing from something. I Do test alk and ca regularly.
I continued weekly pwc of 10% after this.
By day 17 Algae in the DT was manageable. There was still have hair algae in the sump I had to cut out.

Again this is all anecdotal I dont know what worked and what was unnecessary. I still feed at a reduced amounts. I also wet skim.

 

[justinm]

I started dosing 1ml/10 gallons on the rock holding tank to see if that would help. FWIW, I took out a piece of algae and placed it in a cup of peroxide for a day, nothing happened!

The algae pulls off, but not to the roots. It’s definitely a tough algae whatever it is.

 

[40B Knasty]

I started dosing 1ml/10 gallons on the rock holding tank to see if that would help. FWIW, I took out a piece of algae and placed it in a cup of peroxide for a day, nothing happened!

The algae pulls off, but not to the roots. It’s definitely a tough algae whatever it is.

Is it GHA grow on top of bryopsis? Bryopsis has fern like leaves. My GHA is growing on the bryopsis.
If you can get your hands on Sea Hare. Do it! A sea hare will make short work of GHA.

 

[Mark Gray]

I had GHA bad also. I was running a kessel h80. I upgraded to a kessel h380 and slowly but surely it is going away good luck

 

[justinm]

Is it GHA grow on top of bryopsis? Bryopsis has fern like leaves. My GHA is growing on the bryopsis.
If you can get your hands on Sea Hare. Do it! A sea hare will make short work of GHA.

I dosed fluconazole and it barely knocked it back. Was going to try a second dose but haven’t had much time to order any. Been working 20 hour days.

 

[justinm]

Here is another pic of whatever algae it is. I am definitely thinking green turf because nothing is working! I am thinking of ordering vibrant to see if that works. This is my last option with this rock or it will be in a tub with muriatic acid.

 

[Gareth elliott]

Before you go that drastic with the rock.
How are you currently filtering?
How large and spaced are pwc?
What is your nitrate and phosphate running. If dont have a test kit for these or are inaccurate or cant tell concentrations low enough for sw get your lfs to test this for you.

How many fish, how much food each day?

I have seen very few tanks that algae has won after enough time has passed and aquarist found a happy medium where the the live stock thrive and algae is present but not interfering with the tank.

 

[MSB123]

lawnmower blenny or yellow tang- i would try either of those for about a week or two and they will knock it right back

 

[justinm]

My tank became a rescue tank from my 120. I had a Potter’s nipping at stuff. Right now there are only 2 clowns in that tank. I have tried all methods from fluconazole, peroxide, lights out, scrubbing. This algae takes complete control and does not stop growing. My tests all show 0, I know this is a false. My clam is about covered in algae now so he will have to come out and get scrubbed.

Filtration is just a sump with chaeto and a protein skimmer with gfo run in a bag. The rock is probably 5 years old and has been sitting in a 10 gallon tank with a black trash bag over it being dosed with 1ml of peroxide daily and the algae is growing.

 

[chris k.]

I had this problem a few months ago gha was flowing in the current. I have a 110 and did a manual scrub then added 50 hermits. Havent had a problem since.

 

[justinm]

GHA is a piece of cake compared to green turf algae. This stuff grows in complete darkness. I’ll order vibrant tomorrow and see if it helps.

 

[HiddenUser]

I recently went through this as well.

Manually scrub the rocks, maybe be a bit more aggressive with water changes for the next few weeks, at least 20% every week for the next 2-4 weeks, and add more to your CUC.

You might have to take on 2-3 separate sessions of scrubbing rocks and water changes. Obviously give your rocks a really good scrubbing first, then do a big water change. I also quit dosing everything else for this period of time as well. The water changes alone were enough to keep the parameters in check.

Took a couple weeks but my tank is 99.9% rid of the GHA at this point.

 

[DanConnor]

The only algae eliminator that has worked for me is the API algae fix. And an urchin, of course.

 

[justinm]

Algaefix contains antibiotics and makes me nervous dosing, as for GHA, I wish I had that. GHA is a piece of cake compared to green turf algae. I have been doing religious water changes, scrubbing the rocks numerous times, did peroxide dips, etc. The problem is I can’t get the algae down to the roots and it comes back with a vengeance.

 

[brandon429]

Peroxide is being used incorrectly here. We have a way to fix your algae at any time if you follow a certain order of ops. I hate to see the invasion continue when stopping it is avail

the sole cause of your continued invasion is allowing it to grow, I promise it can be beaten. why not do test rock modeling before you begin, that's where your proof comes from

another reason Id like to work this challenge is because the delay time has pent up detritus inside the rocks and we need a full approach to turn this around. this could be a great example of a quick tank fix with not much effort.

glad there's no sandbed to work with/saves work.

about five ordered steps will stop your headache, I can see your algae is about to cause you to take really harsh action but in all fairness you haven't given us a valid go, you tried other methods so far.

 

[brandon429]

All magic bullets seem to be over-rated.

ps

whats overrated is self-stickying any cure thread that doesn't have straight fixes page after page, Justin has wrestled too long using an indirect approach.

We earn our upkeep in the action threads, where we do not coax an invader out but rather force them out. we save a thousand tanks in action threads and post the after pics, consistently. we name the time the results will be earned and whether or not collateral invasions or losses are going to result.



we earn after pics, for years.





result threads require no sticky advantage, they self support.