Can I get an ID on this algae, please?

Nroddot · Apr 20, 2020

Beginner reefer with a newish tank here. (about three months old) Can I please get an ID on this algae? Not sure what else it could be besides green hair algae, but I'm not very familiar with algae types yet.

This stuff is just completely taking over and showed up a week or so after my diatom booms receded. It's on the rocks, sand, overflow box, glass. My tank just looks awful right now. I'm running phosguard in a reactor and I'm going to get a few astrea snails tomorrow. Admittedly, I was overfeeding. I have cut way back on food recently.

Mikedawg · Apr 20, 2020

Think you're right about GHA. Part of your tank maturing probably and you've already got a plan in place. I would manually remove as much as I could and watch water parameters.

vetteguy53081 · Apr 20, 2020

Snail food: 3-4 astrea. turbo, trochus and margarita snails. also about a dozen blue leg hermits. Reduce white light intensity a little also

Nroddot · Apr 20, 2020

Thank you.

I have ten astrea snails being shipped today -- they'll be arriving tomorrow. I use the Reef LED 90s, I was running whites at 25% and have lowered them to 10%. Also, I'm prepping an area in my sump for a refugium. I'm going to start growing some chaeto.

Think it's too early to get a tang? Only fish I have are a few chromises and two clowns -- they've been in the tank for nearly two months now and are doing well. A yellow tang was always on my stock list, but I did want to wait for the tank to mature a bit before purchasing one. But this algae outbreak is making me consider adding one sooner than I initially planned. I was told that they love hair algae.