Green Algae in Saltwater Tank

[tylerm1122]

Hey There!

We have a problem with excessive green algae in our tank. We thought it was coralline algae at first, but are now having our doubts. We treated the tank with Chemiclean and it removed all/most of the red cyano algae. Replaced our lighting system with current USA full spectrum LEDs on the loop timer, so the light is on the same schedule as the sun. The red algae slowly started to come back, but the green algae never skipped a beat. The video attached was taken during our second cycle of chemiclean and all the bubbles are a bi-product from the protein skimmer/air stone. IS this green algae good? Should we let it continue to grow? How do we get rid of it?

 

[ihavecrabs]

@tylerm1122

First thing, #WelcometoR2R !!

Can you tell us a little on how old the tank is? I have used Chemiclean in the past with some success but always found that while it eliminated my cyano, it led to either algae or dinoflagellates taking its place.

If the system is new, I would add small amounts of bacteria (Dr Tims One and Only, Microbacter, etc) and siphon out what you can with your water change regiment. The tank will stabilize given time IMO.

#reefsquad any other recommendations?

 

[lapin]

Howdy and welcome
My ipinion:
Algae is not bad unless it takes over your tank. Like posted above Chemiclean will alter your tanks natural chemistry. You have now experienced one of the results, green algae. The snail loves you. Your other result is the cyano is coming back. I do not see any corals or things that might take up the nutrients in your tank. Your best bet is like @ihavecrabs says add some other bacterias that will compete with the green stuff. You can scrub the rocks and suck out the alage. Since your tank looks new to me i believe this will be one of your ugly stages and will pass with time and some maintainace. Since algae needs light you could turn off the lights for a few days if you have nothing requiring light. This will be a temporary fix. Will most likely come back when the light comes back on.

 

[Ron Reefman]

Hi @tylerm1122 and welcome to Reef2Reef.

It could help if you tell us a lot more about your tank and your water testing results. The more we know, the better the chances are we can provide helpful info for you.

Do you have a sump and/or a refugium?
Do you have any algae eating fish?
How much flow do you have in the tank?
what do you feed the tank and how much, how often?
And lots more helpful info.