Green algae on my rock HELP

[Afish70]

Sorry not the best pic. But can someone tell me what kind of green algae this is and how i can get rid of it. I have a 90 gallon mixed reef tank with about 110 lbs rock that has this all over it. Tank has been up and running for about 4 years now and this stuff has been a thorn in my side for a long time. Any assistance is greatly appreciated.

 

[Ron Reefman]

I can't tell you what kind of algae it is, but I've had it in my tank before.

What have you done to try and remove it? Do you have a refugium? And reactors for GFO or phosphate removal?

What kind of water parameters do you have:
Ca, alk, Mg, nitrate & phosphate?

 

[Afish70]

i have tried using a UV sterilizer but not much really yet. i was trying to identify and/or see what others have done to get rid of it before i start using any additives to my system. I currently do not have a refugium nor am I running any reactor. I have a HOB skimmer and was going to put some carbon in it to see if that changes anything or not.

 

[Ron Reefman]

Carbon in the skimmer? That won't help.

Algae needs food (nitrate and phosphate... think fertilizer) and light.

Nitrate and phosphate levels will help some since you don't have a refugium or a reactor. Also, do you do water changes? How often and what percentage of the tank do you change?

Over feeding can seriously contribute to high nitrate and phosphate levels. Going in by hand and removing nuisance algae can help, it's kind of like harvesting cheato from a refugium. Dial back how long you run your lights, 6hours is enough for the coral to survive. Dial back the white light more than the blue light if you can. Algae uses red spectrum for photosynthesis and coral's zooxanthellae (algae) use blue spectrum.

 

[Payne Train]

I like to use Chemi pure to help control phosphates and nitrates ... just put it in a little mesh bag and put it in my sump —-

X’s 2 on cutting down the time your lights are on ... maybe during your next water change, try and siphon some of it out ?

 

[Afish70]

My tank is a 90 gallon but with rock and sand its about 75 gallons of actual water, so I do 20% water changes every (2) weeks. I admit that i have not tested water in awhile but the last time i tested i was at:
Calcium - 460
ALK - 6.5
MG - 6.5
Nitrate - .01
Phos - .1

 

[Afish70]

This stuff is stuck to rock, cannot siphon out. I almost need to remove rock and scrub to get off it seems

 

[Payne Train]

Is it slimy or like grass ?

 

[Afish70]

its not a grass but is slightly slimy

 

[Ron Reefman]

If it's the stuff I had, it's almost the texture of a soft scrubber sponge. Kind of dense and if pinched between you finger and thumb, it kind of tears apart, but doesn't come off the rock very easy.
Afish70, does that sound like what you have?

 

[Afish70]

If it's the stuff I had, it's almost the texture of a soft scrubber sponge. Kind of dense and if pinched between you finger and thumb, it kind of tears apart, but doesn't come off the rock very easy.
Afish70, does that sound like what you have?

Yes that sounds just like what I have. What is it? How did you get rid of it?

 

[Ron Reefman]

Yes that sounds just like what I have. What is it? How did you get rid of it?

You probably don't really want to know.

I pulled all my rocks out, even ones with coral attached, and put the bare rocks in a Brute and rocks with coral attached in a 40g spare tank. First, rocks were scrubbed with a small wire brush under a running faucet with cool water. Then they got soaked in hydrogen peroxide for 5 minutes (100% store bought 3% type). Then they went back in the Brute with a big return pump moving a lot of water and a lid on the Brute (so no light) for a week. This worked very well for the bare rocks. Surprisingly, a few zoas even survived.

The rocks with corals that couln't be removed were much more problematic. I picked of algae by hand. Scrubbed areas I could with the wire brush. I rinsed them under cool freshwater at the faucet. Then I sprayed hydrogen peroxide on the rocks in a tub and let them sit for 5 minutes. Rinsed them again and put them back in the 40g tank. I used an all blue led fixture for light. After a week about 50% to 60% of the rocks looked OK and the corals eventually opened up after a few days back in the DT.

The balance of the rocks got the same treatment for a second time. After another week about 75% of the rocks were clear of algae. But I did lose a few corals. The 25% that still had algae got brushed and soaked for 3 minutes in hydrogen peroxide. Then rinsed in freshwater and back to the 40g tank, this time with no led fixture and the tank covered so no light got in. After 4 days all the rocks were free of algae and I lost about 30% of the corals.

And during this entire time, I also ordered more CUC and a few fish that are herbavores for the DT.

That whole process ended about a month ago and I have no algae growing in the DT as of now. I do see fish, snails, hermits and shrimp all picking at some of the rocks. So I'd wager without the CUC I'd have algae growing back.

I told you, you really wouldn't want to know!

 

[Afish70]

You probably don't really want to know.

I pulled all my rocks out, even ones with coral attached, and put the bare rocks in a Brute and rocks with coral attached in a 40g spare tank. First, rocks were scrubbed with a small wire brush under a running faucet with cool water. Then they got soaked in hydrogen peroxide for 5 minutes (100% store bought 3% type). Then they went back in the Brute with a big return pump moving a lot of water and a lid on the Brute (so no light) for a week. This worked very well for the bare rocks. Surprisingly, a few zoas even survived.

The rocks with corals that couln't be removed were much more problematic. I picked of algae by hand. Scrubbed areas I could with the wire brush. I rinsed them under cool freshwater at the faucet. Then I sprayed hydrogen peroxide on the rocks in a tub and let them sit for 5 minutes. Rinsed them again and put them back in the 40g tank. I used an all blue led fixture for light. After a week about 50% to 60% of the rocks looked OK and the corals eventually opened up after a few days back in the DT.

The balance of the rocks got the same treatment for a second time. After another week about 75% of the rocks were clear of algae. But I did lose a few corals. The 25% that still had algae got brushed and soaked for 3 minutes in hydrogen peroxide. Then rinsed in freshwater and back to the 40g tank, this time with no led fixture and the tank covered so no light got in. After 4 days all the rocks were free of algae and I lost about 30% of the corals.

And during this entire time, I also ordered more CUC and a few fish that are herbavores for the DT.

That whole process ended about a month ago and I have no algae growing in the DT as of now. I do see fish, snails, hermits and shrimp all picking at some of the rocks. So I'd wager without the CUC I'd have algae growing back.

I told you, you really wouldn't want to know!

ok you're right, i really didn't want to hear that. well guess i can take care of this when i switch to new tank. Thanks for your assistance.

 

[thatmanMIKEson]

How did it go?

 

[Andreas' Reef]

I like to use Chemi pure to help control phosphates and nitrates ... just put it in a little mesh bag and put it in my sump —-

X’s 2 on cutting down the time your lights are on ... maybe during your next water change, try and siphon some of it out ?

I also use fluval clearmax