Green turf algae frustration!

Eric aaa · Dec 22, 2015

I am having an extremely hard time getting rid of this green turf type algae. IT IS NOT GREEN HAIR ALGAE. it's short wiry and impossible to remove manually until I removed the rocks containing it, dried them out for a few days then plucked it off with tweezers then today I noticed a small piece on my only good coralline covered rock it doubled in size just today. Nitrate and phosphate are nearly undetected with salifert and red sea low range kits. Any thing else that might eat this stuff or any other tips I have tried everything I can think of this tank is about 9yrs old and I've been reefing for nearly 20 yrs so I feel I'm pretty knowledgeable. Anything? Please help

Eric aaa · Dec 22, 2015

Those pictures are about a week old I'll post new ones tomorrow but the stuff is Still coming back urge!

ESVAreefer · Dec 22, 2015

Look up bryopsis and do a self evaluation. Green hair algae and bryopsis are the two that grow like absolute wildfire and keep in mind that there are multiple species of hair algae even if it doesn't look like the GHA someone else has it could be. If phosphate is undetectable the algae is probably using it up fast to maintain growth. Use a gfo reactor to control it also if you have a refugium get a macro algae like chaeto to help outcompete the nuisance algae.

ESVAreefer · Dec 22, 2015

Also lawnmower blennies love to eat algae off rock work. Tangs do too but even small tangs are happiest in 75 gallon tanks or larger.

brandon429 · Dec 22, 2015

Two weeks ago in a brush algae thread, an urchin was shown to clear the spot, a natural mode option

Heres unnatural mode option, forced control:
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/r...llenge-thread-hydrogen-peroxide.187042/page-5

One test rock would yield amazing turnaround = 3 days. If not, it would be odd considering the depth of compliance there. Your invader grows anywhere its imported, even in low nutrient conditions. Grazers control it in the wild, and your medicine cabinet also has fine grazers

Do all legit options first, if they don't work, there's five pages of not fail

Four big tank jobs are being done in pm right now, threads about to heat up~

JMLewis · Dec 22, 2015

Sea hare. Just return it to the store when it's done or they starve very quickly.

ESVAreefer · Dec 22, 2015

If using hydrogen peroxide then vacuum the dead algae up ... Otherwise you're just making the same nutrients that grew the algae you killed available for other algae of the same variety to use .... again lol

ESVAreefer · Dec 22, 2015

Lettuce nudibrachs eat the stuff too just return them or give them to a fellow reefer

Sabellafella · Dec 22, 2015

Its not bryopsis the bottom picture is chrysophytes, was acually just talking about this in a thread sometime last week

Sabellafella · Dec 22, 2015

Im truly sorry but goodluck h202 isnt going to do anything, like i said in the last thread, if you think dino and bryopsis is bad you havnt seen nothing , you had your tank for 9 years? Time to get new rock

ESVAreefer · Dec 22, 2015

Pictures are fuzzy that's why the self evaluation for the nightmare that is bryopsis ..... Chrysphytes are dinos the ones my friend had produced long brown slimy stalks with bubbles ..... I got a frag with them on it and my snails swarmed the frag plug and ate it all!!!

Sabellafella · Dec 22, 2015

Yup the prob is with the chryspjytes is it swarms to quickly for any crew to clean it thats why itz recommended to add a massive trochus snail ect crew to keep it in check, bryopsis grows in strands up to 10 inches long and look like a fern, basically everything in saltwater is dinos but if its the dinos that are dark brown filmy stalks with bubbles ur snails will die

Sabellafella · Dec 22, 2015

I cannot tell you why this stuff comes about, but according to my experiences and what people have to say is it will never go away unless swap your rock, yes you could keep it in check but your going to have to keep a billion hermits, snails ect w.e eats it or just change your rock

ESVAreefer · Dec 22, 2015

Mine did fine I have an abundance of these tiny turbo looking snails that are nocturnal they ate the dinos just fine. It has also been suggested that dinos thrive on silicates from the water column that can be undetectable by certain test kits. The branching behavior of the colonies hint at their need for something in the water column, besides the light shining down. B. Plumosa grows in long strands the other is a matting variety which is hard to catch well on camera lol

ESVAreefer · Dec 22, 2015

Haven't even bothered to classify those tiny snails .... They don't touch the coral so I let them live lol

brandon429 · Dec 22, 2015

The number of tanks like yours Eric aaa featured in the linked threads above might be 10 or 20 from the rc example alone

In saying your tank can be fixed, that's coming from the after pics we collect.

Sea hares, urchins, tangs, all good natural options.

Actually fixing your tank includes more work beyond algae, to be done right. Your brief pics indicate eutrophication details such that detritus will be elevated and retained in this tank, have to remove it. The growths themselves hold much, and plug up the rock with detritus and reduce flow.

Thankfully it's easy to fix, no need for new rocks just some work. Same as the other outcomes linked. When made free of retaining growths the live rock will purge detritus a while and all that means is have the rest of the tank already free of waste so it won't compound and can be removed for a true fresh start.

Sabellafella · Dec 22, 2015

ESVAreefer said:
Mine did fine I have an abundance of these tiny turbo looking snails that are nocturnal they ate the dinos just fine. It has also been suggested that dinos thrive on silicates from the water column that can be undetectable by certain test kits. The branching behavior of the colonies hint at their need for something in the water column, besides the light shining down. B. Plumosa grows in long strands the other is a matting variety which is hard to catch well on camera lol

Dinos go away at night

ESVAreefer · Dec 22, 2015

No they are still in the tank and the snails swarmed the frag in broad daylight like tiny crackheads which is odd for a highly nocturnal critter but yes dinos appear to disappear at night similar to some cyano

Sabellafella · Dec 22, 2015

ESVAreefer said:
No they are still in the tank and the snails swarmed the frag in broad daylight like tiny crackheads which is odd for a highly nocturnal critter but yes dinos appear to disappear at night similar to some cyano

Lol if there tiny mexican turbo looking like snails i have thousands of them and ive had them for almost 3 years and theyve never grown up, but brandon couldnt have said it better, its a rock nutrient retainment issue regardless if your tank is clean or dirty nd this stuff really is a pita, keep the thread updated want to see new treatment options because i seems that this stuff is comming more and more common

ESVAreefer · Dec 22, 2015

Basically lol and heck I thought they were baby turbos at first but nope .... It was the first and only time I had ever seen a response from them like that. It was indeed dinos on the frag plug just that the long branches were cleaned off. I wonder where he got his rock too.... Usually cyano pops oh well guess this stuff is growing more common as well. Green color is still indicative of GHA in his pic though ...... Apply usual GHA methodology and see if u get results if not then it could be dinos. If you don't know then be safe and try GHA methods first no need to kill your live rock if it isn't dino that's a waste. Note GHA methods work on many algae and will even slow bryopsis.