Help!!! Algae taking over my tank!

[gibbs.david]

Thankfully not. They’re quite a solid strand. Almost similar to ASPATASIA.

 

[tankstudy]

My reef tank is rapidly being overtaken by a brown hair/dust like algae. I’m fast running out of ideas and the tanks is quickly being overtaken. At the same time My corals are struggling given the irritation. Not sure what to do.very concerned.

Check your alk before a water change. See where it's at.

 

[tripdad]

You need to first, identify the algae using the search tools here and other resources online. Just google algae types until you find a match. Only then can you determine what's next effectively. For instance Dino's can be worsened by water changes, Cyano can be created by nutrient imbalances and can then change and start fixing carbon from other sources midstream. Green hair is best manually removed, scrubbing of rocks and add critters to eat it, red coarse hair just pull it out, ulva don't worry at all as it will die off usually. Yours sounds like an odd duck so identification is key to suggest treatment. For now manually remove as much as possible daily, keep an eye on nutrient balance and identify it. P.S. some algae can create allelopathy(?) if present in enough mass and this can harm corals, ask me how I know. So manual removal is best to start.

 

[gibbs.david]

Looked at the options and it keeps coming back to GHA

 

[vetteguy53081]

Phosphate issue likely.
Clean up crew with nassarius and cerith snails, plus turbo grazers. tail spot blenny and trocheus snails

 

[tripdad]

Go on YouTube and look for BRStv video on algae control. It covers all the basics pretty well and is a reasonable length. Algae is just part of the hobby so learning about its control is just time well spent. Good luck, you will be fine just don't panic and work a well thought out plan. As said above, beef up clean up crew, manual removal and good tank maintenance and you will clean it up just fine.