Help identify this please...

[Jose H]

Hello there everyone:

My tank has been up and running for about 4 months now, but recently I've noticed there is something that looks like algae growing on my rocks, and some rocks have what looks like a clear mucus surface on them. I'm very new to SW aquariums and I don't know if I should be worried about this? Or is this nothing to go crazy about? Please help me. All the help I can get is very much appreciated and thanks to you all!

 

[Tahoe61]

Looks like the beginnings of some hair algae with detritus thrown in the mix.

Do you have enough flow?
Do you have the appropriate clean up crew, ie: Astrea, Turbo snails.
Do you use a quality water source?

 

[Jose H]

I've got two SunSun 1600 GPH pumps, I've got a few snails, and I use a 6 stage RODI system.

 

[Jose H]

Looks like the beginnings of some hair algae with detritus thrown in the mix.

Do you have enough flow?
Do you have the appropriate clean up crew, ie: Astrea, Turbo snails.
Do you use a quality water source?

I've got two 1600 GPH SunSun pumps, I've got a few snails and I have a 6 stage RODI system.

 

[Tahoe61]

How large is the tank?
You could probably use a more aggressive clean up crew. The rock work looks like you should blow it off with a turkey baster or power head. Move all the particulate mater into the water column for the mechanical filtration to remove, and then clean mechanical filtration routinely.
While I am not a huge hermit crab fan some types do a great job of keeping the rock work and sand bed cleaner.
Other hobbyist are still going to ask for a nitrate and phosphate level regardless of your water purification equipment.
Look around at Reefcleaners.org and get some clean up crew ideas.
You can try some Phosban and such products if the problem becomes chronic.

 

[Jose H]

How large is the tank?
You could probably use a more aggressive clean up crew. The rock work looks like you should blow it off with a turkey baster or power head. Move all the particulate mater into the water column for the mechanical filtration to remove, and then clean mechanical filtration routinely.
While I am not a huge hermit crab fan some types do a great job of keeping the rock work and sand bed cleaner.
Other hobbyist are still going to ask for a nitrate and phosphate level regardless of your water purification equipment.
Look around at Reefcleaners.org and get some clean up crew ideas.
You can try some Phosban and such products if the problem becomes chronic.

My tank is a 75 gallon breeder with a 30 gallon sump. If left untreated can this be a major issue in the future? Or is it something that happens often and doesn't have major impact in the tank?

 

[Tahoe61]

It is common with newer systems. The key to keeping it in check is a low nutrient system, the appropriate clean up crew members and a quality water source. It will probably get a tad worse before it gets better. Clean rock work, clean mechanical filtration.

 

[Jose H]

O

It is common with newer systems. The key to keeping it in check is a low nutrient system, the appropriate clean up crew members and a quality water source. It will probably get a tad worse before it gets better. Clean rock work, clean mechanical filtration.

I will take a look at the reef cleaner page and will try my best to get rid of it. Thanks a lot for your help! I really appreciate it!