I'd this algae please

roblox84 · Feb 20, 2014

This algae started on my candy cane coral and now is moving to the live rock. It's a green fluffy slimy algae that literally rinsed away when I put the stem of the candy cane coral under a running tap. I used a toothbrush to scrub the remaining algae but it grows back.

mjr · Feb 21, 2014

where did you buy that frag?

Reefing Madness · Feb 21, 2014

Lemme get a few more looks at this one.

Mike J. · Feb 21, 2014

Bad news. This stuff will make you appreciate Red Slime (Ocillatoria); which is much easier to eliminate. In all the years I've been keeping saltwater this green cyanobacteria is the most invasive of any pest I've ever encountered. It will quickly cover every inch of your tank. Even in a tank that's never had algae problems. The best way to deal with it is to get phosphates and nitrates (nutrients) to zero. I've found out that running GFO and carbon really helps. Went lights out for three days and it came back.

Siphon it out every day in the middle of the light cycle before it encysts. I did 5 gallon siphons every day for two weeks before I got a handle on it. Sometimes I did 10 gallon water changes because 5 gal wasn't enough to get it.

If you don't get very aggressive with it, I'd predict you'll be tearing down your tank. I cannot stress that enough - it is the worst plague I have ever encountered.

roblox84 · Feb 21, 2014

mjr said:
where did you buy that frag?

I bought it locally at a place called Aquatictech. I usually don't buy coral frags from them at all because every single piece will grow nuisance algae. This was completely my fault because this one was supposed to stay in my frag tank but it didn't.

roblox84 · Feb 21, 2014

Mike J. said:
Bad news. This stuff will make you appreciate Red Slime (Ocillatoria); which is much easier to eliminate. In all the years I've been keeping saltwater this green cyanobacteria is the most invasive of any pest I've ever encountered. It will quickly cover every inch of your tank. Even in a tank that's never had algae problems. The best way to deal with it is to get phosphates and nitrates (nutrients) to zero. I've found out that running GFO and carbon really helps. Went lights out for three days and it came back.

Siphon it out every day in the middle of the light cycle before it encysts. I did 5 gallon siphons every day for two weeks before I got a handle on it. Sometimes I did 10 gallon water changes because 5 gal wasn't enough to get it.

If you don't get very aggressive with it, I'd predict you'll be tearing down your tank. I cannot stress that enough - it is the worst plague I have ever encountered.

I know what you mean it pretty much took over my smaller aquarium. To be honest a complete tear down wouldn't be the worst thing since I've been battling with my corals not growing at all and other algae for the past two years although I am really trying to avoid that.

I've been using gfo and carbon since setting up the tank and although the gfo slowed algae growth it didn't manage to get rid of it completely. I still get about 0.04 phosphates after about two weeks of running new gfo but I can't change it that often because it's too expensive. I think it's mainly because my live rock and sand are leaching p04 so there's not much I can do at this point.

I've also just started dosing algaefix to get everything under control since getting to the root of the problem is impossible without a tank teardown.

mjr · Feb 21, 2014

roblox84 said:
I bought it locally at a place called Aquatictech. I usually don't buy coral frags from them at all because every single piece will grow nuisance algae. This was completely my fault because this one was supposed to stay in my frag tank but it didn't.

I ask because i have seen stuff like this in the stores near me. Algae has become quite common in stores near me lately.

Mike J. · Feb 21, 2014

I'm convinced, at this point in time, that an algae scrubber set up in a satellite tank is the best way in order to keep nutrients at near zero. And, still be able to feed your fish and coral.

roblox84 · Feb 21, 2014

Mike J. said:
I'm convinced, at this point in time, that an algae scrubber set up in a satellite tank is the best way in order to keep nutrients at near zero. And, still be able to feed your fish and coral.

Would an algae scrubber work in a sump?

Mike J. · Feb 21, 2014

Yes. But I like the idea of growing algae in a separate container away from the display. You can make an algae scrubber that works "too good". Which I think is great because then I can feed more.

roblox84 · Feb 21, 2014

Mike J. said:
Yes. But I like the idea of growing algae in a separate container away from the display. You can make an algae scrubber that works "too good". Which I think is great because then I can feed more.

Only if I had the room. There's only a limited amount of stuff I can fit under my tank.

roblox84 · Feb 21, 2014

I actually just found an algae scrubber that sticks to the inside of a sump called the HOG1. It looks pretty neat and I can maybe fit this inside my sump, but at $150 I'm going to read up a bit on it. Although it would save me more than that in gfo purchases which apparently has been a huge waste of money.