Is this green algae, I can't get it to go

[nooks]

I have had my 25 gallon tank running for 11 months now. The rocks and back of the tank have a lot of green hair algae and I have been trying to get rid of it. I have kept feeding to once per day I have a protein skimmer. I have a variety of snails and a urchin which has helped a bit with also me manually removing. I checked all my levels Ammonia read 0 ppm Nitrite 0, Nitrate 0, Phosphate 0. I also double check the water and TDS reads 0. I am using API test kits which I know are not the best. Should I try things like Nopox or anything else I'm willing to try as long as it's invert safe/reef safe. I'm guessing that if my Phosphate and Nitrates are reading 0 probably cause they are being consumed by the algae.

 

[Dburr1014]

I can't see anything in that pic.
But if you're nutrients are reading zero it's because the hair is sucking them right out before you can actually get it on the test.

I would say keep doing what you're doing, manually removing once a day feeding as long as the fish are appropriate for that.
Keep the cute game in the hair, I stay out there if they're not eating it, the urchin to it if it's not in it, Etc.

 

[Formulator]

Do not use nopox if your nutrients are at zero. There is no invisible nitrate and phosphate in the water, its being consumed by the algae. I would give it some time. The urchin will eat it up eventually and you can continue with periodic manual removal. As counterintuitive as it sounds, I would also try to raise your nitrate and phosphate to detectable levels. Aim for 10 ppm nitrate and 0.1 ppm phosphate. You can use neonitro and neophos for this. You will likely have to dose daily for a while to see an increase with the algae consuming it. This will prevent dinos from replacing the GHA and it will help with eradication. I would also point a powerhead back there to increase flow.

 

[nooks]

I can't see anything in that pic.
But if you're nutrients are reading zero it's because the hair is sucking them right out before you can actually get it on the test.

I would say keep doing what you're doing, manually removing once a day feeding as long as the fish are appropriate for that.
Keep the cute game in the hair, I stay out there if they're not eating it, the urchin to it if it's not in it, Etc.

Ya the urchin usually is on the back wall I rarely see it so far on the rocks but I think it's cause there's so much of the algae on the back. Here's photo of the wall unsure if you can see the photo.

 

[Dburr1014]

Ya the urchin usually is on the back wall I rarely see it so far on the rocks but I think it's cause there's so much of the algae on the back. Here's photo of the wall unsure if you can see the photo.

Critters are more likely to eat it if it's short.
Keep trimming.

 

[gbroadbridge]

Critters are more likely to eat it if it's short.
Keep trimming.

The only way to beat GHA is elbow grease and a toothbrush. Daily.

Once it is trimmed way back, herbivores like urchins and some snails will eat it.

 

[EricR]

The only way to beat GHA is elbow grease and a toothbrush. Daily.

Once it is trimmed way back, herbivores like urchins and some snails will eat it.

I agree -- can't really tell anything from the pictures but if it's just hair algae:
You just have to bite the bullet and get it out, manually.

Pull and throw (with fingers) first.
What's left on glass -- wipe and grab (paper towels or whatever), or scrape and net.
Rocks -- if removable, separate bin of saltwater and scrub with toothbrush or anything similar and bigger that you have.

It sucks -- you just have to do it -- it will get better.
*I don't like the ZERO nitrate/phosphate results, if you trust them, so I'd keep an eye on that after algae removal

 

[brandon429]

I made a thread where for seven jobs we worked just on that type of tank. the process is the same for every tank

please by all means run it, it's aimed for nanos you can see the shocking results. I would happily include your tank summary/writeup up there if you truly rinse the sand the right way as we did, scraped the back wall, detailed the rocks with a rasping tool like we did and truly ripped it clean. it's the best method.

Algae Identification

Any opinions on what type of algae this is growing on my rocks and sand bed?

www.reef2reef.com

the specific reason it's the best way is because your tank can look like those by ten pm tonite. a specific resolve date
* the degree of growback prevention work is in direct parallel to the things we change in your tank to hopefully suppress regrowth. along the way gardening will be due, for the allowed mass. but your tank will instantly become not eutrophic.

Old tank syndrome is vanquished in reefing now

the cause of old tank syndrome is compounding whole waste particles that blanket the interstitial sand grain zones and plug up the channels in live rocks- in some cases it's sheer overgrowth allowed from various invasions that plugs up the surface area on live rock combined with a thin veneer of...

www.reef2reef.com

a second thread built solely around fixing that type of tank.

 

[nooks]

Update I have removed a lot of th back wall hair algea and my urchin seems to be trying to get the rest. As for rocks I have been just using tooth brush as I do have corals on my rocks so cant remove them. Im guessing also why my corals have had minimal growth in the past months is due to almost zero Nitrates and Phosphates as testing my Alk is 9.6 dKH, 1270 ppm Mag and 480 ppm Calcium, which to my knowledge should be fine Mag might be lower end and Calcium a bit higher. I look to either dose Nitrates and Phosphates to see what happens or look in long run fluconazole if it takes over and wont go away.