Need help getting rid of algea

[Tyler Miceli]

Have had this brown sludge and hair algea for a few months and I cant get rid of it. Can anybody confirm what's in the pictures, and any suggestions how you beat it personally in your tank!?

 

[brandon429]

From Reefmiser's and AmaleeC's reefs respectively, that is forced cleaning.

of the whole tank, not just the rocks. plus, you can test one tiny area of the rock first, before doing any big job. its able to be pre-modeled unlike other methods/whole tank attacks and sustained param changes.

we are using a cheat to kill the algae, when the tank is disassembled for simple cleaning

cleaning a system that has waste in it is never, ever harmful for a reef tank is regenerative apparently.

 

[brandon429]

and here's a whole thread for inspection.

Algae Identification

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

www.reef2reef.com

one rip clean, start to finish.

you dont have to do your whole tank as a starter.

simply lift out that rock.

and on the bottom corner where there's target mass, but no coral, simply spray peroxide on the area and let sit in the air 2 mins.

rinse it off in saltwater but dont remove anything attached. this is the pre model of the least-work condition kill ability.


in another section of the rock while its out, get a pocket knife.

simply work over a three inch area like a dentist uses metal to scrape off plaque

be rougher here, its the highest work condition site test. clean the area with minimal damage, but made free of target by precision rasping, rinse off the scrapes in saltwater until a test section is clean. the metal is dislodging holdfasts physically, the rinse carries them away.


then on that section, one mist of peroxide in the clean zone you created. wait 2 mins, rinse off, put back. that was no holdfasts first, peroxide second on a cleaned spot as ultimate strength test.

evaluate the two zones against anything else you'll do to this tank, see which looks best next week. week after etc


when ready, upscale but clean the sand. that is what we did above.

your goal in reefing should not be to feel let down when its time to intervene and clean and guide things manually, it saves the tank from dying.

 

[Llyod276]

and here's a whole thread for inspection.

Algae Identification

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

www.reef2reef.com

one rip clean, start to finish.

Get a sailfin tang. Mine is dang goat. Ate all of my hair algea can't find any in my tank. Now the brown stuff eh. Bubble algea I cant get rid of, the friggin emerald crabs, i have 3x, won't touch my bubble algea. They prefer to hang out with the anemone. And eat its poop...

From Reefmiser's and AmaleeC's reefs respectively, that is forced cleaning.

of the whole tank, not just the rocks. plus, you can test one tiny area of the rock first, before doing any big job. its able to be pre-modeled unlike other methods/whole tank attacks and sustained param changes.

we are using a cheat to kill the algae, when the tank is disassembled for simple cleaning

cleaning a system that has waste in it is never, ever harmful for a reef tank is regenerative apparently.

 

[Tyler Miceli]

Thanks Brandon, always appreciate your input!

and here's a whole thread for inspection.

Algae Identification

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

www.reef2reef.com

one rip clean, start to finish.

you dont have to do your whole tank as a starter.

simply lift out that rock.

and on the bottom corner where there's target mass, but no coral, simply spray peroxide on the area and let sit in the air 2 mins.

rinse it off in saltwater but dont remove anything attached. this is the pre model of the least-work condition kill ability.


in another section of the rock while its out, get a pocket knife.

simply work over a three inch area like a dentist uses metal to scrape off plaque

be rougher here, its the highest work condition site test. clean the area with minimal damage, but made free of target by precision rasping, rinse off the scrapes in saltwater until a test section is clean. the metal is dislodging holdfasts physically, the rinse carries them away.


then on that section, one mist of peroxide in the clean zone you created. wait 2 mins, rinse off, put back. that was no holdfasts first, peroxide second on a cleaned spot as ultimate strength test.

evaluate the two zones against anything else you'll do to this tank, see which looks best next week. week after etc


when ready, upscale but clean the sand. that is what we did above.

your goal in reefing should not be to feel let down when its time to intervene and clean and guide things manually, it saves the tank from dying.

 

[Llyod276]

Get a sailfin tang. Mine is dang goat. Ate all of my hair algea can't find any in my tank. Now the brown stuff eh. Bubble algea I cant get rid of, the friggin emerald crabs, i have 3x, won't touch my bubble algea. They prefer to hang out with the anemone. And eat its poop...

 

[brandon429]

I wish i had new tricks each decade online, i dont heh.

my grandma once kept two acres of lawn 100% free of dandelions by raw will and a butter knife, they stood no chance. I used to think it was a waste of time to do that, you just spray some roundup on it.


funny how things come full circle. she was rooting out holdfasts, not wanting to pump poison all over lol.

plus she enjoyed the rip cleaning, stabbing that rascal right out by force. the results were you could run laps barefooted in thorny texas, no stickers not ever. I feel that if the yard was lucky enough to tend itself, she'd never have been doing that for ages. it was what was required for sticker free running


attained.

i started to look at reefing like that, right when my old pico reef started to get gha algae on the very side though Id done my absolute best to prevent it, was about year 6 and it was a letdown I knew what was coming.

but that gent Reefmiser above showed me that pic, first peroxide job id seen.

i burnt the algae out in three drops, and it didnt come back because: 1. lucky 2. had solid coralline old live rock to help block algae


so as you manually force a clean condition, you remove competition for that space.

you can glue in a large brain coral on the clean spot now. coralline begins to work back even though you scraped; the real estate is open now isn't anchored by plants and stalks of anchored plants which prevent detritus from being expelled from the live rock pores.

actually physically removing the rocks in dental precision is restoring porosity, ejecting acid-reducing wastes, making your redox levels stabilize because the retaining powers of plants are removed when manually cleaned. hidden benefits in the detail work vs broadcast dose something to the water, the algae dies and compounds even more particulate matter into the tank.

deep cleaning is a breath of fresh air for smaller accessible reefs, it doesnt have to be the only wat considered. just with the sharpest after pics.

 

[Tyler Miceli]

Just tested phosphate