Need help with alage

[LEOreefer]

I’ve been battening this alage on a new tank for about a month now not sure what kind it is. But it’s extremely tough, I can’t scrub it off or pull it off. I also cannot take the rock out of the tank as it’s epoxied into one structure. My tuxedo urchin does eat it but only little bit at a time. The only fish in the system is a lawn mower blenny with 2 cleaner shrimp.
The tank gets a 10 gallon water change once a week with 6 stage BRS RODI unit with 0 tds water. The phosphates are .02 and nitrate reading under 5. Alk is 9.5 via Hanna and calc is 450. I’m tired of looking at it like this and am not sure what to do. I have a frog spawn , gsp, and green mushroom that are all happy

 

[zcedric]

pic?

 

[LEOreefer]

Ooo sorry totally forgot the pic !

 

[kashman100]

Even though your readings are low its probably still from high nutrients. Manually remove all you can and scrub off with an old toothbrush. Then do 20 percent water change. This is just part of the uglies and having a newer tank.

 

[kashman100]

Leaving lights off for a day or 2 would help if its really tough to scrub off.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

I am the last person to say this usually. But...

Vibrant aquarium cleaner.

You may need to find a home for the urchin. There won't be much for him to eat afterwards.

 

[HB AL]

Key is to find the root of the problem then take it from there. There is definetly something in the water it likes.

 

[LEOreefer]

Thanks all, I might try Light’s off for a few days so that I can scrub it off. I also will be doing a silicate test tonight to see what it come back as. I have no idea what it could be. Like I said I have 0 tds

 

[kashman100]

Water changes and running some gfo will help loosen it too

 

[rkpetersen]

Maybe someone will be able to identify it from your pix; I'd like to know what species that is.

 

[LEOreefer]

Maybe someone will be able to identify it from your pix; I'd like to know what species that is.[/QUOTE
Can anyone I’d?

 

[LEOreefer]

Maybe someone will be able to identify it from your pix; I'd like to know what species that is.

Can anyone ID?

 

[kashman100]

Its green hair algae. There are a bunch of different kinds that have to be looked at under a microscope to tell the difference. Once you turn lights back on shorten light schedule and feed less also will help

 

[KMench]

Did you cook the rock before adding it? It could be leaching phosphates that the algae is feeding off of. Most phosphates won't show up on a test kit as it only tests for one variant.

 

[LEOreefer]

I’m n

Its green hair algae. There are a bunch of different kinds that have to be looked at under a microscope to tell the difference. Once you turn lights back on shorten light schedule and feed less also will help

im not feeding now. The only fish is a lawnmower blenny and he eats the alage. I will shorten the photo period though

 

[LEOreefer]

Did you cook the rock before adding it? It could be leaching phosphates that the algae is feeding off of. Most phosphates won't show up on a test kit as it only tests for one variant.

I did not cook the rock. Like I said the tank has had water since end of July and it’s BRS was tonga dry live rock. I did not cook it as I did not have the space. But I knew what the consequences might be

 

[KMench]

That could be your problem honestly. I had the same problem with a new tank I set up in April. I went through the uglies until about July, and then as soon as the algae appeared, it disappeared. (I didn't cook my rock either)

 

[LEOreefer]

That could be your problem honestly. I had the same problem with a new tank I set up in April. I went through the uglies until about July, and then as soon as the algae appeared, it disappeared. (I didn't cook my rock either)

What was your routine as far as water changes and what not during your battle with the alage

 

[Hotelbravo]

another preventive measure for dry rock loaded with phosphates is to use lanthanum chloride to strip all of the phosphates from the rock. this should be done in a bin outside of your tank so you can just rinse all the residue off the rock and put it back into the tank after a few days of soaking in lanthanum chloride.

i had dry rock that was reading 2.50 ppm on the hannah phosphate tester. i believe 2.50 is the highest it goes to so it was likely higher.
i soaked it in lanthanum chloride for less than a week and it brought it to 0.00. i cleaned it and put it in brand new saltwater for another 3 weeks to see if phosphates would come back and it still read 0.00. so i rinsed it one last time and into the tank it went!

 

[shaggydoo]

How many snail or hermits do you have? When it's that long snails often won't help but hermits can get some of the longer algae.

Shortening the time your lights are on can help. You can also make the lights bluer if you have programmable lights.