Need help with this algae

[CoralWealth]

How to get rid of this algae and is it affecting my SPS or will they encrust over it?

I barely have any snails or hermits. I do have four crabs though, I have no other algae besides this "thicker" algae.

Alk is 7
Calc is 420
Phosphate is between 0.03-0.08
Nitrate between 4-8

 

[jsker]

Rule of thumb is one clean up crew per gallon. What are you testing your nutrients with? The reason I am asking is you have green hair algae and the is cause by high phosphates and nitrates. a good level to be at would be around .02 to .03 ppm phosphates and the nitrates between 3 and 5 ppm.

With the green hair present your nutrient reading are going to test lower the they really are for the reason the algae is consuming the nutrients.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

I would seriously get some cuc in there.
You'll need to scrub it and then let them do their thing.

 

[Sherman]

What test kit you using?
How you export your nutrient?

 

[CoralWealth]

Pretty much no cuc because my wrasse always attacks them but I'll add more in

Test nitrate with Red Sea and phosphates with ulr hanna.

 

[CoralWealth]

I maybe have like 2 hermits and 5 snails in my 180

 

[CoralWealth]

Export, just cheato and a skimmer. I have GFO but took it offline

 

[Flippers4pups]

How long has this tank been up and running?

Source water?

 

[Bret Brinkmann]

Healthy corals and coraline will not be over grown by algae unless the growth rates are super high. It looks like the algae isn't growing over your corals or coraline from your pictures. It will grow right up to it though. My coraline always overtakes the algae though, unless the algae growth rate is super high of course.

The problem with testing nutrients is that only excess dissolved nutrients register. I have an ULNS but a fairly high growth rate of algae. It's more the rate at which it gets used than how much excess your test say you have. My growth rate is high in my ULNS because it is used up as fast as it is introduced.

I have been slowly adding more and more CUC to take care of it. The cerith and astrea snails will eat all kinds of hair algae and red algae. They have even eaten some weird grey thick slime algae. I don't know what kind of wrasse you have that is eating you CUC but I would think you can find something it won't bother. What kind is it anyway, and have you seen it eat?

 

[Pife]

I'd pick up several turbos and 20 trochus snails. I jabber many of the same wrasses as you and they seem to make it the longest. Do you have some type of bristletooth tang in there? If looks like a short turf algae. My Tangs eat the crap out of it so I don't mind having it that much.

 

[CoralWealth]

How long has this tank been up and running?

Source water?

around 8 months now, RO/DI with 0 tds always

 

[CoralWealth]

Healthy corals and coraline will not be over grown by algae unless the growth rates are super high. It looks like the algae isn't growing over your corals or coraline from your pictures. It will grow right up to it though. My coraline always overtakes the algae though, unless the algae growth rate is super high of course.

The problem with testing nutrients is that only excess dissolved nutrients register. I have an ULNS but a fairly high growth rate of algae. It's more the rate at which it gets used than how much excess your test say you have. My growth rate is high in my ULNS because it is used up as fast as it is introduced.

I have been slowly adding more and more CUC to take care of it. The cerith and astrea snails will eat all kinds of hair algae and red algae. They have even eaten some weird grey thick slime algae. I don't know what kind of wrasse you have that is eating you CUC but I would think you can find something it won't bother. What kind is it anyway, and have you seen it eat?

Its the stupid green wrasse that bothers everything and I would never recommend anyone ever buy that fish. I am trying to catch him and get rid of it but it is so hard.

I am going to add more CUC

 

[CoralWealth]

I'd pick up several turbos and 20 trochus snails. I jabber many of the same wrasses as you and they seem to make it the longest. Do you have some type of bristletooth tang in there? If looks like a short turf algae. My Tangs eat the crap out of it so I don't mind having it that much.

I am definitely going to pick up some snails once I get rid of the green wrasse which will hopefully be this weekend, till then I am taking flakes offline and only feeding frozen.

Yeah I have a bristletooth, all my tangs pick at it but never really does anything.

 

[djreef]

That looks like scrub/turf algae. The stuff is really coarse, and requires organisms that can rip it out by the roots one strand at a time - almost like a small epilator. Hermits, urchins and emerald crabs are hands down the best at this type of operation. Get some more Trochus snails to mop up the shoots that are left over. Understand though, that if you don't address the underlying nutrient issue it will be a constant battle.

DJ

 

[Bret Brinkmann]

Strong feelings about that green wrasse. I just looked it up. That's a shame it's eating your snails, it's so beautiful. But I feel you. Got to get rid of it. I had a crab that was eating all my stuff for two years. It was small enough to hide in my rocks, so I couldn't do anything about it. I thought the mantis shrimp would take care of it, but I guess it wasn't big enough and the crab got it too.

May try to bait it into a jar with a snail? Hate to use a snail as bait but if you're watching, then you can trap it before it takes a bite and save the snail.