Please help!

[Cooper924]

As I got home from work today I noticed bright green dots on my rock, does anybody know what this is? It wasn’t there yesterday

 

[Gareth elliott]

Your tank looks quite new.

when did you setup?
What is your current nitrate and phosphate?
Light type and settings?
What tank size and type and amount of power heads?

Fwiw New rock will often be colonized by any number of 7000 green algae species first. I would leave alone personally.
The brown or red algae i might blow off with a turkey baster. And if there are no corals i would reduce light output or photoperiod.
No corals or macro algae and no herbivore fish with high output lighting in a new tank will lead to odd algae cycles ime.

 

[45ZoaGarden]

I would be more concerned about the brown-red slime. That is Cyanobacteria. The green stuff is normal film algae.

 

[Cooper924]

Tanks about 4 years old so it’s not new. Nitrates are currently at 10( trying to get lower) phosphates at .01. I only have a 24” nicrew led but I planned on getting 1 or 2 ai primes this Friday. I have a 20g long tank with 1 scooter dragonet, 2 occelaris clowns and 1 emerald crab. I have an 835gph single wave maker powerhead (so there’s good flow). The rock pictured also is directly in the path of the powerhead so it receives the most flow, I thought cyano only grew in low flow areas?

 

[45ZoaGarden]

Tanks about 4 years old so it’s not new. Nitrates are currently at 10( trying to get lower) phosphates at .01. I only have a 24” nicrew led but I planned on getting 1 or 2 ai primes this Friday. I have a 20g long tank with 1 scooter dragonet, 2 occelaris clowns and 1 emerald crab. I have an 835gph single wave maker powerhead (so there’s good flow). The rock pictured also is directly in the path of the powerhead so it receives the most flow, I thought cyano only grew in low flow areas?

It prefers low flow but grows everywhere.

 

[reef lover]

+1 on cyano and film algae...the bigger question how does this rock not have corraline all over it by now? 4 years ...it should be well established.

 

[Cooper924]

Thanks for the help! How would I go about getting rid of it? I saw gareth said to blast it with a turkey baster but won’t that spread it? I’m also trying to get the coralline to spread so I don’t wanna scrape any of it off

 

[Gareth elliott]

Given the low light and relatively low nutrients, you could try.

1). adding another powerhead opposite your current one. Will reduce purely laminar flow pattern.
2). Small dose of water glass. Will increase the competitiveness of diatoms to cyano. Diatoms have some of the highest reproduction rates of any creature. And also capable of photosynthesis in low light. And a 4 year old tank is likely limited in silica concentrations. go small, large amounts will effect ph.

 

[Cooper924]

Parameters and everything are stable, but I never introduced coralline till about 3 weeks ago, I used to just have Fowlr up until then, trying to make small reef tank

 

[reef lover]

That makes sense!
I would siphon it off myself next water change.

 

[Cooper924]

So I shouldn’t be too worried about it then?

 

[reef lover]

No its one of the easier ones to control. And once your growing corraline there wont be much real estate left for it.

 

[45ZoaGarden]

That makes sense!
I would siphon it off myself next water change.

+1 on the siphoning it out with the next wc. I would increase flow and dose some chemiclean...

 

[maynardjames]

Have used chemiclean ,it will get rid of it.