Struggling to ID and manage algae

Ryan1190 · 04/19/2016, 12:56 PM

So I'm trying to get an idea and management plan for this persistent brown algae. My best guess is Diatoms but it has been present for the entire 6 months my tank has been set up. It forms a film on the glass in about 3 days and coats all of my rocks. It will not blow off the rocks but an aggressive tooth brush brushing will get it off easy to reach parts of the rock. I run GFO, feed LRS reef frenzy once a day (maybe too much?), and run reefbreeder photons from noon-10pm maxing out at 50% blue, 25% white. Then only 15% blue from 10pm-midnight.

Ryan1190 · 04/20/2016, 02:07 PM

Bump

DrPheel · 04/20/2016, 04:59 PM

looks like some kind of GHA, if its solid on the rock then you have nitrate / phosphate feeding it and making it healthy. Algae will break up / blow off easily when it has no nutrients to feed on. Change your GFO as it is maybe saturated and leaching back in the tank , do regular water changes and try taking your rock out of your display and scrubbing the algae loose in your old water. when you scrub your glass or stir your sand , make sure you siphon most of whats detaching so it wont repopulate elsewhere. Now that your tank is clean , its time to find out where those nutrients are coming from! its going to come back a few times and you will see it less and less strong and you will eventually overcome it. Just be sure to take care of what ever is feeding it. It took me a good 2 months to get rid of my algae bloom with no chemicals or snake oil , just proper maintenance and good media!

Happy Reefing

mcgyvr · 04/20/2016, 05:47 PM

water parameters? (nitrate/phosphate)
also it's still a fairly new tank..looks that way anyways

Bent · 04/20/2016, 08:09 PM

Looks like diatoms to me.

Parameters?

pyithar · 04/21/2016, 05:13 AM

it looks like hair algae to me. water change, manual removal, gfo, and if possible, grow macro algae like chaeto or run algae scrubber to compete for nutrients. more growth on the scrubber= less algae in the display.

Ryan1190 · 04/21/2016, 01:12 PM

Thanks everyone.

Parameters:
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 5
PO4 0 (Changed out GFO a week ago)
Alk 9.5
Ca 430
Mg 1320
SG 1.025
T 79-81

It really doesn't look like GHA to me... It's not "hairy" except like you see on the glass after I don't clean for a week. It starts off as a brown film and slowly evolves into the brown wispy algae you see on the glass. It wipes off the glass very easily. On the rocks it never gets wispy or hairy, it's just a brown coating that is pretty adherent to the rocks. The sand bed is relatively clean.

Sk8r · 04/21/2016, 02:33 PM

Film algae. It's generally not a problem. Your water seems fine. It's actually kind of a desirable algae if you have blennies. Might be just a little rich in nutrient, but depending on the type of tank you want to run, it may not pose a problem.

04/20/2016, 04:59 PM	#3
DrPheel Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Ottawa, Canada Posts: 161	looks like some kind of GHA, if its solid on the rock then you have nitrate / phosphate feeding it and making it healthy. Algae will break up / blow off easily when it has no nutrients to feed on. Change your GFO as it is maybe saturated and leaching back in the tank , do regular water changes and try taking your rock out of your display and scrubbing the algae loose in your old water. when you scrub your glass or stir your sand , make sure you siphon most of whats detaching so it wont repopulate elsewhere. Now that your tank is clean , its time to find out where those nutrients are coming from! its going to come back a few times and you will see it less and less strong and you will eventually overcome it. Just be sure to take care of what ever is feeding it. It took me a good 2 months to get rid of my algae bloom with no chemicals or snake oil , just proper maintenance and good media! Happy Reefing __________________ Dr's 70G Rimless Cube Build Thread : ==> http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2511564 <==

04/20/2016, 05:47 PM	#4
mcgyvr Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: North Carolina Posts: 20,050	water parameters? (nitrate/phosphate) also it's still a fairly new tank..looks that way anyways __________________ Who me?

04/20/2016, 08:09 PM	#5
Bent I got nothin' Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: The anals Posts: 6,420	Looks like diatoms to me. Parameters? __________________ Quitters never lose. [QUOTE=CStrickland]Who gets mad at a starfish?[/QUOTE] Current Tank Info: 75g DT, 30G refugium, 10g chaeto tank, 50g stock tank basement sump

04/21/2016, 05:13 AM	#6
pyithar Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: yangon,burma(myanmar) Posts: 1,786	it looks like hair algae to me. water change, manual removal, gfo, and if possible, grow macro algae like chaeto or run algae scrubber to compete for nutrients. more growth on the scrubber= less algae in the display. __________________ take it easy, pyithar Current Tank Info: 150G display, 50G sump, mixed reef

04/21/2016, 02:33 PM	#8
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	Film algae. It's generally not a problem. Your water seems fine. It's actually kind of a desirable algae if you have blennies. Might be just a little rich in nutrient, but depending on the type of tank you want to run, it may not pose a problem. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

04/20/2016, 02:07 PM	#2
Ryan1190 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2015 Location: Washington DC Posts: 109	Bump

04/21/2016, 01:12 PM	#7
Ryan1190 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2015 Location: Washington DC Posts: 109	Thanks everyone. Parameters: Ammonia 0 Nitrite 0 Nitrate 5 PO4 0 (Changed out GFO a week ago) Alk 9.5 Ca 430 Mg 1320 SG 1.025 T 79-81 It really doesn't look like GHA to me... It's not "hairy" except like you see on the glass after I don't clean for a week. It starts off as a brown film and slowly evolves into the brown wispy algae you see on the glass. It wipes off the glass very easily. On the rocks it never gets wispy or hairy, it's just a brown coating that is pretty adherent to the rocks. The sand bed is relatively clean.