ALGAE ISSUES - new to SW

[ronnieroach]

long story short, i cycled for about 2 months & finally added fish. decided to buy some new live rock & brought 3 things home with it.

i have green bubble algae (which i've read how to remove) but now i've spotted hair algae on another & there is this unidentifyable crusty stuff that i'm unsure of.

i was going to vacuum the bubbles & give them all a good scrub this weekend. smart idea? should i get some kind of skimmer?

its a new tank & only 20gal so i'm kinda anxious to keep it 100%

ALL HELP IS APPRECIATED!!

here are a few pics

(any moderators: you can delete my post from yesterday)

 

[Weaver]

The bubble algae is easy to remove, but I am sorry to say the hair algae is a bit harder. I have had a 29 for over a year now, and i still have to spend some time in there with a toothbrush once a week. It is claimed nudibranchs will help, but in a tank this small they would do their job too well and starve. Tooth brush is your best bet.

 

[nikki_kaiser]

long story short, i cycled for about 2 months & finally added fish. decided to buy some new live rock & brought 3 things home with it.

i have green bubble algae (which i've read how to remove) but now i've spotted hair algae on another & there is this unidentifyable crusty stuff that i'm unsure of.

i was going to vacuum the bubbles & give them all a good scrub this weekend. smart idea? should i get some kind of skimmer?

its a new tank & only 20gal so i'm kinda anxious to keep it 100%

ALL HELP IS APPRECIATED!!

here are a few pics

(any moderators: you can delete my post from yesterday)

What are your nitrates and phosphates? I would clean everything off, do water changes once a week since you don't have a skimmer, test your water to make sure you have low nitrates and phosphates, and for the green hair algae, watch how long you leave your lights on. Was the tank new or used when you got it? I'm asking because you may need to replace the light bulb if it was used.

For hair algae to grow, it requires light, nitrate, phosphate and carbon dioxide. It thrives and grows when excess Dissolved Organic Carbons or DOC’s in the water. You get DOC's from over feeding.

 

[ronnieroach]

What are your nitrates and phosphates? I would clean everything off, do water changes once a week since you don't have a skimmer, test your water to make sure you have low nitrates and phosphates, and for the green hair algae, watch how long you leave your lights on. Was the tank new or used when you got it? I'm asking because you may need to replace the light bulb if it was used.

For hair algae to grow, it requires light, nitrate, phosphate and carbon dioxide. It thrives and grows when excess Dissolved Organic Carbons or DOC’s in the water. You get DOC's from over feeding.

first, thanks for the responses!

i'll def try the toothbrush.

the hair algae is white though, not green. does that make any difference?

i highly doubt its anything caused by me (lighting, overfeeding, negligence, etc) because it seems like all the rock i got from my favorite LFS has some kind of action on it

HOWEVER, the only bulb i had was an old UVB reptile bulb. probably grows algae like crazy, which is why i only keep the light on for an hour or 2 right now.

can i get a skimmer since i have shrimp? or would i have to trade them back because it would kill them?

and i know its a dumb question, but do protein skimmers keep algae from growing?

again, thanks for the help!

i figure its good i brought the algae home cuz now i'll learn to treat it

 

[Beengirl]

first, thanks for the responses!

i'll def try the toothbrush.

the hair algae is white though, not green. does that make any difference?

i highly doubt its anything caused by me (lighting, overfeeding, negligence, etc) because it seems like all the rock i got from my favorite LFS has some kind of action on it

HOWEVER, the only bulb i had was an old UVB reptile bulb. probably grows algae like crazy, which is why i only keep the light on for an hour or 2 right now.

can i get a skimmer since i have shrimp? or would i have to trade them back because it would kill them?

and i know its a dumb question, but do protein skimmers keep algae from growing?

again, thanks for the help!

i figure its good i brought the algae home cuz now i'll learn to treat it

You can have a skimmer with shrimp. A skimmer removes excess organically (food, waste,etc) from the water before it can break down into nitrates, which will help lower your nitrates. And nitrates are one the things that help fuel algae, so it will help decrease algae in the end. You should make sure you're not over feeding too, though.

 

[Sniperhank]

first, thanks for the responses!
HOWEVER, the only bulb i had was an old UVB reptile bulb. probably grows algae like crazy, which is why i only keep the light on for an hour or 2 right now.

This is going to cause issues since this isn't the correct spectrum for corals. You are correct that it will just grow algae.