I think I have zombie algea...

[Patroklos]

Alright, I went through an algea bloom, it happens so deal with it right?

Well, I did that by cutting the lighting time in half, cutting my feeding down to every third day and doing a 25% water change every weekday as well as siphoning off everything I could during the PWC. After two weeks no luck, every day I get home from work and the quarter inch of algea turf blanketing my live rock is refreshed and rejuvanated.

The odd thing is..

Nitrates = 0
Phosphates = 0

This is even with my powder blue tang grazing on it like crazy! In any case, I figure I must have discovered an undead version of hair algea that doesn't require any nutrients to grow!

So, is there anything else I can do to stop this? Conventional wisdom says to crush their brains, but zombia hair algea doesn't have brains.

 

[HoCkEyGmC]

try getting some more flow in the tank, specifically wherever the algae is.

 

[roka64]

Are you using RO/DI water? Do you run any filters or anything that holds media or sponges?

 

[ccCapt]

The reason you are seeing your tests show 0 nitrates and 0 phosphates is because as soon as they are available in the tank, the algae consumes it. If you have nusiance algae, it has food. Algae only needs 3 things to live...water, light and food. You need the light and water. Take away the food and it dies.
Are you using RO/DI water for water changes and top offs? And GFO to remove the phosphate?

 

[Patroklos]

try getting some more flow in the tank, specifically wherever the algae is.

I have three Koralia 3s and the 800g an hour return pump pretty much plastering my fish to the glass as it is.

re you using RO/DI water? Do you run any filters or anything that holds media or sponges?

Yeah, and I test it for nitrates and phosphates before using it, nada. No filters, completely biological LR and refugium (grape) with the exception of my skimmer and a bag of phosguard screening the overflow into the sump.

The reason you are seeing your tests show 0 nitrates and 0 phosphates is because as soon as they are available in the tank, the algae consumes it. If you have nusiance algae, it has food. Algae only needs 3 things to live...water, light and food. You need the light and water. Take away the food and it dies.

I feel you man, which is why I said zombie!!! Seriously though, with only feeding every third day, five ours of lighting (I would go blackout but I have corals) and the equivalent of 125% PWC a week, there must be something odd going on. Obviously there are nutrients, but from where? I don't use any additives, the only thing that goes into the tank is food (flake, dried algea via clip, frozen carnivore preparation) and water.

Right after I made the OP I headed to the LFS to beef up my cleanup crew by ten turbos, and halloween hermit and two emerald mithrax crabs. At the very least they can help eat it off the rocks.

 

[Innovator]

Dare I ask what kind of flake you are using? The fish and the food you feed them is where most excessive nutrients are wasted within the aquarium. What corals do you have?

 

[Patroklos]

Dare I ask what kind of flake you are using? The fish and the food you feed them is where most excessive nutrients are wasted within the aquarium. What corals do you have?

I use:

O.S.I. Spirlulina Aquarium Flake Food
Ocean Nutrients Green Marine Algea
Marine Cuizine Carnivor Prep

Corals:

Frog Spawn
Plate Coral

 

[panza]

question how long has ye tank been running and whats the size. cause when i had that algae i first pulled out a bunch so it was short and bought a big turbo snail and it just mowed right through it and it didn't grow back. maybe you can try that

 

[Patroklos]

The tank has been running since the beginning of August, and is a 65g with a 20g refugium/sump.

Yeah, I just tossed in ten regular sized turbo snails (I used to have a few big ones, but they died a few weeks back) to bolster my clean up crew, we shall see what they do. The emeralds are having a field day.

 

[roka64]

What kind of substrate?
What are your TDS readings out of the RO/DI?
Can you get a pic of the algae?

 

[Patroklos]

Argonite live sand.

What is TDS?

I don't have a pic, but the algea is just normal green hair on the rock and red (cyano I presume) on the substrate.

 

[roka64]

TDS=total dissolved solids. You will want to use a TDS meter and test your RO/DI water.

 

[Patroklos]

Oh god another meter, does the money pit never fill!!!

 

[Ziggy953]

I would say it is a combination of things. The tank is some what new, it has 8 fish in it and you are feeding some flake food. All of those things combined will create excess nutrients. It happens. I would suggest doing regular and frequent PWCs around 25%. Reduce your photo period by a few hours and pull as much of the algae out by hand as you can.

 

[Patroklos]

I am doing 125% water change total a week, I honestly don't think it is even possible for me to do more than that. I have my light cycle down to only 5 hours a day, how much more can I cut without hurting the corals?

 

[Ziggy953]

If you are changing that much water in a week then it has something to do with your source water.

Do you have any sponges or filter media on the system?

 

[Patroklos]

Source water reads 0 for nitrates and phosphate. No sponges everything is biological (besides the skimmer), the only filter media I have is phosguard in a mesh bag over my overflow into the sump.

Good news though, when I got home today it looks like some of the algea turf is pealing off the rock, so maybe it has just been sitting their dead under the live upper layer and just was not decomposed enough to come of via siphoning. I shall moniter!