Can anyone ID this algae for me?

[Cleggat]

So my SW tank has been set up for over four months now, last month this algae started to appear, it quickly overtook my tank, it grows everywhere and anywhere. I do maintenance on my tank more than once a week, even within a few days it looks horrid again because of this algae, it grows like mad so I've started to cut down my hours of light. It's a 34 gallon, ppms - 0 nitrite, 0 nitrate, 0 ammonia and 8.2 pH, here's some pictures I took before I done maintenance today if anyone can ID it for me, the last one is of some other bright green growths in my tank, also wondering what they are if anyone could tell me, many thanks.

 

[Gregcoyote]

Basic green hair algae...really common. It can grow using left over nutrients that most test kits can't even see. But the best way to control it is water changes and physically removing it from the tank. The CUC just recycles the nutrients when they eat it and it grows right back. Overfeeding is also a culprit.

There are lots of schools of though on how to best lower organics in the tank that cause algae blooms. Some use media like Polysorb to polish the water and remove trace organic compounds. I use a algae turf scrubber and actually use algae to polish the water. But in the end it is about keeping the nitrogen and phosphates out of the system.

 

[Reefpete]

yup hair algae .....turbo snails will eat it but i don't know about that much of a breakout lol can be controlled though

 

[Gregcoyote]

yup hair algae .....turbo snails will eat it but i don't know about that much of a breakout lol can be controlled though

The problem with snails is that they just poop the nutrients back into the water, adding their own. It is one big cycle. You have to remove the algae and/or it's food source.

 

[Cleggat]

Thanks guys! I already have some phosphate remover in the tank had it in for more than a week.

 

[Gregcoyote]

That should start to help.

 

[Cleggat]

The phosphate remover has been in for weeks now, even trippled the amount for my tank, no change at all. I scrub my tank frequently but it always looks a mess...

 

[ccCapt]

What are you using to remove the phosphate? After time it will get to the point where it no longer absorbs the phosphate and you have to throw it out and add all new media.
Also, try to determine where the phosphate is coming from. Are you using RO/DI water for water changes and top offs?

 

[CaptainAhab]

Why do you think you have a phosphate issue? The fact that you have (or think you have ) 0 nitrates is ,IMO, the smoking gun... BANG!

 

[Cleggat]

Sorry for the late reply, I test my tank with the marine API test kit to test for nitrates. My nitrate currently is 0ppm I still have the weed, I remove it every few days but it just grows back, a little slower than before. I used RO for all water that goes into the tank. I have been using NT Labs Marine Phosphate Remover.

 

[Sniperhank]

It won't go away over night. When was the last time the filters on the ro/di were changed? It is most def a phosphate/nitrate issue that the algae is consuming. I had the same issue that I just got control of. It took a mix of changing the filters on my ro/di, manual removal, water changes, stopping feeding, and improving my sump.

 

[Ingy]

As captain ahab said, the reason you have 0 nitrAtes is BECAUSE you have hair algae. As the algae consumes the nitrates it grows wildly. You need to replace the algae with something else to consume nitrates. I have a Whisper power filter on my tank and I put a cheato ball in there and attached a light to it. Now my nitrates are consumed in the filter. Trimming the ball as required gets the nitrates and phosphates into the compost bin where they belong.
Cause and effect.

 

[Cleggat]

I know I wont have nitrates because it will be using any up, I was simply mentioning that they were not sky high when the weed was dying down a little. I never expected it to go away over night, I have been trying to get rid of it for four months, the RO filters were changed three weeks ago. Rarely there is uneaten food which is taken out, the food wouldn't be in there any longer than five minutes. I'll look into a cheato ball, thanks.

 

[Zactheninja]

I have a crab that eats all of mine, I don't care if it's a cycle. It keeps my levels down, my crab eats it before I notice it, and he's happy and feed.
Doesn't seem like a problem to me.

 

[Wolffman64]

Hi, sorry for the late comment, but I just joined the site. I had a complete "invasion" of green hair algea in my 66g tank after about 1,5 months after I started it, and was a bit devastated, since it "ruined" all my nice live rock. I found a good link on the web on melevsreef.com/gha.html and basically did the manual daily removal for about a 2 week period. I also bought 5 Turbo snails and a lawnmower blennie during this period. The algea is now completely gone and the tank lloks great. Don't despair (like I did in my beginners lack of knowledge) there is a hair algea free light at the end of the tunnel!
I also got 7 Decorator Urchins appearing from the live rock after about three months after I got it, and they are machines when it comes to cleaning algea (not sure how they are with the GHA though).
Good luck with ripping the GHA out!

 

[kdpuffer]

Typically urchins eat coralline algae. I too had a nasty algae problem and did a few things to control it. I added more carbon and some GFO combined with something to eat algae. I have a larger tank so I was able to add a fox face which decimated the algae. I also added a starry blenny which helped also. Do not go this route your tank is too small, snails and or emerald crabs are your best bet combined with carbon and GFO. GFO if your not aware is a product that absorbs phosphates.