Algae ID??

[isajgh]

Hey guys! After a lifetime of dying for a saltwater tank, I finally got into the hobby around 6 months ago. I'm totally hooked! Currently in my 40 gal with 10 gal sump I have a yellow watchman, two true percolas, Royal gramma, Bengai Cardinal, and my newest addition: a court jester goby (as well as an arrangement of hermits, snails, one Red Sea star and one pep shrimp). As for corals I've got a gigantic Kenya tree, decent sized frogspawn, GSP, rasta zoa and one purple tip anemone. I've noticed a soft mossy grey/green algae along some of my live rock. It's mostly on the larger rocks I purchased dry but already have a lot of coralline growth. I just did a water change and checked parameters today, my nitrates are a bit elevated at 15 ppm but everything else is objectively ideal. Anyone have any ideas what could be growing on my rocks?

 

[Reefermatt3]

Are you able to post pictures?

 

[isajgh]

Pictures

Pictures

I think I attached them. Please let me know if you can't see them. Thanks!

 

[AZBigJohn]

Probably GHA, from stuff leaching from the rock that was dry. You do not read any phos or high nitrate because it is bound up in the algae.

Manually remove it, and keep doing so.

 

[isajgh]

Awesome. Thank you for the help!!

 

[leviburns89]

Adding a gfo reactor would also help prevent future algae growth. TLF makes a very inexpensive and effective reactor. Amazon has them for $38, but you have to add a pump, and get some phosban to run, so you're still under $100.

Just added one to my system 4 days ago, and the algae is starting to recede.

Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk

 

[isajgh]

Thanks for the tip! I'm looking into it