Green, slimey algae?

[elweshomayor]

So i've been fighting hair algae for a while now. It got to a point where it was everywhere.
I began dosing vodka, reduced my bioload and started feeding a lot less.
Algae began disappearing within a month. My tank was almost clean and then all of the sudden this other algae started growing?

It looks similar to hair algae, ( i thought it was) but it feels slimey to the touch. And its hard to grab on to it to remove it. Almost as if it retracts when you touch it.
Its EVERYWHERE and started to take over. When I do manage to grab it, it comes off in clumps. I dont have detectable nitrates anymore. I figure its all getting eaten by the algae, however I am still dosing vodka.

At one point I thought it was maybe a bloom on top of the algae that made it slimey? or is this a different species.

I installed an algae scrubber recently, but it hasnt began to grow algae (its getting there i suppose).

I've reduced nutriets, Ive reduced the number of fish, dosing vodka.. why is this going backwards? Only difference is that now I have coral and I cant completely turn off the lights anymore like i used to.

I dont know what else to do. Some of my frags have began bleaching, from what I assume is the algae.

 

[mcgyvr]

You sure its not just the bacteria giving that "slimy" feeling..
Its certainly slimy/snot like..

Got a picture?
details on the tank (how long its been setup,etc..).
phosphate levels?

 

[elweshomayor]

You sure its not just the bacteria giving that "slimy" feeling..
Its certainly slimy/snot like..

Got a picture?
details on the tank (how long its been setup,etc..).
phosphate levels?

It definitely feels like im grabbing a huge piece of snot for sure. I could cut back on vodka dosing, however if this is a bloom, shouldnt the algae be starving by now? why is it still growing
Tank has been up for around 8 years probably. I've only had this kind of algae for about 1 year but it's been this bad for a bout 6 months.

ill post a pic

 

[elweshomayor]

I dont have a phosphate kit, but I am using RODI water.

 

[mcgyvr]

bacterial "snot" is usually an indication of when its time to dial back on the carbon dosing..

That looks like "weak/dying" hair algae.. Weak because of the low nutrients... It tends to loose its "green" color and goes whitish/light brown..

and dang.. you certainly did have a nutrient problem.. That algae can take a while to go away.. But its just weak hair algae probably covered with bacterial snot..

recovering from that can take MONTHS for the algae to finally go away after you reduce nutrients..
I might suggest manual removal of the rocks if possible (a few at a time) and scrub with a toothbrush in a mix of 50% old tank water/50% hydrogen peroxide then a quick rinse in some old tank water and back in it goes..
waiting for it to finally go will be a long process..

 

[elweshomayor]

bacterial "snot" is usually an indication of when its time to dial back on the carbon dosing..

That looks like "weak/dying" hair algae.. Weak because of the low nutrients... It tends to loose its "green" color and goes whitish/light brown..

and dang.. you certainly did have a nutrient problem.. That algae can take a while to go away.. But its just weak hair algae probably covered with bacterial snot..

recovering from that can take MONTHS for the algae to finally go away..

By dial back, should I stop dosing for a couple of days? or still dose but a lot less?
Maybe the coral is suffering because of nutrients are getting depleted? Should I dose other things?

 

[mcgyvr]

IMO back off the dosing some to at least pick up something on a test kit and see how it goes.. How much are you dosing now? you can probably do 50% of that as a "maintenance dose" but I would cut it to 30% and see how nitrates react..

 

[elweshomayor]

IMO back off the dosing some to at least pick up something on a test kit and see how it goes.. How much are you dosing now? you can probably do 50% of that as a "maintenance dose" but I would cut it to 30% and see how nitrates react..

i forget how much ml it was, but i do 2 caps of the Smirnoff bottle. I had measured before but i forgot xD I guess I could cut down to about half a cap or so.