Green Star Polyps and filamentous algae?!

[Franco724]

I have a ten gallon saltwater aquarium that has been set up for about 5 weeks now and I have some Green Star Polyps (a frag - part of a mat, not mounted or anything. I have it on a base rock hoping for it to attach soon.) in the aquarium, they open up 100% daily but lately the mat has turned brown and there is some filamentous brown algae growing from it.

The polyps still extend regularly but I'm afraid the algae will end up smothering the coral and was curious if anyone knew of anyway to rid of this? I also have chaeto and two nerite snails in the aquarium, and do not wish to add anything else to eat the algae because the tank is planned for dwarf seahorses.

Any guidance is greatly appreciated.
Franco

 

[velvetelvis]

Are you running a protein skimmer? Excess nutrients often lead to filamentous algae. Since the GSP are a mat and not attached to anything, I might even remove them and replace them with another soft coral. Physical removal can help some.

You might also ask over in the seahorse forum, since you have some special needs to consider. I'm fighting an ongoing battle with this algae myself, so I sympathize with your frustration. Good luck!

 

[LetoII]

sounds like dino's which are not an algae if i remember try looking up brown slime... i am battling it now as well.

 

[AndrewG]

Your tank is only 5 weeks old. Be patient as it cycles. GSP is pretty hard to kill. Pick off the algae and maybe blow off the brown film with a baster or powerhead.
Good luck.

 

[carlgagnon]

exactly what andrew said, use a turkey baster to blow off the algae i do it everytime i do a water change :thumbsup:

 

[StrongMN]

my GSP was covered with soem cyano and algae while I got a protein skimmer up and running.

I would just brish the polyps lightly to get them to shrink in, then brush off the crap off of the mat carefully.

Now my tank is much better and the GSP is growing after being in the tank for 4 weeks...

-StrongMN

 

[atrox]

The tank is very new, and what you are seeing is the natural balance of the aquarium starting to manifest. Being that you only have ten gallons of water to work with,concentrations of what causes algae in a reef system will be much more evident in your situation. You did not explain what you are doing for filtration, i.e. carbon, hang on the back filter, or the use of power heads, or lighting. Let us know what your system includes, and we can further help you. Remember slow and steady wins the race and as ugly as you think the algae is, your nano can't survive without it.

 

[Franco724]

Thanks for the replies guys, I understand my tank is new and this is what it takes. I've been in the marine hobby for about 4 years now - This is just my first time with coral. I'm just worried about the algae "smothering" the coral. I brushed it off once and now a week later its covered again. I may pick up some blue leg hermits this weekend to see if they help ... My base rock is beginning to get algae on it as well, and the nerite snails only eat what's on the glass.

The tank has tons of flow. I have a HOB filter (running with carbon), I believe it has a 200gph turnover rate. The tank also has a small powerhead in the corner to assist in keeping my colt coral lifted up.

I forget the brand of my light but it is PC and the box said it was good for soft corals. I have the tank stocked with all the coral I wanted (gsp, colt, a green zoanthid - and a feather duster worm), I'm just letting these guys settle and establish for a good month before I add a pair of percula clowns and maybe a sexy shrimp. (I decided the horses would be too hard to manage around school and such).

Franco

 

[sporto0]

everyone has given you excellent advice so far, if you want them to attach themselves securely, make sure all parts of the mat are touching rock, especially the outer edges, I was able to push mine into a crevase in the rock and from there they took off after being in my tank for months before, but be forewarned they won't stop for other corals!

 

[jayhawk317]

i know exactly what your talking about. i went thru the same thing about a month ago. i started with blasting it with a turkey baster everyday and that would help for awhile intil it came back. i finally moved the GSP into more flow while my tank went thru this stageand that cleared it right up. so you might move it into more flow until your tank gets rid of the brown stuff. i also got me GSP like you, just the mat, about 2x2 inchs. i pulled out a small piece of live rock and super glued the GSP to the rock. that made it much easier to move around until i got it where it would do better. good luck.

 

[Franco724]

Thanks, I moved it into higher flow and with the addition of hermits and a coral banded shrimp the algae has been cleaned off nicely. As for getting it to attach to the rock, is there a special super glue I should use? Or just any old household brand?

 

[AquaSeahorse]

You cant kill GSP.... I had some hair algae and I wanted to scrub it off my rock before it came a problem. I scrubbed the rock, including the hair alg. coverege GSP.... 5 days later and they look like nothing ever happened.

 

[jchase1970]

if you get a few nassarius snails, probably not even close on spelling, they will clean more then glass, I see mine cleaning the sand, climbing on clorals and rocks as well as the glass. they are fun to watch to with the way they bury themselfs in the sand at times and you dont see any then you see them all out at other times.