Is this green hair algae?

[uscgbeachbum]

I've had my tank up since January. For about 4 months I've been having a moderate battle with green algae. I've been out of the hobby for about 8 years so I'm off practice, but I've never seen this kind of algae before. It is very long, single strand that can grow in excess of 12". It's definitely not chaeto. Phosphates showing up 0 on Salifert, but I'm sure my algae is consuming it. I have about 5 trochus snails and a single margarita. According to aquacon.com, my snail population needs to be increased substantially. Do ya'll think this would help?

 

[hilgert]

Unless you have a question that is related to reef chemistry, this thread probably belongs in the Reef Discussion forum, not the Reef Chemistry forum (and folks in the Reef Discussion forum probably know a heckuva lot more than aquacon.com).

 

[ReeferBill]

Can you post a picture?

 

[bertoni]

I doubt that you'll be lucky in finding a snail that will eat your alga, whatever it is, but you might get lucky. The stocking charts I've seen are designed to sell far too many animals. If your tank is shallow enough, spending a few minutes a week harvesting out as much as is easy to get will help export nutrients.

 

[Aquarist007]

I've had my tank up since January. For about 4 months I've been having a moderate battle with green algae. I've been out of the hobby for about 8 years so I'm off practice, but I've never seen this kind of algae before. It is very long, single strand that can grow in excess of 12". It's definitely not chaeto. Phosphates showing up 0 on Salifert, but I'm sure my algae is consuming it. I have about 5 trochus snails and a single margarita. According to aquacon.com, my snail population needs to be increased substantially. Do ya'll think this would help?

Often the algae is consuming nitrates and phosphates as fast as they are being introduced to the tank so you don't get a test reading. How large is your tank..could you add a tang for eg which would munch on it
What is your feeding method(s)

 

[reefwars]

I've had my tank up since January. For about 4 months I've been having a moderate battle with green algae. I've been out of the hobby for about 8 years so I'm off practice, but I've never seen this kind of algae before. It is very long, single strand that can grow in excess of 12". It's definitely not chaeto. Phosphates showing up 0 on Salifert, but I'm sure my algae is consuming it. I have about 5 trochus snails and a single margarita. According to aquacon.com, my snail population needs to be increased substantially. Do ya'll think this would help?

sounds like bryopsis , is it fine and feathery?

 

[tmz]

Need a better description or a picture. Some algae do just fine in lower nutrient water.Some are not on anybody's menu either. Bryopsis is one of those. but I have no idea what algae you have.

 

[uscgbeachbum]

I doubt that you'll be lucky in finding a snail that will eat your alga, whatever it is, but you might get lucky. The stocking charts I've seen are designed to sell far too many animals. If your tank is shallow enough, spending a few minutes a week harvesting out as much as is easy to get will help export nutrients.

I had a feeling the CUC stocking charts were heavy. After all, I've never seen one that wasn't included on the website of an online merchant. I do try to spend some time manually removing some. Especially since some rogue pieces of chaeto always find its way into the display tank and starts growing. Drives me crazy.

 

[uscgbeachbum]

Often the algae is consuming nitrates and phosphates as fast as they are being introduced to the tank so you don't get a test reading. How large is your tank..could you add a tang for eg which would munch on it
What is your feeding method(s)

My tank is right at around 103 gal, with a total water volume of around 118 gal. I do have a kole tang, but it looks like he never goes for anything longer than about 1mm.

 

[uscgbeachbum]

Here's some decent photos that represent the type of algae I have. Generally, I have 2 kinds: one that looks kind of like a fern or bush and the long stringy one.

 

[bertoni]

I am not sure what types of algae you might be seeing. Some might be Bryopsis, but the pictures are rather blurry.