Macro Algae issues. Need help getting rid of it!

[2002RamAir]

Hello all.
I am having some crazy macro growth in my tank that I am trying to get rid of and nothing seems to work. The tank has been up and running for well over a year and it seems to keep progressively getting worse. I have attached a picture for reference. It is kind of bad quality. The blues really mess with the iphones picture quality. Any and all help or suggestions would be great.


Nitrate/Phosphate/Ammonia 0
Salinity 34.6
PH 8.13
Alk 10
Calcium 420
Temp 80

Thanks

 

[Dan_P]

I wonder if you could put the rocks in a sump or a regugium and just buy new rocks? Unconventional, I know.

Hard to tell what you have from your picture but do a Google search on images for "lyngbya". It is a cyanobacteria that looks like hair algae to me. Confirm that you aren't dealing with that.

Even though your water chemistry looks good, you might still try a GFO reactor to really scrub the phosphates out. You will also have to start physically removing the stuff by hand or with some sort of algae grazer. Algae colonies this size might be collecting enough detritus for bacteria to feed on and in turn supply the algae with nutrients. Algae does not require much phosphate to grow so you might not be able to detect the phosphate in the water.

I have seen posts suggesting high levels of magnesium or algaecide to battle hair algae if you get desperate.

 

[cloak]

It looks like Cotton Candy algae IMO.

http://www.reefcleaners.org/nuisance-algae-id-guide

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-12/nftt/index.php

 

[2002RamAir]

It's not either of those. I plucked some out and took pics of them. The two dominant ones are the pink and the stringy leafy ones.

 

[2002RamAir]

Sorry pics won't all go in one post. Stupid iPhone.

 

[2002RamAir]

Three

 

[2002RamAir]

Four

 

[2002RamAir]

Five

 

[cloak]

Check this out.

http://www.saltcorner.com/AquariumLibrary/browsesection.php

Just click on the red/green algae links and it will give you some more options. There's all kinds of different types of algae and pictures. HTH.

 

[Bpb]

Lol..you've got yourself a macro lagoon. An infestation like that should just be out into a large refugium and start over with display rocks fresh

 

[2002RamAir]

i kind of figured that would be the case. I am wanting to redo my aquascape anyways. Would taking the rocks out, pulling off all of the algae, and scrubbing them work? or would it just all come back?

 

[Bpb]

Come back. No way you'll get all the "roots" or holdfasts

 

[2002RamAir]

Looks like i will be setting up a small tank to house the fish and corals and do a major redo. Im thinking reef flakes and macro rocks this time around.