Nuiscance algae help

[fischcrazy]

i have had my Fo tank set up for two years now and i have just encountered the most degrading thing
This algae is a velvety-green color, looks like slime algae but has "hair" and my pygmy algel wont touch it. What the He11 is this stuff

 

[kmk2307]

fischcrazy,

Can you post a picture? Do you use tap or filtered water (like RO/DI) to make your saltwater with? It sounds like you have cyanobacteria, though I'm not sure what velvety-green looks like. Do you test your phosphates or nitrates?

Kevin

 

[fischcrazy]

i use ro/di and i have no pics, but i had a po4 boom in my FO tank, and I use the suphom for both tanks, so at least i know how it spread, but i have never had cyno bacteria w/ hair......what fish or inverts will eat it

 

[pledosophy]

When was the last time you changed your bulbs? Aging bulbs can shift in spectrums to favor nuisance algae.

If this were me I would turn off my lights for 48 hours. The algae is photosynthetic and will suffer greatly from no light.

Other things to help are,

Lowering tank temp,

Adding aeration,

a UV will help kill spores in floating in the water, but not what is on the rocks or glass.

 

[fischcrazy]

if i do that stuff like lower temps and turn off lites, my anemone will suffer also

 

[kmk2307]

fischcrazy,

You might want to look into products like phosban or rowaphos which are iron hydroxide based phosphate removers.

HTH,
Kevin