please help me ID this

[wyattroa]

I need help. It keeps popping up. Just like its pictured...Nothing on the rocks, just in tiny balls like this on the sand. I pull it out of the tank. It never goes crazy, only like this. I also once in a while get these strands of green that come out of the sand. I tried to include a picture of that as well. At a loss. I started the tank off with all dead rock and tropic eden sand. Running phosphate reactor and bio-pellets. Do my water changes, bulbs are not due for a change. No corals have been brought into the tank yet, just clean up crew and my fish from the old tank. The only old equipment from the old tank were the probes from the apex and they were cleaned. I never had this type of algae in the old tank. Tank has been up for over a year. I also found long hard string on one of my rocks in a crack. I was able to pull it out. It was in one spot. I got a picture of it. Almost looks like cheato. I did used to have cheato in the sump but took it out.

Here is the other green string that pops up from now and then in different places.

Cheato type on rock attached and had to yank it off.

 

[Secondsbest]

I'm not sure what the top algae is, but I believe you are correct on the cheato. As for the original source, your CUC could be the culprit. Snails and hermits can have algae of many sorts attached to their shells. To get rid of it, I recommend scooping out your substrate under the tufts of algae. Make sure to get all the hold fasts with the algae.

 

[Dobberss]

I know this topic is over a month old, but it looks like the top pics could be from genus Spyridia.