Please help with Algae ID and Remove or Leave ? (photos)

[ShaunB1980]

Hello Everyone the last few days the Algae in tank has really taken off and the snails are going crazy on it but looks like the Algae is growing a lot faster.

The Algae is greenish/brown and looks stringy or hairy, there is also some spots that look brown but it is flat and not stringy like the other algae.

I have not tested phospates or calcium, but Amonia, Nitrites, and Nitrates are all 0.

---------- Tank Information ---------

I first want to thank the members here for convincing me the sales man at one LFS cared more about my money then the life of my fish when selling me a canister knowing I wanted to do a Reef Setup.

44g Corner Hex Tank
eshopps 100 Protien Skimmer
eshopps 100 Sump
Apex System with Temp, pH, ORP, Salinity (still need another temp)
R420R LED Light
Mag-5 Pump
Circulation Fan

Livestock: 2 Clowns (Nemo's), 1 Shrimp, 5 small hermit crabs, 5 snails.
Coral: 50+ pounds Live Rock, Fiji & a better kind, 1"-1.5" Live Sand in Tank, Fox Coral, Elegant Coral, Zoanths

Tank has been running 30 days, and it has been suggested to me that with the protein skimmer and as much live rock that I have my tank should not cycle or if it does it should be minimal.

 

[gnu]

New tanks always cycle, I think your LFS is full of it...we had a similar experience when new, you just assume that they're trustworthy However, your clowns should be fine...your corals, on the other hand, might need a hospital tank temporarily if your levels spike. Keep an eye on the elegance especially, they can be really touchy. Your algae looks like hair algae, manually remove as much as possible, it can get out of hand easily, but should ease up once you're out of new tank syndrome. Also, cerith snails are fantastic algae eaters in the mean time.

 

[ShaunB1980]

Thank you very much, it really stinks not having any confidence in a LFS.

They sold me HBH Balance Blocks and told me to use them as they dissolve in tank. It claims 71 trace elements but that includes silica, isn't that what the algae wants ?

Me and the wife removed all the algae manually and I think we did a pretty good job.

When I saw the algae beginning to grow i assumed that was normal and it would go away....a few days later it was long enough to mow. The snails love it but it looks fugly in the tank.

Any suggestions for keeping it under control ?

 

[Ryphen]

Regular water changes with a good salt should be enough to replace any trace elements. In most cases, you should only have to add calcium, alk, and to a lesser extent, magnesium. Sounds like your LFS is trying to make money off of you.

 

[ShaunB1980]

I was buying the salt water premixed when I started and have only added salt once to RO water since the tank has been running and I use Instant Ocean.

Once it is gone I was planning to go to Instant Reef, those ok ?

My temp is at 78 I see a lot of people running at 80, I got a larger then needed heater and at first had it in tank but have since put it in sump with skimmer.

Salinity is 34.4 currently and pH 8 - 8.2

 

[joekidwell]

How much flow do you have In the tank other than the mag 5?

If its on the glass its not too much of a problem just scrape it off and try to siphon as much of the wast up so it dosent float around the tank and land in the rocks. I clean my glass every other day with a mag float, if I were to let it go for a couple of weeks it would look the same.

Also buy some macro and keep in the sump or some pretty macro to keep in the display tank it will compete with the bad algae and usually win.

 

[ShaunB1980]

I have a power jet blowing in middle height of opposite side of the Mag-5.

The side that was the worst was the mag 5 side.

You think LFS sells pretty Macro or can/should I order online ?

 

[joekidwell]

If you had more posts id say order it on here, I sell dragons breath all the time, im currently out. Gulfcoastecosystems.com sells alot of macro just be sure what you get is not invasive or in a few months you will be posting a thread on how to remove macro from a tank. Search for macro algae online and you will find all kinds.

 

[ShaunB1980]

If you had more posts id say order it on here, I sell dragons breath all the time, im currently out. Gulfcoastecosystems.com sells alot of macro just be sure what you get is not invasive or in a few months you will be posting a thread on how to remove macro from a tank. Search for macro algae online and you will find all kinds.

You mean order it through the forum ?

There a lot of sellers on here, private or retail ?