What is it? How do i stop it!!

[Al Bendiksen]

I have been out of town for about two weeks and i just got home to find this growing.

How can i stop this and what is it?

I have not done a water change, yet, so i am awaiting to hear any ideas.


I have 2 Turbo snails in there and whatever is left of the 15 Nass. snails i bought.

Parameters i have no idea. (I just got home)

All i know is

SG is 1.026
tEMP 79

I need all help ASAP

 

[smspring]

how long has your tank been setup?

 

[Capt_Cully]

Looks like bryopsis to me. Prune as much as you can. Sometimes it's self limiting. Others recommend high Magnesium levels to quell it.

 

[Al Bendiksen]

The tank has been up for about one month and a half going on two months.

 

[Capt_Cully]

All part of the new tank blues. You'll get lots of different algae outbreaks over the first year while tank stabilizes. Usually self limiting like I said. In the mean time, prune what you can. Be sure not to over feed (no food falling to the bottom). Bulk up your clean up crew with some sand sifters. Be strict with your testing and water changes. Try running some Carbon or GFO. Skim wet.

Most importantly, hang in there and be patient. I had the stuff in CLUMPS when I went thru it. Drove me crazy for almost a year of constant pruning. Then one day......POOF....gone.

 

[Al Bendiksen]

So add a bigger CUC, and add carbon?

I can do that. Ill order some from on line.

But i dont feed the tank, there are no fish in it!

Can a shrimp help clean? or is it mainly snails!?

 

[Al Bendiksen]

So, i will be cleaning up the DT today and try to clean off the glass.

Im thinking of doing a slight water change, as i siphon out the algae on the glass.

And what do you think about adding

1) my carbon and phosphate phosban

2) lawnmower blenny



Any concerns on that?

 

[matthewscars]

I had that when my tank was at one month running. Just pick it off every other day and it will go away.

If your tanks been up, just do 3 days of darkness.

 

[Capt_Cully]

I think you're off to a good start. Adding fish will increase nitrogenous wastes and it may get worse for a while. The lawnmower may have at it and help you out.

I say, keep doing what you're doing and it will work itself out. If you over react you may cause more harm than good. It's all part of the tank's maturing.

 

[Al Bendiksen]

Ok then.

As a side note, it seems like some of my rocks are turning white. Is that normal?

And i guess ill just take it easy and handpick it off.

 

[smspring]

i had bryosis growing like crazy when my tank was about two months old. I pulled the big pieces out. It went away after a few weeks.

If your rocks are turning white, I'm guessing it's dieoff from the rocks. If so, be sure to be checking your ammonia and nitrites. Tough to tell without pics.

 

[JEFFR259]

Normal like everyone said above.

You can/should add ALOT more Turbo Snails. I have 40 in my 120gallon, and could probably even put more in

The won't consume the hair algae at it's current stage of growth, but they will help prevent/maintain it before it gets out of control

Do water changes, reduce your lighting time period, feed less.

Carbon probably won't help reduce this. Phos-Ban or a similiar product will (algae loves phosphates/light). If you can, get a Phos-Ban reactor, small powerhead (MaxiJet 400) and Phosban media. All in all, you'll probably spend $80, but the results will shock you after about 2 weeks! This is especially recommended if you are using tap water for the tank and not RO/DI.

 

[JEFFR259]

+1 to what smspring said about the live rock going white. It is dying....check your water params.

And get to doing those water changes!

 

[Al Bendiksen]

Damn! Ill go check all the params right now. Here are the pics of the rocks.

Ill post in a few min. the params.


Btw, my "not so smart" brother brought a crab from the Virgin Islands when we went scuba diving, and he thought it would be nice to throw it into my DT. >.<

 

[Capt_Cully]

If they WERE purple and are turning white, it's likely that its coralline die off. It will rebound once you have a steady elevated Ca and Mg. Say 400-450 and 1200-1300 respectively.

 

[amay121]

Just relax and wait. Take your time and I wouldn't place anything in there just yet. Let it cycle for a bit longer first. I had this same issue as well after the 2nd or 3rd month and I didn't have any fish, so I got mad one day, took the rocks out, pulled, pulled, and scraped. it's no longer growing, but then I had a nice outbreak of Hair Algae and cyano which I'm battling to this day (it's only been about 6 months). So take your time, don't stress out, it happens, and run carbon and GFO like everyone has been talking about.

These things are totally natural.

 

[Al Bendiksen]

Here they are:

Temp 78.5
SG 1.025
PH 8.3
ALK 8.3dKH
Cal 420ppm
Mag 1260
Nitrate 25
Ammonia <0.25
Phos 0 (im going to guess that i messed up on this test, because it cant be zero!)

 

[amay121]

Al,

You may not be able to test phosphates in the water because they could be leached and absorbed quickly by the algae. Just take your time, pull them out (nothing's gonna eat it) and relax.

 

[Al Bendiksen]

amay121 -

Thanks for the help

I was really close to start buying things! But ill just wait it out and pull out the algae like you said.

Once again, thxs for the help!

I just hooked up one of my phosban reactors, going to put the 2nd one in a bit.

 

[indydog1]

al, the only thing that happens fast in salt water aquariums is failure. time is the ultimate test of how everything is going. the first months up to a year are the trials. be calm cool and collected man. this will rebound into great tank. it already is showing its true potential.