Algae in DT near top of tank

[Brianw1970]

Please help! What type of algae is this? I have a 140gal 28in deep tank and it is growing in the top 3rd of the tank. It grows so fast that I had to remove it every 4 days. I have reduced my feeding to every other day and cut down the MH 2 hrs a day to 5.5 Hrs. This seems to be slowing the growth but not getting rid it. Any advice?​

 

[VAreef]

looks kinda like a version of caulerpa (sp?) If you break it apart it encourages growth. Why not move it to your sump and let it grow there. That should help limit its growth in the DT since the sump will be draining all its food.

 

[Brianw1970]

i cant seem to pull it all out becasue it is rooted in the LR and keep coming back. Any other way to get rid of it?

 

[PRC]

I don't know what that algae is, but that's a sweet cap.

 

[reeffreak]

It's bryopsis,a type of hair algae that most critters don't like.Some say lettuce nudibranches eat it but I have no experience myself.It looks pretty isolated.I would remove the rock,scrub the heck out of it and drop it in the sump for a week or two.

It also looks like you have an aiptasia problem too.

 

[yote]

Reef is right.That is Bryopsis.
Lettuce nudibranches will eat it ( thats all they'll eat ).But it'll take them a while to mow that much down.
Just do like Reef suggested and pull as much as possible out.Scrub the rest off with a brush and drop that rock in the sump with no light for a while.

 

[Bifferwine]

That is definitely bryopsis. One of the more difficult algaes to get rid of, because most of the critters in your cleaner crew won't touch it. You have to remove as much of it by hand. Can you pull out the rock that it's on? Like others have said, lettuce leaf nudis will take care of it as well, but be sure to give them back to the store or they will starve once it's all gone.

 

[Brianw1970]

Thanks for advice, now what can I do to take care of the aiptasia outbreak? Its all over tank.

 

[yote]

I'd start with a product called Aiptasia-X. Its not a chemical per-say.Its a food the Aips will eat,then it'll kill them from the inside out,preventing them from releasing spores back into your tank.

 

[Brianw1970]

Tks. I'll give the Aiptasia-X a try. What kind of coral is the red one?

 

[yote]

That is a Montipora Capricornis.

 

[Bifferwine]

Aiptasia X is by far the easiest and most effective way I've found to take care of pest anemones.

 

[dcantucson]

I get bryopsis algae from time to time. It's dense a comes off the rock like pulling grass up. I like it a lot better than Hair algae.

 

[Brianw1970]

What is the reason I am getting this type of algae?

 

[Bifferwine]

You have nitrates and/or phosphates in your water that are fueling the algae. You could have too many fish, be overfeeding, use pellet or flake foods (you should only use frozen, pellets and flakes contain preservatives that fuel algae), you could be using a canister or HOB filter, etc. There are many reasons for nuisance algae, but it all boils down to poor water quality due to one reason or another.

 

[Brianw1970]

Hey Biffer.Tks. It makes sense now. I switched to flake food a few months ago, which was also the same time my RO/DI filters went bad and I did not change them unitl 2 weeks ago.
Any advice on how I should administer the frozen food? I am sure I should not just toss in a chunck :-)

 

[Bifferwine]

Take a small cup of tank water and let the cube thaw in it. Then suck it out and feed using a turkey baster. If you don't have a lot of fish, you can use part of the cube and save the rest in the fridge for next time.

Some people rinse off the frozen food before feeding (in a strainer), but I don't.