Algae ID

danimal

danimal

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Hey guys

What is this algae growing on my glass? It started off as a diatom bloom, then the purple bits started to appear (was hoping it was coralline but my luck cant be that good - its growing quite quickly anyway). now i am starting to see some hair algae grow near the bottom (not very clear in pic sorry).

nitrate is 2.5ppm, ammonia is 0 and phosphate readings are also 0 but that could be because the algae is feeding off the phosphate. i have recently put chaeto in my sump (about 4 weeks ago) and while it hasnt grown it hasnt died either. I had a 2500k bulb in the sump which i changed yesterday to 6400k, which will hopefully improve the growth of the chaeto and help curb nitrate and phosphate accumulation. i am also planning on installing a carbon and phosphate reactor in the near future.

I have been doing 10% weekly water changes using RO, and have recently added about 5kg more live rock which i was assured was well cured.

not too sure what the cause of this algae growth is, someone suggested getting a turbo snail but that will only treat the symptom and not the cause. any ideas?

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How old is the tank? It looks like just normal run of the mill everyday algae to me, nothing to be concerned about.
 
Yeah you can put a couple of snails in, perhaps one of the locally caught bristletooth tangs, they love sucking algae off the glass, but you will find that your back glass will always have some sort of algae film on it, it's the sort of natural process of the tank until it settles down and the coralline starts taking over.
 
ok cool. ive got a few local snails, not sure what species they are. had them since the 2 week mark. can you point me in the direction of a picture of the bristletooth?

thanks viper
 
What snail is that against the glass?
Looks like Muricidea, if it is it is a predator. They eat other bi-valves, mussels and even snails. Muricidae Snail - Warning - Invertebrates

Get yourself some nerita snails, small size, excellent grazers.
 
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hmmm i guess it makes sense then why i hardly ever see them on the glass - they're always on the rock, in particular my newest one which is full of bivalves! if they're definitely muricidae they're going straight back to the beach! thanks riaan! :thumbup:
 
That is Muricidae. Get them out!

Rather get Nerita, looks like a flat cap.

Just take them back to the same beach you got them from. Do not take them to another place.
 
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