ID Please

[Beanz]

Hey all, I have a bunch of different algae growing in my tank and am looking for an ID for them and maybe some critters that will eat them up.

Algae #1
http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/picture.php?albumid=583&pictureid=4748

Algae # 2 (kinda looks like ferns)
http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/picture.php?albumid=583&pictureid=4747

Algae #3 (just one stalk looking type piece in my tank)
http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/picture.php?albumid=583&pictureid=4746

I also have a bunch of HA. Will an emerald crab b my best bet for cleaning it up with an animal?

[RESONANCE]

*Disclaimer: I'm not a scientist, just a hobbyist and these are my best guesses. LOL.

Algae#1: Caulerpa peltata amongst alot of hair algae.

Algae#2: Looks like some form of fern caulerpa (let it grow bigger if you want a positive i.d.) and you may have some bryopsis in amongst those hair algae.

Algae#3: I forgot the name... if you don't like macro algae (or just this one) I would suggest you chip of the piece of rock it's rooted on, other wise I have heard this type spreads pretty aggressively given the chance.

*edit:
Mexican turbo snails will eat your hair algae well enough. There's also lettuce nudibrachs, they may also eat the caulpera.

[BMahura]

Im not 100% sure what types they are but they look like pretty standard algae. I have had lots of luck with Mexican turbo snails as well as a lawnmower blenny. helped clean up my tank and is by far my favorite fish

[ponokareefer]

I'd be looking for the cause of the algae rather than something just to eat it up. How big is your tank, what do you have in it for occupants, how much do you feed, do you use reverse osmosis water or tap water, how much live rock do you have, how old is your tank?

[paddyob]

I'd be looking for the cause of the algae rather than something just to eat it up.

+1.

[Beanz]

The tank is a 15 gallon with a 30 gallon sump with about 20 gallons of water in it. All I have is a cleaner shrimp and some snails in there. I don't feed a lot, just some pellets every couple days and a little bit of mysis probably twice a week. I use distilled water cause I don't have the money for an RO/DI filter, this is probably where the extra nutrients are coming from I guess, this is why I'm looking for an animal to clean it up. I have probably 20 pounds of LR including the stuff in the sump and display. The tank is probably around 3 months old.

[hillegom]

Three of your algae are pictured here:
http://www.melevsreef.com/id/algae.html

[Diana]

Distiller water is a bad choice, use filtered water or IMO tap water is fine. Do u have corals in there? If you are running lights, feeding, and yet have little to no organisms in there then the algae will take over. At this point either you should just accept the fact that this is an algae tank, or try and remedy the situation. If you are ready for seahorses this might be a good aquarium for them. :)

[Beanz]

Why is distiller water a bad choice? I have some sps and plan on adding some more corals like lps and zoas later. I want this to be a cool little invert tank with some corals. I feed very little only what gets eaten. What would you recommend I do to remedy this situation?

[RESONANCE]

Algae#3 is Neomeris. Finally remembered.

[beefORchicken]

#2 looks like bryopsis to me. could be bad, i've heard its the worst kind. Heres a good ID page with solutions to different nuisance algaes. http://www.reefcleaners.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=54&Itemid=81

[Corbin]

heh well lucky i looked at the thread, i have the 3rd one was always wondeirng what it was :)

[CandyCane]

If you keep your lights on for long periods durring the day I'd recomend shortening to only 6 hrs a day or less while the algea is such great amounts

[Beanz]

Ya I recently shortened the photo period my MH was on, they are now on for 6hrs a day. The algae pictured in number 2 is definitely feather caulerpa cause it was growing on a runner. I picked off all of this feather caulerpa,the other caulerpa, neomeris annulata, and scrubbed pretty much every rock off with a toothbrush and plan on picking up an emerald crab and some turbo snails. Also why is it bad to use distilled water? I have a little distiller that boils the water and then it condenses it and it just collects in a container. I am saving up for a RO/DI but don't know how soon I will be able to get one.

[CandyCane]

As far as I know distilled water and rodi water are both the same in the end however distilled water is a lot more expensive.

[Wayne]

Um you might need to take more extreme measure to get your algea under control, I would suggest removing your rocks one at a time and manually removing algea, rinsing it and putting it back. For long term removal you can start running GFO, Zeo, or NP pellets aswell as a CUC.

How old are you lights? How often do you do water changes? Do you rinse your food? What size of skimmer? This is going to help determine what is causing the algea.

[Beanz]

I pulled a lot of it off the rocks and scrubbed them down and I am gonna grab some turbo snails and an emerald pretty quick here for a more hair algae oriented CUC. I am running Eco Phos phosphate and silicate remover in a TLF phosban reactor right now and have been replacing it every month.

My t5s aren't that old but as for my MH I cant say cause I got it used. I do a 10% WC every week, I rinse the food. and i just have a bio cube skimmer right now but am looking into upgrading that soon.