Is this good algae? ID PLEASE

[-=James=-]

I bought some used rock off someone and half of it was from their display tank, the other half has some hair algae from their sump, which I already stuck in a tub with a powerhead and heater.

1) Do I need to change the water that is in the tub? Or just leave it for a week then put the rock in the display tank after the algae dies? Should I scrub off the algae too? Should I be really concerned about algae?

-Or will it be ok to leave it in the tub for a week, scrub off any algae, then put it in my tank?


2) Is this algae on these rocks (pictured below)? These were from his display tank. If so, how should I go about cleaning them? Some rocks have purple coralline on it but is also covered with worms, brittlestars...how would I clean it?


All input is appreciated!!!

[intarsiabox]

Is this a brand new tank you are setting up? If it's just a bit of hair algae I wouldn't worry about it. Proper care of the tank and certain animals will eliminate it. Expect to have some algae at the start of a new tank anyway.

The green algae in your pictures is Halimeda algae. It is calcerous and is considered good to have as it is not evasive or competative. It is also usually a good indicator that your tank is doing good as it dies quickly with ailing water parameters.

The snail, brittle stars, etc you have don't require any light so if you want to turn the lights off for a few days it won't hurt them. They are actually more active with the lights off.

[-=James=-]

Sweet thanks!

And yes, this is a new tank.

[-=James=-]

bump...better pictures added

[Myka]

The red fuzzy stuff is turf algae...not good. It should go away on its own once your system has established provided you keep nutrients low.

The green "chunky" stuff is Halimeda. Some people like it, but is can go rampant and grow all over the place out of control and eating up your calcium reserves. I personally think it is better to keep it in the refugium or otherwise contained away from the display tank.

The yellow thing is a sponge. It is a beneficial filter feeder which essentially helps to clean the water.

The green stringy stuff is hard to tell from the pic...it could be Bryopsis hair algae starting, or it could be a type of elongated Bubble Algae. Neither are good.

The best way to be rid of algae is to lower your nutrients, as well as natural predators. Take a look at the algae link in my signature to help you with that.

[-=James=-]

Thanks Myka. I have looked at your links a few times.

When you say lower nutrients, do you mean less feeding? I have no fish or anything and wont have any for another couple months. I have a few crabs, large turbo snail, brittle stars/worms. Could I buy some more inverts to help?

Also, what do you think about putting rocks with hair algae (not pictured) in a tub and letting it sit in the dark for a week or so? I am in the process of doing that but not really seeing any results. I do see some little worms and polyps at night too.

[Myka]

Lower nutrients:

~ Check your feeding (and rinse frozen food before feeding)
~ Good skimming
~ Regular water changes
~ Carbon, GFO, etc
~ Carbon source dosing (vodka, Zeovit, Fauna Marin, etc)
~ Check water flow (maybe your rockscape needs improvement, or more powerheads)
~ Check bioload
~ Be sure liverock can handle the livestock load

You need to cook the rocks for a lot longer than a week or two to kill the hair algae. Probably more like 4-6 weeks, probably longer if you want to leech the phosphate and nitrate out too.