Help!!! Crazy algae!!!

[Blk_Gto]

Hi,

I recently went over to my friends house and his tank's a mess!

He recently added sand to his tank and I believe he is going through algae blooms but I don't EVER remember my algae bloom looking so bad. This green moss-like algae is covering all the rocks and it seems to have air bubbles traped inside. Is this normal or is there something wrong? What can he do to speed up/stop this crazy algae bloom? I suggested turning down the photoperiod. He's looking to get a fish so if that would help...

As they say, a picture says a thousand words

http://community.webshots.com/storage/1/v4/7/63/73/28876373yCIojGDKrs_ph.jpg

http://community.webshots.com/storage/1/v4/7/64/8/28876408krBwbRUzKb_ph.jpg

 

[pathos]

your friend huh?
my tank looked like that once upon a time. i'd say that's a pretty normal bryopsis outbreak. it's going to be a hard fought battle but you can beat that stuff. good luck

 

[scodz]

keep in mind there are a ton of nutriants in the tank mainly phosphates, if a fish eat em it then releases em back into the water... the real secret is getting the nutrients outta the water. If you use critter go pretty heavy on the water changes while they are munching. Phos zorb can work when used properly. the best is manual removal or add a refugium if he has been thinking about it go for it! or even just throw some macro algae in the sump with some light and harvest 70% of it on a regular basis, throw the harvest out that removes the nutrients from the system. Adding critters can be great but they also add nutrients and toxins to the water so you have to find a balance. Most of all I would recomend reaching in and grabbing as much as possible ASAP and throwing it out every time you do that it is nutrients permanently removed. Good luck

 

[Blk_Gto]

Thanks for the info scondz. But won't scraping off the hair algae also take away from the coralline growth you have? I think the refugium is a great idea but it's too much work for what he's willing to do.

Any other ideas besides frequent water changes and manual removal?

 

[scodz]

manually removing the algae in my my means grabbing it with your fingers, maybe scraping with your nails but not using a tool on the rock. Where there is coralline there shouldnt be hair alge anyhow, it is abit of a waiting game just keep removing nutrients, and make sur e you arent putting more back in.....