Help ID'ing and killing this algae

[niqiri]

Can anyone please tell me what kind of algae this is and how I can prevent it from spreading? N and p test at zero and all other parameters are in check. I have a four t5 bulb retrofit with bulbs that are a little over a year old. Dosing vodka and lanthanum.

[Reefmedic79]

How old is the tank? Or the rocks for that matter?

It looks a little like green coralline, may be hair algae starting, the pics aren't that great. Judging from the color of the rock it's a new rock. If this is correct they will always turn green before that start growijg the nicer colors.

[niqiri]

Tank is about a year and a half but I've struggled with HA before. Rocks are the same age. It's filamentous so it's definitely not coralline. I just want to make sure that before I dose algaefix marine this algae can be killed by it.

[niqiri]

Tank is about a year and a half but I've struggled with HA before. Rocks are the same age. It's filamentous so it's definitely not coralline. I just want to make sure that before I dose algaefix marine this algae can be killed by it.

[mudcat1]

It looks like the beginning of green hair algae to me. I have had good luck with using red mythrix crabs (kin to green emerald crabs) to remove it from my tank. The only problem I found is when you run out of algae the crabs starve and die.

If this algae just started to appear, your T5 lights probably need to be replaced (since you said they are already about 1 year old).

[Mike_Noren]

You have a 1.5 year old reef tank with rocks which are pure white?

[niqiri]

Yep. I've had a lot of struggles with this tank a lot, one of which included a stint where I tried to make an algae scrubber system work. Water was full of n and p, algae was everywhere, tank was a mess. Somehow, the tank came back from that and I removed the ATS and added a UV unit and a stronger return pump. Now dosing 2.6 mL vodka but I'm working my way up on the dosage. Dosing lanthanum chloride every other day in an effort to keep phosphate down. Skimming as much as I can out. Water changes. I just can't have this terrible algae again.