What kind of algae is this?

[Mystichrome]

2 months of tank running now. I have spots of pink starting which is good but I also have this green algae, which isn't hairy at all, just a nice coating on the rocks - I don't mind it all but do I need to be concerned? I actually like it. I do 2 gallon changes a week and its a 10 gallon. 

Using Walmart Distilled water only with reef crystals - RODI unit is coming Oct 20th and I'm switching to Fritz RPM once this bag is done.

SG: 1.025

Nitrates: 5-10

Phos: 0.1 

Alk: 9

Ammonia: 0

 

[Tired]

That's just standard green algae. You want that stuff. To prevent pest algae and algae-likes (hair algae, cyano, dinos, etc) from running amok, you need to have a healthy population of non-pest algae, like that stuff. Your nitrates and phosphates are good levels to help encourage that- too low, and corals and helpful algae will both starve. A healthy, mature tank will have its rock covered in all sorts of algae, which makes it difficult for pest algae to get established. Pest algae does best on bare space, with no competition. 

 

That being said, 2 months is very slow to get the beginnings of algae. Also, you should expect to see pest algae. It's normal. Your tank will have to go through the "uglies", where pest algae runs wild and non-pest algae slowly tries to catch up, until it begins to mature and your rock begins to turn into live rock. To hasten it along, you can add established rock (or shells) from mature, disease-free tanks, to introduce more types of algae and give things a head start. That stuff either came in on your snails, or possibly just in the air.

[Mystichrome]

4 minutes ago, Tired said:

That's just standard green algae. You want that stuff. To prevent pest algae and algae-likes (hair algae, cyano, dinos, etc) from running amok, you need to have a healthy population of non-pest algae, like that stuff. Your nitrates and phosphates are good levels to help encourage that- too low, and corals and helpful algae will both starve. A healthy, mature tank will have its rock covered in all sorts of algae, which makes it difficult for pest algae to get established. Pest algae does best on bare space, with no competition. 

 

That being said, 2 months is very slow to get the beginnings of algae. Also, you should expect to see pest algae. It's normal. Your tank will have to go through the "uglies", where pest algae runs wild and non-pest algae slowly tries to catch up, until it begins to mature and your rock begins to turn into live rock. To hasten it along, you can add established rock (or shells) from mature, disease-free tanks, to introduce more types of algae and give things a head start. That stuff either came in on your snails, or possibly just in the air.

Alright thanks! I actually have a GSP and a 3 Zoas in there and I think it came from there because I kept the original frag plugs. When I started the tank, I used the ARC purple helix coralline about 1 month into starting it. I get brown algae during the day but then by morning my CUC usually has it gone. 

 

My lights are an AI prime and it runs on the saxby schedule but only at max 30% during the peaks of the day.

I should technically just let things be right? Was planning to not do any changes and leave the fish and current corals that I have for a few more months and just keep up with the WC's.

[Tired]

You should absolutely let things be. Let the algae grow. You'll see a big surge, which you should allow to happen. Make sure your nutrients don't hit 0, as the algae will use it up. The only action you should take, aside from continuing normal maintenance, is to pull out any long tufts of hair algae. Your cleanup crew can't eat the long stuff. Apart from that, don't bother anything. Don't scrub the rocks, don't do blackouts, absolutely do not dose any chemical algae-killers. 

 

You want algae. You want a nice healthy population of non-pest varieties all over your rocks, competing with the pests. To get that, you have to let it grow. Any attempts to remove the pest algae will also remove the non-pest stuff. Pest algae won't usually hurt anything, anyway, it's just unsightly. Let it happen.