I have this brown.layer that's covering some of my coralline algae -- it's no thicker, but is expanding... how can I control it?

diatom s remnants of a new tank cycle.. possibly feeding too much. Control it with the usual methods as manual removal with a bottle brush hermits dislodge it some critters will eat it. Do you have new lamps? sometimes that can be an indication of failing this type of algae is the most common and "should" pretty much go away naturally if all other components are working such as the shimmer the tap water not overfeeding and having herbivorous (sp) livestock

Is it just a different kind of coralline?

no ;-) coralline is calcareous either pink or purple.

Sometimes they Don't last long and are sensitive to any cycling ammonia/nitrite. Some are believe it or not poisoned by the algae. one out of 2 isn't that bad. 25 out of 50 then you may have a problem.

I am thinking of purchasing the Garf reef janitors 45 for $45 deal is this a good idea

Yea thats a good deal and GARF is a good place. The snails will be good for the tank and will reproduce pretty easily.

or should the algae settle down when it gets adjusted to the new light??? Are you using Ro or DI water? you should. You also should dose kalk *very* regularly make SURE you do that do you know about pickle lime? Its the same thing as kalk (its food grade calcium hydroxide) and dirt cheap like $1.40 per lb look for balls pickle lime or see my browser search faq for the address. So 2 things make sure you dose kalk for all evaporation water and use ro or di water and your algae will disappear.

Do I need to get some phosphate remover stuff?? No

As far as your tank goes I think trying to have both worlds a [fish only] and [240 LB of live rock] can possibly lead to problems i.e.: Fish produce waste ammonia and phosphate ammonia will get broken down to nitrate and eventually nitrogen gas, but the phosphate will still have to be dealt with very strong skimming and if not dramatically reduced you may have substantial algae that will cover the rock. So if you have acquired the live rock I would suggest FAVORING reef principals (minimum fish) and lean in that direction. Really with all that rock in the tank I don't see allot of happy fish unless they are very small. IMO trying to have allot of fish may end up ruining allot of live rock.

Basic modern reef principals are

• 1.5 to 1.75 LB live rock
• RO or DI tap water elevated pH and calcium via:kalkwasser
• Strong lighting with proper spectrum
• Strong protein skimming
• Good turnover rate of water tank gallons 6x per hour
• Minimum fish and mostly if not all algae eaters
• Photosynthetic livestock

I believe it was found to harbor denitrifying bacteria and very low nitrates and then deemed a breakthrough for denitrification. Years ago, It was thought to stuff as much live rock as could fit in the tank to achieve nitrification and denitrification (a little is good more must be better) the result was having hobbyists tanks that were setup for 1 yr. to 18 months to have unexplainable unmanageable algae outbreaks. This was then attributed to having too much rock where nutrients build up unseen.It also turned otherwise good quality rock to base rock as lighting wasn't able to get to the stacked rock. This meant a complete takedown and 75% water change and removal of un necessary rock. At that point a rule of thumb was established.

Potential problems with plenums

Yes, I too have had an persistent algae problem while running a NNR plenum system. This occurred at approx one year to 14 months. I “unscientifically” attributed the problem to detritus buildup and high nutrient levels. I then took the system down, re-setup with a bare bottom, raised rock system and the algae disappeared. I find this discussion very interesting regarding the “success” of this type of system. Can all this be a coincidence? I don't think so. This NNR as I understood it was to eliminate/drastically reduce waterchanges. A “too good to be true” system. NNR or natural nitrate reduction is, I would think, just what it says. We all know that nitrate will get reduced with the correct amount of “live” rock or sand in relation to the bio-load of the tank. It is my opinion using the *correct* amount will have a large role in the long term “success” of the aquarium. I use and recommend 1.5 to 1.75 lb. per gal. Using too much live sand or rock can trap debris/detritus going unseen and building up a food source for micro-algae as well as being unfavorably biologically dense for the enclosed system. In my system ( a55 gall) , the 1.75 “ approx sand thickness came out to be 80lbs or 1.45 lbs per gallon. I also added approx 50 lb of live rock bringing it to over 2.36 lbs per gallon. This leads me to believe that excessive biological medium ie:live sand or rock becomes “un-manageable” regarding nutrient build-up over extended periods of time. This is Jauberts patent site

(you need a surface skimmer box)

Is there an animal that eats surface algae.

No, You shouldn't have ANY surface algae

You should be "surface skimming" meaning ALL the water to feed your protein skimmer or filter should be taken from the surface of the tank. This is usually done with an overflow box or the tank drilled with a fitting thru the top back wall so as the water is getting pumped into the tank...it then overflows into this fitting or overflow box. So the water to feed the skimmer is taken from the surface and will eliminate your problem. This is the method used in 99% of reef systems

there's small amounts of bubble algae growing,

IME that's a sign of poor water. I assume by bubble you mean fairly large air bubbles forming on the rock and getting covered with a thin coat of algae...streaming upward to the top??? bad TW

Anyway, should I take the rocks with bubble algae on it out and remove the bulbs with tweezers?

IME there are 2 kings of bubble algae the above kind, the other REAL bubble algae is Valonia, this is small spherical shaped medium green in color looks and feels like an artificial grape.They tend to grow in clusters and this type can be individually picked off. These IME have been fairly easy to manage by hand and I doubt the type you are talking about as they take a while to form...unless the rock was loaded when you got it... I doubt that.

I scrubbed a few rocks yesterday, and it helped a lot, but it wasn't fun...

Again, IME and opinion it is unnecessary to remove the rock and scrub in a different bucket. When you put the rock back in (to the ????water you are back to square 1). You know how strongly feel about TWP for just this type of problem.Algae!

if I get a RO or DI unit and make all of my make-up water with it (or change some percentage of the water with filtered water), will the algae go away slowly, or will it keep growing once it starts? IMO It will go away FASTER with more water changed. I would do a 35 to 45% WC and then ONLY RO/DI for all water weather it be WC or Make up

I used carbon-filtered water to fill the tank previously. Maybe I should test for phosphates/silicates..? You are already IN. Most test kits unless very high quality wont/cant get reading low enough that will cause algae

Algae Blooms

causes I think I mentioned I changed my bulbs late and the algae bloomed.

Hummm...do you think its the lights? I know you do, but I think it may be from other sources. Your water...what type of TWP do you use and when was the last time the resin was changed? How much skimmate is the skimmer producing? A real lot? allot? some? not much? I know the lights are suspect BUT that situation doesn’t happen the way I’m hearing/observing it here I suspect water quality...from adding the new liverock and possible lesser than desired TWP along with the lights but I don’t think its the lights alone. I don’t want to be preachy after all you are there, I’m just trying to pass along my observation FWIW I have had B A D lights with No algae, then some changes to the tank rearranging adding stuff... TWP with bad resin THEN a severe out break of algae ALGAE! IME TWP will be the most significant contributor to hair algae

Manually removing algae

Well, its hard to get all of the algae...purchase a bottle brush, plastic approx 1 1/2inch diameter by 6 in length can be found in most domestic stores. Using that, you can catch the algae by twirling the brush exc. and removing it. Also strong algae magnets will work well on diatoms.

Algae

Depends on water quality you can have allot of wattage IF.... you have EXCELLENT WQ and are prepared for the expense of running it.(and or over lighting the tank) If the WQ slacks = algae poor WQ IMO is caused by inadequate initial TWP inadequate skimming (undersized) infrequent WC too many or too few fish too much or too little live rock live sand plenums silicate phosphate nitrate also IMO detritus buildup I think MH lighting is OK but I still favor FLO I think people think they are impressive with MH lighting if you NEED it for allot sps clams anemones fine but it can be overkill for the long run.

I have lots of green-hair algae just getting started

Are you using a Tap water purification system? RO or DI? Not using that will usually cause more hair algae than any tang(s) could/would eat.

Which tang (brown and green Algae eater would be nice)? but I'm open to any suggestion and may not be able to find one.

I would start with a yellow tang and or Sailfin tang very good algae eaters STAY AWAY from powder blue or powder brown tangs as the get ich if you look at them Another good tang is the hippo tang AKA surgeon fish

What Food for the tang, if I get one ? He'll have plenty of Algae for a while. I would start with marine Hikari flake or tetra marine flake supplemented here and there with a few shrimp pelletts. If you start out using basic food your fish should get accustomed to it and will keep you from un necessarily shopping for "gourmet" food.

Although down the road you can get fancy with quality frozen for a treat and some unseasoned nori but for starters I would go basic Good quality like Hikari. Pre-wet the food in your fingers so it will somewhat sink(the flake)

Are you using a RO or DI??? you should... This could be a temporary algae cycle situation... BUT if it persists you may have to consider TWP tap water purification. Untill then you can / should remove the algae with a plastic bottle brush as I describe in SRK

ON the surface of the water there is growing a green type of algae. I've skimmed it off before, which cleans it up quite good, but it returns in a matter of 2 days! It gets quite stagnant and really restricts water surface movement. Any solutions?

You should be "surface skimming" meaning ALL the water to feed your protein skimmer or filter should be taken from the surface of the tank. This is usually done with an overflow box or the tank drilled with a fitting through the top back wall so as the water is getting pumped into the tank...it then overflows into this fitting or overflow box. So the water to feed the skimmer is taken from the surface and will eliminate your problem. This is the method used in 99% of reef systems