Need id on algae

Well I finally got some close ups of this algae that plagues my tank, fuzzy chitons do eat it so do the snails. the algae doesn't get any longer then this and it reminds me of moss, it comes off in clumps.it doesn't wave around like hair algae it is a little stiff and hard to pull smaller clumps off.



this is what it looks like pulled off.

 

I would call that moss too! ;D no idea though, you might want to pm Jon Maloney(if he's not on here right now) He knows his algae!

 

derebesia - chitons like it but they try to farm it - doubt they would finish it off on you, definitely eat it though. Aid them with aggressive manual removal, water changes and competition so it doesn't grow back as fast. Hopefully that will get you to the point you can change the tide.

 

mind if I use that in the nuisance algae id thread?

 

Don't mind at all.
thanks for the id!

 

does raising the mag have any effect on this type of algae?

 

yeah I guess it will hurt it a bit. getting the mag right, and then adjusting alk and calcium as necessary is the way to go there. Check to see if the bulbs have gone red from age etc.. Treat it exactly like hair algae, because it is. The Derbesia genus is pretty wide, but it is all filamentous green algae. This particular species just forms a turf. Pushing down hard on the outskirts of the algae and sliding your thumb underneath the algae to pry it up is the best way to manually remove. Hard to explain, but you can peel this type of algae to some extent. Of course the nooks in the rockwork don't help one bit.

 

oh nevermind, you got the clump thing down, I am already looking at a picture of it. Its late what do you expect. lol