The long blades of green algae may be either of these two. I say you use a reactor and starve it out over 2 weeks slowly. I just got done doing it as you saw when you were here and my zoas, palys etc are all back to being happy. It took a couple water extra changes and about 2 weeks of using the reactor for 2-3 hours a day.... now the tank is free of the pesky algae. Good luck and keep us posted.
Green Turf Algae
What is known as "
Green Turf Algae" in the hobby is really a generic name given to hundreds of different species of macroalgae that describe certain similar characteristics. They are coarse, wiry, and generally have thicker wider blades than Green Hair Algae. They may or may not have a mat like root structure, sometimes they just seem to sprout from the rock.
Turf algae that sprouts directly from the rock can be a pain to control, as it is difficult if not impossible to pluck it all. Once discovered it should be treated outside of the aquarium, perhaps by dipping the affected rock or frag in water treated with an algaecide.Turf algae that grows with a "root" mat can be peeled by pushing down on the algae as you scrape your thumb against the rock dislodging it in one swoop. Let it get big enough so you have leverage. The 3reef member who removed this piece did it perfectly.
Clean up Crew members that will eat Green Turf Algae include inverts with considerable cutting power like urchins, chitons, and emerald crabs.
OR
Cladophoropsis, Green Wiry Algae
Species in this genus, and related ones, cling to the rock, and spread from a runner. The branches do not get tall, and they are often found with hobbyist frags or on live rock.
Manual Removal - Difficult. Macros that have fragile runners and creep along the rock are the hardest to manually remove. Do the best you can. Get a dental pick and get it all the first time and be done with it.
Clean Up Crew- Rock Boring Urchins, Emerald Crabs, Turbos, and Sea Hares occasionally pick on it, but it dont seem particularly interested in it.
Starving it out - It seems to be particularly good at adapting to nutrient lulls, and it is unlikely that a small amount of the algae here and there will be starved out of your tank.
Fortunately these algae species tend to grow slowly, and aren't particularly common.
We distinguish this from Green Turf Algae by keeping this heading limited to green algae that creep along the rockwork, rather than grow up from it.