Algae on LR

[spaceman spiff]

I posted this in the algae section, but either nobody looks at that section, or nobody knows what I've got.
Tank is about a month old. Levels have been fine according to the guy at the fish store that I watch check them weekly. In fact they've been so good, that I'm starting to wonder if the tank ever really cycled at all. They said that the levels are fine, so go ahead and add a couple clowns, which my kids wanted anyway. We did. They're all very happy (kids and fish).
Went through the diatoms. They're now gone. Thankfully.
About a week ago, I started noticing my live rock looking a little pale. I thought it might be from the lights being old, so I'm planning on changing them pretty soon. Then it started growing this algae. It's not long and stringy like the algae I've seen growing on the rocks at *****. It's short, really pale green, and covers everything on that rock. It's not growing anywhere else. Only on my one live rock. I've got this one, 5lb LR and a bunch of other base rock that's getting seeded. My snails seem to eat it. Either that or they're just knocking it off the rock with their bodies. I can't tell. I don't want it to become an epidemic. At this point it's just ugly. But if i can control it before it gets out of hand, I'll be much happier. Here's a pic of the stuff:

Any ideas?

 

[saxman]

New tanks are NOT stable by any stretch of the imagination, and besides the diatom bloom, typically go thru various "algae cycles" as they mature.
I can't tell what you're referring too, as I see nothing that covers an entire rock, but I do see some kind of olive green stuff (not much to go on from the pic) as well as what looks like some nice red macro algae that may be sprouting up.
If your lights are old, change them out. Old lamps tend to shift to the red end of the spectrum, which nuisance algae favors.
If you feed frozen foods, be sure to rinse them after thawing before you feed them out.
Since you have kids and a tank, be sure the kids aren't sneaking "snacks" to the fish.
Check your NO3 and PO4 levels as well. If they're up, do a water change.
HTH

 

[spaceman spiff]

The olive green stuff is what I'm referring to. So, do I take it that I should just make sure my water chemistry is correct, buy some new bulbs, and possibly do a water change? This is normal? No reason to panic. Got it. I need to run to the LFS for some RODI top off water today anyway. I'll have them test my water while I'm there.
The red algae was another question. It grows really slowly. I'm just letting it grow as it look pretty cool. It doesn't seem to be anything to worry about.
Now the couple of small aptasia I noticed last week...

 

[saxman]

It's normal, and could simply go away, but I'd keep an eye on it and do the things I mentioned before worrying.
What kind of CUC do you have?

 

[spaceman spiff]

I have some snails right now. 10 Astrea in my 55g. There isn't much other algae that they haven't eaten.
I'll take the advice and do some lighting changes and keep an eye on the levels.