Small green balls on a green stem on some algae(i believe) that i was given by my LFS

[Lcrlcr232]

I was given a hand full of plant for my reef tank for free by my LFS as she said it would be benficial to the tank, and i noticed these were tangled in with the mass. I pulled them out and put them in a small quarentine until i know if i should trash them or not. I'm still new to the hobby, and have only had this tank for about half a year. Just wanted to be extra careful on what i let enter it.

 

[DaveK]

What you have is a piece of Caulerpa racemosa. It is sometimes used a a refugium because it can grow quickly and remove nitrates and phosphates. Tangs and similar fish will eat it, but it's usually not their favorite algae. However, this growth rate can also be a bad thing. The fast growth can overgrow just about everything in a tank.

If your willing to keep after it and keep weeding it back, it can be ok, but my choice would be to remove it.

 

[Blue Space]

It gets into every nook and cranny in your rock work too so if you don't want it then pitch it. I'm with Dave.