Let's Talk About ~Algae Control~

[brswitt]

I was a fool 3 years ago and destroyed my live rock. I want to recolonize it and boght some new. I am trying to grow the purple crusting algae that is on some of the rocks. I have three flourescent tubes of 6500K over my tank but want to take one of those out and rplace it with an actinic blue. Iam using Reef Builder by Seachem but nothing else. Do I need to add calcium and /or test for this? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[castanedacrew]

New Tanker

Hi, i'm new and going nuts! Maybe I shouldnt have started a saltwater tank but I did, and cant go back well i'm having a problem with green algea, I cant see my fish! My tank just finished cycling is this normal?

Thanks anyone who answers!
Algea man

 

[MarineTeng]

it's normal that most tanks go through algae blooms, water changes and cleaner crews help, also algae feeds of light nitrate and phosphate, if u're using tap water that can be a source, though not always, nitrate comes from the cycling process and light, good spectrums like 10k + go for corals more then algaes though algae will still grow. RO/DI (reverse osmosis/de-ionization, think that's what it stands for) units help against algae and run a variety of prices just use the RO/DI water for replenishing evaporation and when u mix your salt. RO/DI units help against other stuff u don't want in ur tank like metals of different sorts along with nitrates and phosphates, just purifies the water basically.

 

[sickright]

I have some short feather calupra that i just can't get rid of. Can anyone sugest a perticular type of tang, or animal that might have an apitite for this pain in the rear type of alge. I have tried yellow, kole and blue tangs and they would rather starve than eat it.

 

[Krish]

Welcome to Rf sickright! I have never had any dealings with caulerpa at all, so I wouldn't really know...Sorry. I just wanted to welcome you to the forum. This thread has been idle for a while now so you may get a quicker response if you start a new thread in the general forum. Best of luck!

 

[Krish]

I'm psychic...Nikki will post next(LOL)

 

[NaH2O]

I have some short feather calupra that i just can't get rid of. Can anyone sugest a perticular type of tang, or animal that might have an apitite for this pain in the rear type of alge. I have tried yellow, kole and blue tangs and they would rather starve than eat it.

Welcome to Reef Frontiers!!!

Wow - I've forgotten about this thread....I guess the busy part of my life overcame my memory of threads to get back to.

Are you sure it is a caulerpa, and not a bryopsis? What size tank, equipment, and how are your water parameters? How bad is the algae (i.e. everywhere in the tank, in one particular location, etc)? What are your tank inhabitants? The Kole tang isn't really a pick-at-algae fish...they prefer to scrape their "comb-teeth" on substrate surfaces. Have you thought of a rabbitfish, or urchin?

 

[NaH2O]

I'm psychic...Nikki will post next(LOL)

Hey!! What do you know?

Wow...I need to go back and read through some posts...I just realized there were alot of people I need to Welcome, and see what was said.

 

[Krish]

Hey!! What do you know?

Wow...I need to go back and read through some posts...I just realized there were alot of people I need to Welcome, and see what was said.

I saw you replying in the active members page(LOL) I wish I was psychic! I'd be a millionaire

 

[Curtswearing]

Sickright,

Just be thankful that it's not razor Caulerpa. That stuff is TOUGH!!!

Getting animals to remove Caulerpa is a definate challenge. It's really hit or miss. Caulerpa's have toxins to prevent predation. Some animals don't mind the toxins and some do. Urchins will sometimes help you but they will knock over anything not nailed down too and they grow very fast.

You are not going to like my recommendation. Remove the bad rocks, pull off the Caulerpa, and then scrub anywhere there was a holdfast with a toothbrush. Any piece that survives has the capability of regrowing into a full plant.

Here's the easiest way to do this. After your next waterchange, save the old water in buckets. Put the rock in this bucket and then pull and scrub in there. Then rinse with fresh saltwater before putting it back into the tank.

You'll get through this but you can spend a lot of $$$ trying to find an animal that will take care of it for you.

 

[Curtswearing]

Actually good point Nikki....short feathers could be Bryopsis too.

 

[spongebob lover]

i just wanted to say that caulerpa is the hardest plant ever to pick... sheesh my husband spent about an hour picking and i can still see some tini little pieces :doubt: .

I used to have an emerald and it used to love that stuff ... to bad Mr. Krabs died

 

[dabears26]

Hello i am still pretty new to the site but have question.I have just upgraded my lighting system to metal halide from pc's.Will my tank go thru another algae bloom or cycle's.???

 

[spongebob lover]

hmm when i changed my vho's to mh i saw a little algae but it didn't go through a whole cycle.
If you have corals please make sure you acclimate them to your lights .

 

[dabears26]

how should i acclimate them i was running a12 hr cycle with the pc's now i am going only6 hrs a day for a week i figured..

 

[NaH2O]

You can also put eggcrate on the top of the tank, and cover it with a few layers of window screen. Every week remove a layer of screen, and the corals will slowly be acclimated to the lights.

 

[spongebob lover]

i agree with Nikki.

 

[Paul B]

I kind of have to disagree with a few things on this thread. Not that these things are totally wrong but I have a few small problems with some of it.
I have been getting cycles of algae on and off for about 25 years, (the first ten years there was very little algae the tank is now 35) I have all the snails, crabs, rabbitfish, sea hares, skimmers, etc. and my nitrates are always zero. It's not likely that there is still anything leaching out of my rock at this point. I collected the rock my self in the Caribbean and Hawaii so I know it was clean (but that was long ago) You can not "cure" algae because it is not a disease, of course, we don't want to see it on our corals but if there is algae growing, your tank may be healthier. (thats for another thread)
You also can't and should not strive to eliminate all nutrients as your corals need some of these to support the symbiotic algae in their tissues.
Snails etc. will no doubt eat algae but unless we can teach them to poop outside the tank you will not accomplish much. Algae in the sea will grow almost as fast as it does in a tank but the hoardes of tangs and urchins eliminate it as soon as it starts to grow. There is enough water in the sea to dilute these nutrients and most of that water is too deep for algae.
I have hair algae in my tank but I found a way that me and the algae can be happy. I built a shallow trough 5' long which sits above the water, to the rear and just under the lights. It is free to operate. There is a plastic screen infused with cement in the trough (hair algae loves cement)
The trough is tilted so the water moves fast. The conditions in the trough are much better for growing algae than in the reef. Algae is forced to grow there and since a tank can only support so much algae, it works. After 35 years I finally figured out that since I can'r beat it, I joined it.
Have a great day.
Paul

 

[Scooterman]

Paul as the title states algae control, we know you can't do without it.
BTW nice tank & cool idea.

 

[dabears26]

Sweet reply Paul why should u fight together.When u can live together!..I saw your tank pic's on the other thread ..Sweet pic's