Arrr Algae!

C

Cindy

Hey guys! As some of you know my husband has a 12 gl Nano DX at his office. It crashed last December and I brought it home and cleaned it up real good. Scrubbed the rocks that had algae on it a number of times and then put it all back together using some new rock along with the old. I guess that was a mistake. ANyway, we got it set back up looking really nice with a clown, royal gramma and and orange spotted gobie and 2 little clown gobies with 3 pepperment shrimp and one skunk shrimp. Also some frogspawn, hammer and button polyps and zoos. Its a pretty full display. It looked terrific for several months but gradually the hair algae has come back and has covered almost all of the rocks and some of the corals. Its also growing up the back sided of the tank and is pretty much solid on the back.

So How do I get rid of the algae? I've never had this kind of a problem before this tank. Are there any othere critters I could put in there that would eat it all up clean? Or will I need to break the entire thing down even getting rid of the sand, or would just cleaning of the back of the tank and replacing the rocks do the trick? I've heard when you clean off the algae it can do more harm and just spread spores and make it worse.

Any suggestions here guys?

Thanks! Cindy
 
I like using a product like Purigen or phosguard in the back of the nano tanks to absorb phosphates as well a disolved organics.

Extended photoperiods will affect algae growths as well.

The amount/ type of food you are feeding can affect the amount of algae also.

Review how much you are feeding and the length of your photoperiod and adjust as you see fit, look into products such as purigen or phosguard, and some also recommend removal of the bioballs in the back. =-)
 
Jeff, will the purigen get rid of the algae or just help prevent its growth? Have you tried the Purigen yet?

I don't think I know of anyone with a seahare. In fact, I don't even know what one is.

Cindy
 
Purigen will not remove phosphates from the water, seachem states that it will remove ammonia, nitrates and nitrites. You might want to consider phosguard, which is also made by seachem. That should help pull some of the phosphates out of the water. Sea hares are basically like slugs that cruise around and eat algae. However, that's all they eat so when it's gone they'll just starve. If you really want to try one try and find a super small one. I've seen some that are about 1.5 to 2" long. Personally, I wouldn't use one in such a small system unless it was that small. You also might want to consider taking one or two fish out. I would ditch the orange spot goby just because they can get kind of big for that tank. I would say three fish would probably be a max for you, and that will help keep the bioload down and the water a lot cleaner.
 
Thanks, I'm sure you are right about the bioload. It's what my husband wanted and he wouldn't listen to me especially after the lfs said it would be fine. I'm kind of surprised that none of them have died.

ANy other suggestions of what might eat the algae or should I just start with new rock? I'm afraid that part of what messed me up was using some of the older rock that still had a little algae left on it. I thought I had it all off until I put it in the tank. I didn't know such little could grow into so much!

Cindy
 
Might want to consider a small (number wise) cleaning crew. I didn't see any mention of snails or hermits. Depending on their size, you might want to use a few snails, such as astreas. If you go with hermits, I have felt more comfortable with scarlet hermits. We beefed up the snail population in my Son's tank with a bunch of astreas. He has a number of red leg hermits, and it was like the dinner bell going off. Escargot for everyone. A cleaning crew will allow you to get rid of algea more naturally, and they will help to control it on down the line.
 
@tradosz wrote:
Might want to consider a small (number wise) cleaning crew. said:
I agree with tradosz. However, the cleaning crew won't do much for the hair algae thats already there. They will help to prevent the spread and new growth of algae. There are several fish that might help but none of them would be recommended for a tank that small.
Click to expand...
 
Seahare for rent in members forum. It would take no time for this guy to clean up the tank and then once he'd been through the tank you could work on keeping the algae at bay.

I don't know if you mention water changes in your post. With a bioload like that waterchanges will surely help once you've got the algae under control.
 
I do have a couple of snails but no crabs. I like the idea of the seahare. It would be interesting to see what he could do. As far as water changes go I used to be good at doing them weekly but the last 2 mos we've had major illness and a death in the family that has either kept me out of town in a hospital or busy in town with a sickly mil and a 97 year old grandmother in law that I just got moved to Tyler. Hopefully things will slow down a little bit where I can start tending to my own things. I've been very thankful for the people in our fish club here in Tyler. I couldn't have made the move for my grandmother from Sulphur Springs to Tyler with out the help of some of them...thanks Jeff (Sublime) and ANdi.

Cindy
 
here while back i had gha AND RED START UP IN MY 55 GALLON TANK.never before had it and come to find out i hadnt changed my bulbs in a year is why i got it.i used red slime remover and dosed it twice and in three days it was gone.im talking all gone. great product and didnt hurt fish or corals.sells in most stores for about 20.00 would last you along time.
 
I guess I will have to break down and scrub the rocks again. I wouldn't want the little seahare to die.

Is the product actually called red slime? Do most lfs have it or would I need to go thru one of the wholesalers?

Thanks, Cindy
 
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