Snails?

[JeffJ]

I'm having a terrible GHA problem - I've tried changing lights, chemical solutions, bacteria solutions, etc. Nothing seems to help. I'm low on cleaning crew and wondering if that is a huge factor. I'm thinking of increasing those guys (Nerite and Astrea snails, blue leg hermits, etc). Will they help me eat down the algae?

Also, in the past I've added the big Mexican Turbos just to watch them die within a few days - any idea why? Just trying to get this back under control. If you're wondering about what I've gone thru and tried with the GHA - here is the original post: http://dfwmas.org/Forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=77880

All thoughts would be appreciated -
Jeff

 

[coralreefer]

I read through your posts. I hate to hear that you're having so much trouble.

In my experience, sometimes the snails live and sometimes they die. There is no way of knowing how old they are, how long they've been in the tanks at the LFS, etc. I say if they die, remove them and replace them with more. I have had more luck with snails and urchins than crabs at eating nuisance algae.

I recently purchased a dual media reactor from BRS and also bought GFO granules and ROX carbon. Hooked it up and overnight I can tell a difference.

How long do you leave the rowaphos going before changing?

May try lights out for a few days after cleaning as much as you can.

Do you have a fuge with macro algae?

Nitrate and Phosphate kits too old?

Just a few thoughts that no one has mentioned yet.

I hope you get it under control. Good luck.

 

[MarcoG]

When I was dealing with GHA I tried everything as well. Patience is key. I ran GFO in a reactor and changed it about every 2-3 days. It will get exhausted very fast. Nothing like what the directions say. I also took some rocks out and with a coarse plastic bristle brush I brushed as much off as possible then rinsed in old saltwater or RO/DI water before going back in the tank. After a while the GHA didn't come back. I also dose vodka to keep nitrates and phosphates down. I haven't run GFO in a long time.

 

[JeffJ]

Thanks for the info guys -

Ive been running the ROWA for a couple of months (Jan). I looked at the BRS stuff and wasnt sure about it as I'd run the ROWA before. I don't have a fuge - I have a modified W/D with no room for macro. Kits are a few years old - how long do they last?

What type of snails did you guys have the most success with?

Thanks again,
jeff

 

[etannert]

+1 Mexican turbos, they have cleaned out every kind of algae they come across in my tanks. I now worry about them dying due to lack of food! Make sure you have GHA and not bryopsis as the latter is harder to combat (anecdotally, I raised my Mg to 1500+ to battle some bryopsis and it seemed to kill off my GHA as well). If your test kits are truly a few years old it's definitely time to replace, and have the tests verified by an LFS (or several LFS). If you don't have room for a fuge you could still put some macro in a plastic container with holes for flow, which you could then put in the back of your tank; the plastic container keeps the macro from spreading and once you feel you no longer need it, you can toss it or pass it on to a fellow reefer. The BRS GFO is supposedly not quite as good as ROWA, but way cheaper so you can change it more often (I run ChemiPure and Purigen in my nano so I can't personally speak to either ROWA or BRS GFO).

Also, remember with the snails, that you have to 1) acclimate them well and 2) they won't get around to eating the nasty algae until they've consumed everything else they like better. IME it takes about a week before they really get down to business. I've also had the best luck with CUC doing their job when I keep a variety of species - both red and blue leg hermits, turbo/nassarius/cerith snails, etc. - in my tank; I have a theory about it being related to species competition for resources, but it's just a personal theory. Finally, don't do manual removal until you're really sure that your params are under control - otherwise the cells that go floating away when you break off the strands of algae will just find a place to land and feed off the nutrients that are there, establishing a new foothold. I know that's not the standard advice but that was my experience with GHA.

 

[coralreefer]

@JeffJ wrote:

Well then my advice would be:

1. check params with someone else test kits, buy new kits or test at LFS. Make sure everything is what you think it is.

2. Dump your old Rowa and get some new media. Change it more often because the PO4's can leach back into the water after the media is all used up.

3. Rig up some sort of fuge with some cheato algae and a light. It doesn't have to be fancy or permanent. It just needs to out-compete the GHA for food.

4. Get Mg up to 1500, that could never hurt.

5. A bunch of snails are great, but if you aren't removing their waste by skimming well or water changes then they are gonna be adding to the problem.

6. Test your RODI water with another TDS meter to make sure.

The key is nutrient export! Throw that ROWA out, cut that cheato back, follow your snails and fish around with a pooper scooper.

 

[washingtond]

We have been going through a GHA problem with our 75 gal tank and this is what we have done to bring it under control. Test all your parameters to make sure that they are in line. That would be Alk, Ca, pH, and Mg. Removed as much as possible by hand while running a canister filter, also performed a 25% water change every other day. Ordered turbo snails from Reggie?s tropicals (remember that if they turn over they cannot turn back and will die. Increase the magnesium level to 1600 ppm using Kent Tech-M. And last decreased the use of the T5 10K lights by having them only on for 3 hours a day, I did continue with the T5 blue lights on normal schedule. Nitrates are now less than 5 ppm.

Some things to remember, it takes a lot of magnesium at least a gallon to start. Algae does not like blue light that much which is why I kept them on. Remember that algae need two things to grow, light and nutrition.

With all the above is has started to go away. Good luck with your battle.

 

[JeffJ]

Thanks for all the ideas guys - we'll get to work on some of those. Next dumb question - how do I know if it is really GHA or bryopsis?

Thanks again-
jeff

 

[washingtond]

@JeffJ wrote:

Can you post a picture?

 

[JeffJ]

Here are two pics of what it currently looks like. I have snails on the way - I'm going to work on getting more GFO trade out. How much can I raise the Mag a day? I am going to try and get it up close to 1550ppm.

Thanks again for the help and renewing my drive to make it better!
jeff

 

[coralreefer]

You can raise your Mg 50ppm day. But you should test it each day before you dose to verify current readings.

 

[BrianG]

That is a beautiful tank, I mean you can still tell even with the GHA, I hope you get it in check soon. Good luck!

 

[etannert]

Looks like GHA to me. The turbos will be all over that! Good luck!

 

[JeffJ]

Thanks again - I'll let you guys know how it goes. Question regarding acclimating the snails. Is drip my best option? That may be my issue with losing them in the past - I was just adjusting them to the temp as I thought they were pretty tough.

Jeff

 

[etannert]

Yeah, I always drip acclimate. A lot of stores keep their salinity so much lower than we keep our reef tanks, and I read somewhere once that insufficient acclimation of inverts can result in their deaths even weeks later, so I just don't take chances.

 

[SushiGirl]

The most commonly sold Mexican Turbos are from the Pacific, which is a lot colder than we keep our tanks, that's why they die...basically we slowly cook them. Bryopsis algae has a feathery appearance if you look at the strands up close and hair algae doesn't.

 

[washingtond]

The Turbos that I got were off the Florida Keys and they are really large. The water there is cold this time of year, much warmer in the summer. Here is a picture of them in my tank taken last month.

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