Hello, I have been in the hobby for about 3 months. I have an 11.5 gallon nano reef and I have gone through a diatom bloom. things cleared up a few weeks ago, and I started to go through the green algae phase. Than all of a sudden after my last water change, the water seems less clear, and now I have another algae bloom. I took some pictures to allow you to see what's going on. I purchase my water directly from my LFS. Should I start to remove algae from the corals? Is this something that will pass? Or should I grab some more inverts to help? I currently have a red scarlet crab, trochus and a nasarrius snail. I have 2 clownfish and a red blood fire shrimp.
Diatom bloom?
- Thread starter ameer
- Start date
Welcome to RC, ameer! Good questions.
How are you on aquarium keeping knowledge? As a newbie, it's important for you to study up and learn the basics. Sure, people here are happy to help, but you're going to get different answers, so it helps to have a feel for what YOU think is the best coarse of action, enabling you to pick and choose the info that makes sense to you.
Here's what I think: Yes, manual removal of algae is very effective, because it also removes the nutrients that fed the algae. Yes, it will pass, as you learn more and more. And yes, some more inverts could help. Nassarius snails help by eating leftover food and dead bodies. You only need one in that size tank. Trochus eat algae, but it helps to have other species to diversify. I like Ceriths and Mini Strombus snails, which both reproduce in your tank. Hermit crabs are opportunistic omnivores that can eat algae, but once they get a taste for fish food they're less good for algae control. Plus they kill snails for their shells, so you end up with a fat crab and no snails and lots of algae. But if you really want hermit crabs, I would study up on them to find a few good species, and don't keep snails.
The 11.5 nano sounds fun! I bet the clownfish and fire shrimp look cool. Good luck with your tank!
How are you on aquarium keeping knowledge? As a newbie, it's important for you to study up and learn the basics. Sure, people here are happy to help, but you're going to get different answers, so it helps to have a feel for what YOU think is the best coarse of action, enabling you to pick and choose the info that makes sense to you.
Here's what I think: Yes, manual removal of algae is very effective, because it also removes the nutrients that fed the algae. Yes, it will pass, as you learn more and more. And yes, some more inverts could help. Nassarius snails help by eating leftover food and dead bodies. You only need one in that size tank. Trochus eat algae, but it helps to have other species to diversify. I like Ceriths and Mini Strombus snails, which both reproduce in your tank. Hermit crabs are opportunistic omnivores that can eat algae, but once they get a taste for fish food they're less good for algae control. Plus they kill snails for their shells, so you end up with a fat crab and no snails and lots of algae. But if you really want hermit crabs, I would study up on them to find a few good species, and don't keep snails.
The 11.5 nano sounds fun! I bet the clownfish and fire shrimp look cool. Good luck with your tank!
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