Good fish for algae control in 20 gallon SPS

[rocknut]

Was looking to get a few suggestions for algae control in my 20 gallon SPS tank. The tank has been up and running for about 6 months now, and is doing very well. I am very pleased with the growth rate of the corals in the tank, but am becoming concerned with some of the algae that are starting to pop up. I have the normal diatoms on the glass, etc, and am not too concerned about that, but have noticed several patches of Calupera growing out of the live rock. I had a bad experience with growths of Grape and Feather Calupera basically taking over my tank a few years back, so definitely want to get this under control now.
I have 4 hermits, and an assortment of about 20 snails in the tank now, but they seem to mostly stick to the glass, and not the rock (the snails, not the hermits Æ'º). For filtration I have a Euro-Reef CS 80 skimmer dialed in fairly wet, that fills the collection cup about every other day. I also have a phosban reactor, and run good quality G.A.C. that I change out every three weeks. Nitrate & Phosphate levels are undetectable with my Salifert kits.
As far as what is fueling the algae, I guess that¡¦s another discussion. I have two small fish in the tank now, a Royal Gramma, and a Common Firefish. Obviously neither of these does anything to curb algae growth, and I wondering what a good choice would be to add. Since the tank is only 20 gallons, it would need to be something small, but also something that would do alright with the Royal Gramma, and the Firefish. I was thinking maybe a Red Lipped Blenny? Any other suggestions? Any other inverts I should consider?
Thanks in advance!
Rocky

 

[Monkeyfish]

How often do you do water changes? If there's algae then you have phosphate/nitrates. The test kits are reading zero because the algae is "eating" it all.

Are you dosing the tank with any kind of "coral food" supplement? These snake oils fuel alage growth and also cause other problems.

 

[rocknut]

Monkeyfish,
I do a 20% water change every week using Tropic Marin Pro Coral salt. I get the water locally at a water and ice store, test it myself and never get a TDS reading of higher than 3-5. Same goes for the top off water. As far as supplements, I do use the Tropic Marin Pro Coral Elements (the two parter) additives.

 

[keckles]

A saltwater solution will not test at 3-5 TDS.

I think your hand would be the best bet for large removals and maybe a small urchin for the leftovers.

 

[jmaneyapanda]

yeah, urchin. I dont think you'll find a suitable fish to eat caulerpa for a 20.

 

[rocknut]

Keckles, justs to clarify, the TDS reading is from the fresh water before I mix in the salt.
Do you recommend any particular kind of urchin?

 

[keckles]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8184479#post8184479 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rocknut
Monkeyfish,
I get the water locally at a water and ice store, test it myself and never get a TDS reading of higher than 3-5. Same goes for the top off water.

Threw me off.

I would choose a tuxedo urchin. They are supposed to be limited coralline grazers and will not be as much of a pain as something like a longspine urchin. It will not outgrow your tank quickly or knock over corals as easily, either. When you are ready to remove it, you can just pick it up with your hands.

 

[rocknut]

Keckles,
Thanks for the recommendation. Sorry to confuse you about the TDS reading. I was just trying to make a point that I do pay attention to the TDS of ALL water I use in the tank. I didn't want anyone to think I used low TDS water to mix up the salt water, but used tap water for top off or something...

Thanks again!

 

[Monkeyfish]

If you don't mind losing your corraline on the rocks get an urchin as was previously suggested. It will get your rocks nice and clean in no time (and why does that sound vaguely pornographic?).