Brian DeGolier
New member
I have made an ATS which has really helped with my hair algae problem. The nitrates and phospahtes are always 0, because this and other algaes are consuming it very fast and gives a 0 reading. I have sold my diadema urchin back to the LFS because there was no more algae and it was starting to eat my zoanthids. My snails have started to die because of the lack of algae or perhaps from consuming a film mentioned below. Success with the ATS right?
The first picture, this stuff has broken out in my aquarium recently, but this stuff comes out in the morning when the house lights and sunlight fills the house. Then will start to recede as the aquarium lights come on at 14:00, (they shut off at 22:00) According to Julian Sprung's book, I believe it's Gambierdiscus, a common dinoflagellate and common in new or biologically unstable aquariums. I'm certain my aquarium is biologically stable, but I have purposely stopped my wc's to let it run it's course and help the ATS. It's a filamentous material but I cannot microzoom with my camera. I'm considering trying Chemi-clean if it is a protein based film, but I want to explore other options.
The second picture is a hairy algae that has not been much affected by the ATS and I was hoping that it too would've gone away. From Sprung's book, I believe it's Derbesia, I don't thinks it's Bryopsis. The snails don't seem to touch it, my blenny who recently died after 6 years didn't touch it. One rock I will pull out and put in an 5 gallon unlit aquarium, with lower SG, maybe try some peroxide or algaefix. The other more permanent rocks, I would like to find a way to get rid of this stuff without disrupting too much. Perhaps now is a good time to get a dwarf angel, although I only have a 55 gallon and the fish all play very nice and would like to keep it that way. I tried a Reinfordi goby, after 2 weeks I could not locate it. Perhaps another blenny? I have a few turban and chestnut turban snails, and Astrea's, and the burrowing Nassarius snails and some hermit crabs. I try not to buy too many snails since they seem to die in my aquarium if I buy a lot at one time. Basically for the algae, I'm looking for suggestions on how to control with an animal that eats that type of algae. I should mention, I've also tried the lights out method and did not really seem to work, I'll try it again.
The first picture, this stuff has broken out in my aquarium recently, but this stuff comes out in the morning when the house lights and sunlight fills the house. Then will start to recede as the aquarium lights come on at 14:00, (they shut off at 22:00) According to Julian Sprung's book, I believe it's Gambierdiscus, a common dinoflagellate and common in new or biologically unstable aquariums. I'm certain my aquarium is biologically stable, but I have purposely stopped my wc's to let it run it's course and help the ATS. It's a filamentous material but I cannot microzoom with my camera. I'm considering trying Chemi-clean if it is a protein based film, but I want to explore other options.
The second picture is a hairy algae that has not been much affected by the ATS and I was hoping that it too would've gone away. From Sprung's book, I believe it's Derbesia, I don't thinks it's Bryopsis. The snails don't seem to touch it, my blenny who recently died after 6 years didn't touch it. One rock I will pull out and put in an 5 gallon unlit aquarium, with lower SG, maybe try some peroxide or algaefix. The other more permanent rocks, I would like to find a way to get rid of this stuff without disrupting too much. Perhaps now is a good time to get a dwarf angel, although I only have a 55 gallon and the fish all play very nice and would like to keep it that way. I tried a Reinfordi goby, after 2 weeks I could not locate it. Perhaps another blenny? I have a few turban and chestnut turban snails, and Astrea's, and the burrowing Nassarius snails and some hermit crabs. I try not to buy too many snails since they seem to die in my aquarium if I buy a lot at one time. Basically for the algae, I'm looking for suggestions on how to control with an animal that eats that type of algae. I should mention, I've also tried the lights out method and did not really seem to work, I'll try it again.
