how much algae is good or bad???

[chillaxr6]

a question ive been asking myself is . . .
ive noticed that lately ive got patches of algae constantly on my back wall to my tank. Its like a brown growth and i suppose its not all bad as sometimes my tangs attack it and it stays about maybe 3 or 4 days before my snails decide ooh its a good day to go for a wall climb . . . i get a build of lagae on the back wall for a few days then all of a sudden nearly all my snails attack the brown stuff after lights out but its never completely gone . . .

im curious as to if its healthy to have moving algae growths around the tank and should i get more snails to totally eradicate the algae??? I know ppl say algae is bad so i dont know if it should be eradicated or the level i have is healthy and keeps everyone happy???

 

[Blown 346]

I also have the same problem, I bough more snails and they took care of it. Algae depending on what it looks like will be caused by alot of orgainics in the tank. Without finding the source of what caused it, it can cause a problem.

 

[Avi]

In the first months of a reef, it's not uncommon to get some algae growths. If your water testing shows good water quality, then eventually, the algae should recede. But, if you have seen that the critters are effective, you can get some more without any problem. But what Blown said is right...prolonged algae growth can be a result of over-feeding or some other factor such as a water source that's high in phosphates and or nitrates. So, keep your eye on things and if the algae doesn't pass within another month or two, look even more closely for it's cause.

 

[chillaxr6]

my tank has been running with fish and some corals in it for 3 months now . . . so if my water quality is good which ive been told it is, the algae will die off if im not overfeeding the tank . . . i use 3 cubes of marine green and frozen brine shrimp ( alt 1 green 2 brown or 2 brown and 1 green every day ) for the following :-
1 x birdnose wrasse
7 x blue green chromis
3 x small yellow tangs ( 6ft 90g tank for the tang police )
1 x six line wrasse
1 x clarkii clown
1 x golden headed sleeper gobie

i fed 1 - 2 silversides to my snowflake eel which he guzzles and doesnt leave lying around . . .

all food gone in 2 mins . . .

im wondering should algae always be present and just kept under control or will it eventually just go away ? ? ?

 

[ElectronRider]

All of that livestock in a tank that new? amd in an 87 galloin system? Seems a little overloaded to me, prolly do more water changes to keep nitrates down, and test for the usuals. I always seem to have a little algae somewhere in the tank, but it keeps the snails healthy.

 

[Blown 346]

There will alwaysbe some sort of algae present in a closed system like a aquarium. Whether it be normal algae that has to be wiped off the glass every day, or the nuisance algaes.

If you have to keep algae under control, it is the algae you dont want, like Hair, cyano etc. This algae can cause a big problem and can very easily take over a tank if not taken care of.
That is why you have to perform normal routine water changes, watch how much and often you feed.
I have seen people feed there fish everyday and even sometimes 2 or 3 times daily. Fish and such dont need food everday or every two days. They can get by with 2 or 3 feedings a week and be happy. Note: Fish will continuously eat, they have plenty to graze on and can go days without food and still be healthy.

 

[chillaxr6]

I have had no major outbreaks, only patches that come and go over a few days . . . i was just wondering if algae always exists and then people buy snails and hermit crabs to cover up the problem areas . . . i have nothing majorly wrong was just curious as to if im on the border line of needing more snails or if i should keep it the same and have plenty of food for them???

ive never had any hair or cyano . . . if i add any LR which i have in the passed little bits of frags from LFS my tangs go over it with fine tooth combs and clean it out of algae or anything nasty so ive found . . . just brown stains on the glass which i wipe but since i cant get to my back the snails do a mean trick with it . . . just takes them a few days to get to it . . .

i ran the tank with LR and LS all matured in another tank for 7 weeks as well to give it a good cycle. parameters were good after 2 weeks . . . just didnt have lights so didnt put anything in . . .

 

[Blown 346]

Algae always exists in a tank, Snails and hermit crabs etc are all used to keep it in line so you can see into your tank.

 

[Avi]

chill....you don't mention anything about water testing. If you aren't, you ought to. Just doing everything correctly definitely isn't enough to avoid a disaster in a reef. You need to monitor any "trends" that start to formulate by testing. For example, while algae IS always present in a reef, you may not find it problematic unless suddenly your alkalinity drops or your nitrates increase, etc.

 

[chillaxr6]

AVI : i test every 3 days . . . is that not enough???

ammonia = 0
nitrites = 0
nitrates = between 5 - 10
Kh = 15 i think ( i do a test and with 12 drops i add 2 teaspoon of Kh balancer . . . tested every other day usually it sits on about 15 - 12 . . . ) kH harder i add about a teaspoon every 2 - 3 days.
i do water changes when nitrates get to between 20 - 30 which is between 7 - 10 days as sometimes im busy over the weekends.
everything is running fairly constant meaning, i do the routine and nothing has gone wrong touch wood . . . and watch for spikes . . .