1. hair algae---run gfo IN A REACTOR. Removes the phosphate that fuels hair algae. Change media monthly.
2. bubble algae---mostly ignore it. it's a phase. The best thing is to check your chemistry---hit the params in my sig line.
3. cyanobacteria---generally won't hurt corals, but can get thick and obnoxious. Red blush on sand to thick coat of red goo. Fix: turn out lights 3 days, (won't hurt corals or fish) go on room lights only and draw drapes. Do NOT black out glass. Run skimmer well-tuned and/or do a 30% water change. On 4th day run blues or actinics only. 5th day back to normal. Do this once monthly until plague ends.
4. corals won't open. First thing to check is alkalinity. If it's off, ain't nothin' happy.
5. worms with blunt heads---no tentacles (bristleworms), snails with saddle for shell and long antennae (stomatella), little white bugs on glass (copepods) All good. Crabs and classic starfish, not good: keep them in the sump.
6. rooted algae growing in tank---nab that rock, toothbrush the area, dip the area in hydrogen peroxide, rinse it well in discard water, then return to tank with bad side down. Rooted algae in the dt is a disaster in the making.
7. tiny white starfish missing an arm or two (asterinas) generally won't hurt anything. Sure, they may eat coralline. There'll be a time you wish they would. It grows back fast. If you have zoas, however, you might want to pick off these stars and put them in your sump. Many things can live nicely in the sump.
8. coralline: only good things you can say about it is ---it's not brown (it's pink) and where it is, other algae won't grow. If you want it, run your magnesium at about 1350 and have at least one bit of it on something in your tank.
2. bubble algae---mostly ignore it. it's a phase. The best thing is to check your chemistry---hit the params in my sig line.
3. cyanobacteria---generally won't hurt corals, but can get thick and obnoxious. Red blush on sand to thick coat of red goo. Fix: turn out lights 3 days, (won't hurt corals or fish) go on room lights only and draw drapes. Do NOT black out glass. Run skimmer well-tuned and/or do a 30% water change. On 4th day run blues or actinics only. 5th day back to normal. Do this once monthly until plague ends.
4. corals won't open. First thing to check is alkalinity. If it's off, ain't nothin' happy.
5. worms with blunt heads---no tentacles (bristleworms), snails with saddle for shell and long antennae (stomatella), little white bugs on glass (copepods) All good. Crabs and classic starfish, not good: keep them in the sump.
6. rooted algae growing in tank---nab that rock, toothbrush the area, dip the area in hydrogen peroxide, rinse it well in discard water, then return to tank with bad side down. Rooted algae in the dt is a disaster in the making.
7. tiny white starfish missing an arm or two (asterinas) generally won't hurt anything. Sure, they may eat coralline. There'll be a time you wish they would. It grows back fast. If you have zoas, however, you might want to pick off these stars and put them in your sump. Many things can live nicely in the sump.
8. coralline: only good things you can say about it is ---it's not brown (it's pink) and where it is, other algae won't grow. If you want it, run your magnesium at about 1350 and have at least one bit of it on something in your tank.