Poll of the Month - Algae & Aquascaping

[MUCHO REEF]

How important to you is the control of nuisance algae in your system? By that I mean, as long as your corals are happy healthy and thriving, then algae is not a concern for you. Or, is your goal to have an algae free system which gives greater clarity to your reef tank? No need to limit your responses to the questions above.

 

[Agu]

To me there are two types of algae, nuisance algae and attractive algae.

The nuisance algae I fight aggressively. Algae eaters, cleaning, and I'm not above removing a piece of live rock and soaking it in freshwater in extreme cases. Most of the "hair" type algae are in this category.

The attractive algae is algae that's not too invasive and can be controlled with minimal effort. I currently have valonia that restricts itself to a couple of spots. Every two or three months I'll remove what I can and ignore the rest. Since it's not invasive in the zoas I like at it as an attractive algae.

 

[MUCHO REEF]

Thanks Agu, and I agree with you wholeheartedly. I agree also that a good cleaner up crew is paramount. I happen to despise the nuisance or any unsightly algae, that's just me.

I had the Valonia years ago and I attacked it like the plague and got rid of it.

 

[wrasseguy2]

i work hard to keep nuisance algae out..i have not had a problem in quite some time with any..but i have a good cleanup crew and think they are key..the last time i had to fight some algae i let some of my bulbs go a little too long and not long after that boom it was there after changing the bulbs and a little cleaning it was gone...plus my tang keeps stuff in check..i don't know if there is any that pops up but i never see any

 

[mopey83]

what do you guys have as part of your "good cleanup crew?" I have snails (turbo) and hermit crabs, but I feel like I am currently losing my hair algae battle. I have eliminated nitrates and phosphate, cut back the light cycle (8 hours blue, 6 white), cut back on feeding, doing water changes more, added twice as many power heads, pulled rocks out and scrubbed.... Argghhh I feel like I just cant win.

 

[MTB]

I attack nuisance algae like the plague. I went through a bryopsis outbreak that snuffed out several coral. It took me a good 6 months to get rid of that stuff. I don't even buy livestock if I see a speck of algae on it. I don't want to do that again. It was physically as well as emotionally draining. I guess I could add it was financially draining as well.

I also hit the glass with the magfloat daily. Takes but a minute, so why not?

 

[ronald7410]

What eats Red Carpet Algae?

I have tons of this stuff all over my rocks.
I siphon this stuff daily but i am too poor to afford a RODI system.

As of now, i see my hermits, turbans, and blue tank picking at it occasionally as it is their main food source but it just seems as if its not gonna go away.

Im looking to buy more turban maybe turbo snails to control them but, anyone else know if i can get a sally lightfooted to control them?

Whats a good predator of Red Carpet Algae

 

[LoudProudNPunk]

i think a little bit of algae here and there makes my tank look more natural. For a while i liked no algae, so i made sure my tank was that way, but now i'll let some grow as long as its under control.

 

[capture]

Not a big fan of algae, nuisance or otherwise.
This go around I have been pretty lucky. Come to think of it, I have never really had to prune a tank of mine. A good CUC, regular water changes, and just watching the tank I think has allowed me to deal with little to no algae. Good current I also believe is a great way to combat algae.

*Just a small side note on the whole algae thing - I find it funny that even in refugiums, where algae is encouraged to grow, there is a preference as to what types of algae are "permitted" or "preferred." Don't really ever see a hair or bubble algae refugiums. At least I haven't.

 

[PaintGuru]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12007185#post12007185 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MUCHO REEF


I had the Valonia years ago and I attacked it like the plague and got rid of it.

Mind if I ask how you did it? I'm having problems with it as well and cramped tank access makes it hard to get at.

 

[MUCHO REEF]

I added 2 emerald crabs, 2 sallys, a sea slug and daily removal by hand. I later found out that low nitrates kept my valonia outbreaks at bay. The trade off is slower growth with my zoas and plays as a result of this. When I allow my nitrates to climb, I see a direct correlation with an increase in Valonia, but that's just me and my tank. I later caught my emerald crabs and my sally lighfoot eating zoas. I know it goes against conventional wisdom and contrary to what many believe, but I no longer view them as safe around a tank full of zoanthids and palythoas. It has been widely held that emerald crabs, ( Mithraculus Crabs ) and the prominent Sally lightfoots, ( Percnon gibbesi ) are excellent at controlling nuisance and bubble algae. Emerald crabs with a shell the diameter of a quarter or smaller seem to be completely safe and are voracious herbivores. Those with shells larger than a quarter have been met with some anecdotal reports of becoming omnivores and will/have eaten anything in sight. I am incline to believe this, even if others have never seen it yet in their systems. Why? I saw it happen in my tank. A search on the topic will show a post I made long ago regarding this.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=691180&highlight=emerald+crabs


If something can happen once, that's all I need to know. With a tank full of thousands of polyps which I have spent many years collecting, it's not worth the risk of me finding out again. There are many ways to achieve the same end result and I just choose not to use them in my system.

Sorry for the ramble Paintguru, LOL

 

[PaintGuru]

No prob Much. I put in a few emeralds, but I have not seen them since and I think I found a dead one recently, and at the prices they command, I don't see myself getting more. I have a feeling it may be simple manual removal for me, but I figured I would ask to see if you had a more clever way. Thanks for the insight.

 

[Skeptic_07]

i like to have a natural look in my tanks. algae only contributes to that plus it acts as a biological filter. I would only start to worry if theres some sort of outbreak where i see it growing very rapidly which has never happened.

 

[wycombes]

I always seem to have come algae but if I could get rid of it all I would. I would rather see the coraline algae only.