urchins

[Toke23]

Anybody have any thoughts about sea urchins. I hear they are good for eatin algea, but i dont have problems on my rocks its my glass and i dont want to get one if its not going to clean my back wall. I tried a couple different snails but they dont seem to wana stay alive for whatever reason and a LFS guy said to try an urchin if my last batch of snails didnt make it.

 

[Original Fin]

My urchin prefers to eat coraline, so if you want one for GHA, maybe consider something else. Also, they are nocturnal and hide during the day, so not the most interesting add in terms of observability.

 

[uhuru]

my tuxedo urchins will definitely mow down GHA, but I don't have any coralline so maybe thats why

 

[cloak]

Here's a good article on sea urchins.

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-11/rs/index.php

 

[Toke23]

dont really have GHA its just brown film that grows on my glass that i would like to not have to clean myself every week. i use a magfloat on the front glass n keep it mostly clean but the back glass gets cruded up n its harder to clean.

 

[Gilby]

I have a black longspine urchin that did very well in controlling my algae but would also chew on my SPS from time to time so I had to move him to my refugium.

 

[Original Fin]

Mine is a black urchin FWIW. Sounds like you ate talking about diatoms on the glass. I'm not sure if any amount of snails will get you what you're looking for... It's just part of the program. Longest I can go before I have to clean is about 3 days. Diatom blooms are very common in immature tanks, but will always be there to some extent. They are actually a type of bacteria BTW, not algae. Diatoms are thought to thrive when high silicates are present, so you could check into that if you really think it's getting out of hand. Type of sand is one way silicates get in, but more likely from a water source. Tap for instance can be loaded with them in certain areas.

 

[Fishfish0001]

Urchins won't eat that type of algae, at least mine won't. I likes the "fluffier" types like GHA and some of the red ones growing in my tank. They are really picky about water parameters though, so you have to have a constant temperature and low nitrates. If they start going downhill its almost always over for them.

I would go Tuxedo or Pincushin, they are pretty neat.

 

[Toddrtrex]

I have 2, and think they are pretty neat to have in the tank -- though they can get frags stuck on them. Mine eat any algae in the tank, even Nori on my clip. Mine are out day and night.

 

[Fishfish0001]

I like the orange one. I have a small pure white Pincushin.

 

[Toddrtrex]

I like the orange one. I have a small pure white Pincushin.

Thanks, I like that one the best -- but is it a pig and growing fast. Can go through a whole sheet of nori in about 2 hours.

 

[mgoblue]

They are actually a type of bacteria BTW, not algae. Diatoms are thought to thrive when high silicates are present, so you could check into that if you really think it's getting out of hand. Type of sand is one way silicates get in, but more likely from a water source. Tap for instance can be loaded with them in certain areas.

Actually, I have seen many sites list diatoms as single cell algae, not that it matters. They have an outer shell that is made of silica, which is why controlling silicates is the way to control them. They are photosynthetic, but, from what I read, they are more efficient users of light than a lot of other things in our tanks, so it would be hard to control them that way without damaging our wanted inhabitants.

Really not an expert - just regurgitating what I have read on them as I am undergoing a bloom in my new tank.

 

[Sk8r]

Lol---urchins have no steering mechanism: they go where the good stuff is. They'll pick up your frags, shove your rock over. Think of a driverless Zamboni loose in an ice rink. Only a rink full of your stuff. They're fun, but they grow fast, they're incredibly strong, and will make several rounds of your rock, maybe one of your glass, and back to the rock again. I enjoyed mine. I enjoy more having found him another home.

 

[Fishfish0001]

I love mine. Just interesting to see how well they clean. They get right down to the bottom, makes everything nice and white, which I love because all the stuff he feasts on is algae covered.

He just mows down small sections at a time and then moves down a bit and continues. Much better working then my old one who just munched here and there.

I've been putting nori in every few days as he gets plenty of food from all the algae.

Sidetrack: If he is near the top of my tank when I change water, should I just pop him off and move him down, or will he be fine out of water for a few min? I assume he would just move down a bit, as they live in low tide areas.

 

[anbosu]

They are voracious algae eaters. Just make sure if you get one that you have all of your frags glued down, or it will pick them up and carry them to different parts of the tank. They are really cool animals and I plan to get one for my FOWLR next chance I get.