epleeds March 9, 2009 March 9, 2009 My tank is starting an outbreak of bubble algea and green hair algea. Just wondering what your thoughts might be on this.... thanks... eric
zygote2k March 9, 2009 March 9, 2009 Look up "algal succession". This will give you a good idea or at least a place to start.
Sikryd March 10, 2009 March 10, 2009 Whatever you decide to do, I would get a handle on it quick before it gets out of hand. It can be a pain. I run GFO and Carbon in a reactor, have lots of flow, control my nutrients via a good skimmer, and will be hooking up a small UV one of these days.
FishyTim March 10, 2009 March 10, 2009 1) Increase Flow 2) Decrease Light 3) 20% Water Change 4) Manually remove algea 5) Beef Up Clean Up Crew 6) Think about a Fuge 7) Think about a algea scrubber 8) Buy RO/DI unit/Replace Filters? Whatever you decide to do, I would get a handle on it quick before it gets out of hand. It can be a pain. I run GFO and Carbon in a reactor, have lots of flow, control my nutrients via a good skimmer, and will be hooking up a small UV one of these days.
DJBoy98 March 10, 2009 March 10, 2009 Does a foxface eat bubble algae? Apparently, my emerald crabs don't.
flowerseller March 10, 2009 March 10, 2009 2) Decrease Light Do not decrease light. speaking of which, How old are the bulbs and what are they? lowering your nutrients is the best place to start.
Sikryd March 10, 2009 March 10, 2009 Does a foxface eat bubble algae? Apparently, my emerald crabs don't. AFAIK they don't. The Desjardines Tang is the only one that I have heard of that might, but it is not their preferred algae, and they get big.
flowerseller March 10, 2009 March 10, 2009 Does a foxface eat bubble algae? Apparently, my emerald crabs don't. Like the Desjardines and emeralds, some will and some won't.
epleeds March 10, 2009 Author March 10, 2009 Do not decrease light.speaking of which, How old are the bulbs and what are they? lowering your nutrients is the best place to start. the bulbs are pretty old....guess i will start there with a nice big water change........
flowerseller March 10, 2009 March 10, 2009 the bulbs are pretty old....guess i will start there with a nice big water change........ OK, but make sure you adjust them to the new lights.
quazi March 10, 2009 March 10, 2009 Most yellow foxfaces will eat bubble algae. My blue line rabbit does not. No one has mentioned RO TDS. Are you using RO/DI water for replacement? If so, what are the TDS of the output water? Algae out breaks are a clue for me to check my TDS meter.
lanman March 10, 2009 March 10, 2009 Does a foxface eat bubble algae? Apparently, my emerald crabs don't. I've had excellent luck with emeralds and valonia... are you over-feeding them with meat? bob
DJBoy98 March 10, 2009 March 10, 2009 The crabs? I see them picking algae off the rocks.. just not bubble. It's the big round bubbles type which I understand to be valonia. It's the cluster of small bubbles type. And who would of figure a Lawnmower blenny sifts sand. My constantly eats algae off the sand bed.
schenktank March 10, 2009 March 10, 2009 Do not decrease light.speaking of which, How old are the bulbs and what are they? lowering your nutrients is the best place to start. i decreased the lighting in my tank because one of my pc fixtures had old bulbs and i had a lot of algae growing. was that a bad move? i just couldnt afford to get new bulbs. its been about three weeks and the algae is almost completely gone. my coralline even seems to be growing faster. if i wanted to get new bulbs for the one i took off but would the increase in light mess stuff up again.
epleeds March 11, 2009 Author March 11, 2009 OK,but make sure you adjust them to the new lights. what do you mean, adjust them to the new lights?
flowerseller March 11, 2009 March 11, 2009 what do you mean, adjust them to the new lights? If you have any corals in your tank, they get used to the lower par emitted as the bulbs age. New lights mean higher par so it's best to acclimate the corals to the higher par or it can bleach or "burn" them.
Steve G March 11, 2009 March 11, 2009 I went through all of this. I can write volumes on it. Of all the things I tried (which was everything), changing the old bulbs was probalby the most important. The foxface rabbitfish didn't touch algae but is a nice addition anyway. Devours the nori that I purchased but won't eat free valonia -- snobby fish. Hard to know if emerald crabs are doing anything productive but I suspect they are because most of my valonia is just the large ones, which I remove by hand. I htink the emeralds eat hair algae too, but not fast enough. Nutrient removal (replace old bulbs and RO/DI filters, skimming, etc.) is the better long term solution for that. Surprisingly, running phosban reactor did nothing. The problem got better after I took the reactor offline. Could be coincidence.
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