Noticing some algae growth

[stevil]

A few months ago (don

[Jon Lazar]

I would leave the lights off for a while unless you have corals that came with the rocks you added. Right now it sounds like you don't need lights on for anything, so why "feed" the algae?

 

It sounds like you've been a patient reefer so far, and I would encourage you to continue that philosophy. I wouldn't add shrimp to increase the ammonia. Sure you'll get a cycle, but once the bacteria turn the shrimp into nitrates, the bacteria will fall back to a steady state population, which is about where you're at now. Unless you keep adding shrimp, you'll be exactly back where you started. Plus the initial ammonia spike may affect some of the critters currently on your live rock.

 

Jon

[stevil]

I would leave the lights off for a while unless you have corals that came with the rocks you added.  Right now it sounds like you don't need lights on for anything, so why "feed" the algae?

46009[/snapback]

 

That makes sense, but I do have some life - a nice patch of some kind of polyp things, couple of wavy armed anemone looking things on a stalk, some mushrooms, at least 5 small starfish, a lone hermit crab and what I think are sponges (they are q-tiped sized, but not the q-tip sponges). Also I've got a fairly decent coverage of coralline algae.

 

Some pics here at my gallery.

 

Would minimal lighting be advised in this case? I have 2 strips of VHO, 1 white, one blue.

[emissary]

Nothin' in the tank to worry about dying. It'll all come back naturally. You're going to want to look into those wavy anemone looking things on stalks. Aptasia. Yuck.

[Caribbean Jake]

I took a look at your website, the image 5493 you show is an Aptasia, and NO, you don't want that in your tank, it is a pest. You can kill it by injecting vinegar to the center of the stem using a syringe.

 

On the lights, please feel free to turn them off for about three days. The algae will go away and everything else will survive without any problems.

 

You can also start a log on what you do and what you observe in your tank(s), this will help you remember the day you first put in a bulb or the last time you changed water. Also helpful for knowing the timeframe and live expectancy of your equipments/ bulbs/ and sometime livestock. I keep mine for over three years now and can go back wihtout hesitation and tell you what happened last Dec at either of my tanks. It really helps, and it does not need to be a book but a short note every day or so just to remind you.

[stevil]

Ok - Operation Lights Out is under way. I injected about 5 mg of cider vinegar into each aptasia (there were 2 new tiny ones today!). They all seemed to wither immediately, but have now recovered a bit.

 

I killed the lights as well.

 

Should I take it a step further and cover the tank to eliminate all light? How often should I treat the aptasia?

[discordja]

Aiptasia are darned hard to kill with a needle and vinegar/lemon juice before they have some size to em. Once they get a bit larger you can manage to inject the base of them but when they are the size they are in your pictures the odds are you are just gonna go through the stalk if you even stick it at all.

 

I'd not worry too much atm. You can also get you a peppermint shrimp or two down the road and they can be aiptasia assassins. (or find someone that will uh .. loan you nudibranch for a while .. then you'll need to pass hime along to someone else with an aiptasia problem or he'll starve).

 

Ok - Operation Lights Out is under way.  I injected about 5 mg of cider vinegar into each aptasia (there were 2 new tiny ones today!).  They all seemed to wither immediately, but have now recovered a bit.

 

I killed the lights as well.

 

Should I take it a step further and cover the tank to eliminate all light?  How often should I treat the aptasia?

46111[/snapback]

[BeltwayBandit]

Very nice pictures. I second what everyone else has said re: lights and aiptasia. Especially the aiptasia kill them, kill them all!

[unninair]

Or you can try to sell them on EBAY as micro anemone :D that enhances the beauty of any aquarium.

 

Unni

[Lee Stearns]

There are many articles that you can read on algea- but My exerience is that a tank naturally cycles through some of this- Brown Diaton algea is noral as it burns up certain free silicates in the tank and may bloom a bit again as the sand bed is stirred. Next for some reason cyno bacteria blooms a brown to red algea looking stuff- some hermits will help- siphoning off will help but for most intents it needs to go throughit course- Then film and other green algea a bit higher up in the algea chain seem to beginto live and burn up residula phos and nitrates- this is normal as well- Most folks then add a macro algea like chaeto to their fuge or a corner of the tank with no fuge to out compete the hair algea and some extent the film algeas- As form of the pink coraline Algeas begin to cover the rocks and back glass, it emits a anti-algea chemical to grow and or conquer more space- which is why so many folks would rather have coraline for its color and algea fighting ability. A tank is finally mature when you have a good deal of coraline growing. There are lots of articles on how to promote coraline but they basically boil down to maintaining your calcium levels and seeding your tank with some of the pink and plating varients to get it started- most good live rock will have all you need.

[Sugar Magnolia]

I've had much better success at killing aiptasia by heating the lemon juice, vinegar or water before injecting them. I'll have to agree, that it is much easier to inject them when they've gotten a bit bigger.