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Nuisance Algae Guide


johnmaloney

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Within specs? ok? You need to list your params, inaccurate params are better than none at all IMO

 

and how do you know your test kit is inaccurate? what brand is it?

 

Its a quick dip test kit with the pads. All are reading zero and ph 8.4.

 

What can u do to get rid of this algae or will it just go away in time with the cycle?

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Its a quick dip test kit with the pads. All are reading zero and ph 8.4.

 

What can u do to get rid of this algae or will it just go away in time with the cycle?

You are on the nuisiance algae guide, if you start from page 1 it will tell you, what you have (if not ID'd which yours is) and how to get rid of it.

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You are on the nuisiance algae guide, if you start from page 1 it will tell you, what you have (if not ID'd which yours is) and how to get rid of it.

 

As stated in my post I wanted to confirm what I have not get advised to read what I have already read.

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What can u do to get rid of this algae or will it just go away in time with the cycle?

you just asked how to get rid of it when you said you read through it already? If you read through it you would know that how to get rid of cyano is on the first page.

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you just asked how to get rid of it when you said you read through it already? If you read through it you would know that how to get rid of cyano is on the first page.

 

 

Thanks buddy, got it.

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cyano...+1 to ^^

 

happy first post! :)

 

it is normal to have some cyano, but that is an outbreak that needs to be dealt with. Here is the only formula you need to know to be rid of cyano:

 

1. Reduce nutrients -

 

Reducing the importation of nutrients:

 

a. First look at amount you feed, and if there are available phosphates in it above and beyond what will be a byproduct of the feeding. (Are you using phyto etc...what do you feed? how much? how often?)

 

b. Use higher quality water, either ro/di, or check your ro/di etc...

Increasing the exportation of nutrients:

 

a. Additional water changes with the water described above.

 

b. Harvest algae or cyano from the tank and allow more to grow. Usually people use chaeto in a refugium, there are other options. ATS systems etc....big part of the hobby. Phosban + additional rock/DSB etc....

 

2. Removal of cyanobacteria and maintenance

 

a. With critters - nerites, chitons and to a lesser extent blue legs for the rocks and glass (blue legs don't do the glass though) ceriths for the sand.

 

b. Manually - You can siphon it out and should during the water changes described above. You can also brush it off the rocks, use your net to round it up when it starts floating.

 

3. Tricks for cyano:

 

a. Higher alkalinity, (like 11dkh if you used most beginner kits - dissolved carbonate hardness test....otherwise 4 meq/l - just my personal preference. Consistency is more important than a certain value.), discourages the growth of cyano.

 

b. Higher flow discourages the growth of cyano. If you see some spots are more prone to buildup test the flow in those spots and consider adjustment. Cyano can be an opportunity to redesign your current design.

 

Check your light schedule. How old are your bulbs?

What are your parameters in numbers?

How many fish?

 

The good news is cyano is easy to beat, and it doesn't have to ruin your reefing experience. :)

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Thanks buddy, got it.

yeah sorry not trying to be rude i just see alot of people come to forums and get chewed out pretty bad because they don't know how to use them properly.

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yeah sorry not trying to be rude i just see alot of people come to forums and get chewed out pretty bad because they don't know how to use them properly.

 

So you’re the new Nuisance Algae Guide :bowdown: Moderator?

 

Cool... B)

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5-0 reefer - i would ditch the test strips. good when you cycle a tank because you test a million times while the patience develops...(:) - for my first tank it took 3 years to develop). but they aren't that accurate so you will want to get a kit from a reputable company, something like API, or salifert. Skip the Red Sea kit. You will want:

 

* refractometer. (i used to get away with a hydrometer but....these things are worth the extra $25)

* nitrite test - skip and use the strips if it isn't in the pack and you could use the couple extra bucks for other things- this should read zero from here on out....

* nitrate test

*ph test

* alkalinity test

* mag

* calcium

* ammonia - test strips aren't so bad at this as they are about nitrate, and you shouldn't have to use it....but if something dies I like to be sure when I test and it usually comes in the kit anyway so get it too.

* phosphates - it is said that there are no reliable tests on the market - usually algae/cyano can serve as a test.

 

 

***By the way, if you are a beginner out there and are unsure of an id you are making, please post. There are lots of look alikes I need pics for, and the bump doesn't hurt either. ;):happydance:

Edited by johnmaloney
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5-0 reefer - i would ditch the test strips. good when you cycle a tank because you test a million times while the patience develops...(:) - for my first tank it took 3 years to develop). but they aren't that accurate so you will want to get a kit from a reputable company, something like API, or salifert. Skip the Red Sea kit. You will want:

 

* refractometer. (i used to get away with a hydrometer but....these things are worth the extra $25)

* nitrite test - skip and use the strips if it isn't in the pack and you could use the couple extra bucks for other things- this should read zero from here on out....

* nitrate test

*ph test

* alkalinity test

* mag

* calcium

* ammonia - test strips aren't so bad at this as they are about nitrate, and you shouldn't have to use it....but if something dies I like to be sure when I test and it usually comes in the kit anyway so get it too.

* phosphates - it is said that there are no reliable tests on the market - usually algae/cyano can serve as a test.

 

 

***By the way, if you are a beginner out there and are unsure of an id you are making, please post. There are lots of look alikes I need pics for, and the bump doesn't hurt either. ;):happydance:

 

Thanks for the help. Yeah I will purchase another test kit and get a refractometer.

 

Another thing that may have contributed to the algae is high temps? I was reading 84.7, so I cut the light time down by 2hrs and going to test a few things out. Hopefully this stuff will go away, it just makes the tank look so nasty. I see all the other awesome tanks out here and hope to be at that point someday.

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yeah, that can be a contributor, but the temp isn't necessary. It may discourage it, but the root is the nutrients. That temp needs to come down though, at that high it is probably a large contributor...try to get more water falling, fans, surface area and greater volume of water away from the light. Easier said than done, but at least I didn't just say get a chiller, although you may need to.

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Any ideas John?

IMG_2335.jpg

 

IMG_2337.jpg

 

IMG_2340.jpg

 

IMG_2339.jpg

 

My tank has been up and running for about a year. No nuisance algae up until about a month ago when this stuff started popping up. It seems to do great in high flow areas like on the chaeto and the hydor FLO on the return. It's also been agitating my zoanthid polyps (see pic) and some of my other corals, like xenia, seem to have been effected as well. You can't tell from the pics but fine strings of it blow around in the current off the rocks and the individual polyps.

Edited by nor_cal_nano
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Would you know by chance what this macroalgae is?

It is red and branches out with lots of little nubs.

It seems to grow out more than up, but layers itself on top of each other ( like if you put your one hand on top of your other and then flexed your fingers out).

I haven't seen it any where.

 

algae01-27-2010.jpg

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nebthet - they have a lot of macros like that one...the very small details you can't really make out in a pic will determine the species...it makes it difficult. Fuzzy short reds are the same way... It looks like a champia species or a lomentaria species.

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nebthet - they have a lot of macros like that one...the very small details you can't really make out in a pic will determine the species...it makes it difficult. Fuzzy short reds are the same way... It looks like a champia species or a lomentaria species.

 

Ok.. I pulled a branch off and took a better pic of it.

It isn't comprised of barrel shaped segments or long segments. The branches run straight and new branches grow from the nubs.

 

redmacro.jpg

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Another question for the algae guru!

 

Any idea why the little patch of byropsis in my tank would die off (I never got around to nuking the rock it was on) while some cotton candy algae on a crag thrives?

 

The byropsis was about 5" below the water line and the cotton candy is on the sandbed (~11" down). Only thing I can think of is they are feeding off of something different, but I'm not sure what.

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Most of the live rock in my system is Figi, with the exception of one Tonga branch.

 

 

i have a shortage of those books...I would check with the Laurencia species and Chondrophycus....sorry I am in desperate need of a tax book from the south pacific. Will try to find out more for you if I can...

 

 

Any idea why the little patch of byropsis in my tank would die off (I never got around to nuking the rock it was on) while some cotton candy algae on a crag thrives?

 

The byropsis was about 5" below the water line and the cotton candy is on the sandbed (~11" down). Only thing I can think of is they are feeding off of something different, but I'm not sure what.

 

bryopsis might not have liked the light/temp/parameters etc...available nutrients are a requisite to growing macros, but not the sole factor in determining the success of an algae to establish itself....shame too it would make keeping some of the odd ones easier...

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Hey John, well I'm still battling the cyano with no real progress. All the water checks out fine and I even added some chaeto to my fuge. I scrub the live rock and stir the sand to loosen the cyano then clean up as much as I can and the rest gets filtered, then I clean the filter floss. I have done water changes also. Any idea what could be going on and what can I do?

 

Also not sure what the deal with this is but, I am getting quick buildup of green algae on the glass. For example I cleaned the glass at 1130am and at 130pm there was already a film of the algae started again. My lights are run 10 hrs a day with the actinic 12 hrs, the rest led moons. I have the nanotuners 3.24 upgrage kit for my BC14. any help would be great. Thanks!!

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the tests are giving you false negatives, there is definitely something to fuel that algae...only government can make something out of nothing. :)

 

give it time, it has only been a few days. It sounds like you stirring up the nutrients, which will cause it to get worse, (your film algae outbreak), before it gets better. Good thing still, better in the long run. At least another 2 weeks of the same before you check to see if you are making any progress....Get as much of the junk out as you can each week when you do the water changes. What is your CUC like?

Edited by johnmaloney
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Ok thanks. Ill keep at it another few weeks and see what happens.

 

My cuc is approx 7 red hermits, 6 nassaruis(SP?), 2 margarita, and 2 bumble bee snails.

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well you dont have anything that eats cyano really...margaritas to some extent, but ...well I will leave it be, but they are a coldwater species...and your bumble bee has a taste for live microfauna too...

 

this is what I would recommend for a very strong cyano crew:

 

20 dwarf ceriths

8 florida ceriths

7 nerites (small to medium)

 

follow the tips on the page before, get a crew that looks like the one I just posted and in 5 weeks the tank will look nice and it should stay that way.

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