Everything's Exploding

[Endevor]

So, I'm having a situation I haven't really encountered before. Everything seems to be thriving in my tank, both good things and bad. I currently have a clown and a Lawnmower Blenny in a 30gal with some xenia, some green star polyps, a large feather duster, some hammerhead, and various polyps. The good news is the star polyps and xenia have exploded and now take up almost half my tank combined. Along with that however, so has a ton of green algae.

I've had my tank running on my Arduino controller for the last month with my wife checking in on it while I'm away for military training and I've also been keeping tabs on it since it's connected to my PC. From what I can see, the Blenny eats at the algae, but is not able to easily keep up with it's growth. My wife has attacked it several times with a toothbrush and pulling it out as much as she can, but a lot is rooted in unreachable places and it grows back way too fast.

I thought that you normally get algae blooms when you have a nitrate/nitrite problem, but with everything else healthy and growing as well, I'm doubting that as the main issue. Do any of you have any suggestions on how to combat this issue whether it be adding something that kills it, a fish that eats it, or something that can control this a little easier?

I attached a picture. You can see the algae all along the front and on the powerheads. Star polyps growing on the right and xenia on the left. I apologize for the quality. Camera is not that great.

Thanks,

[seabass]

Hello, the coral growth of Xenia and GSP doesn't necessarily indicate a low nutrient situation. In fact, they both can benefit from excess nutrients (phosphate and nitrate) in the water. I would attack this on a couple of fronts. First lower nutrients (water changes are a safe, easy, and relatively inexpensive way to export nutrients). Then, I'd add some more snail herbivores (Trochus snails are a good choice, but a couple of Turbo snails might also be warranted).

 

Note that nitrate and phosphate tests might not reveal a problem as the algae bloom is consuming much of the nutrients in the water column. Also, snails eating a lot means a lot of snail poop (which can be removed during water changes).

[ajmckay]

I think seabass pretty much summed it up... Looks to me just like a tank that has suffered from lack of maintenance.

 

What is your typical maintenance schedule?

 

In addition to water changes and beefing up the snail population, a thorough scrubbing of the rock (followed by a rinse in clean water) is good, as is reducing your light cycle or even running no lights for several days at a time. Also a temporary reduction in feeding may be necessary for a short time (or forever if you overfeed).

 

With some research you may have success with using chemical media or treating rocks with hydrogen peroxide, which has given good results for some.

[Endevor]

Thanks, I haven't tried a lights out yet, so I might do that. How long can coral go without light?

Things will definitely change when I return. I left instructions to do a water change at least every other week, so if that's even been done, I may have to increase when I get home. I have several snails in there now(mostly astreia), though she said my crabs have disappeared.

[ajmckay]

Thanks, I haven't tried a lights out yet, so I might do that. How long can coral go without light?

 

Things will definitely change when I return. I left instructions to do a water change at least every other week, so if that's even been done, I may have to increase when I get home. I have several snails in there now(mostly astreia), though she said my crabs have disappeared.

I should probably ask - are your water changes with good water? It's possible if you're using a bad water source that water changes can make things worse.

 

Assuming the GSP and Xenia are the only corals in your tank they should be able to go a decent amount of time with lights out - definitely several days. I mean it probably won't be a miracle cure or anything but it might help slow down younger growth some.

 

Astrea snails I find to be sort of crappy... Apparently they're more of a temperate water species so as a result they usually only live in my tank for a few months. Also they have a horrible habit of flipping over and not being able to right themselves. At least they're cheap though. A few larger turbo snails will mow through turf algae best, trochus will do a good job too though and will probably live longer than the astreas. Maybe give John @ reefcleaners a call/pm and he can probably put together something for you and ship it to your home so you have less of a mess to deal with when you get back.

[Endevor]

Thanks, I did make it home before anything really went belly up. I cleaned a lot of it out, but did notice my cleaning crew has significantly depleted. Astrea was my go-to because like you said, they're cheap. I seem to have 3 snails left that themselves have hair algae growing on them. Makes them look like funny-looking moving bushes.

I haven't heard of reefcleaners before, definitely looks impressive. I'll be looking into them to replace my cleaning crew! Thanks!

[Moulton712]

Looks like a nutrient explosion. A lot of times its water source, could be lights, could be feeding too much.

[nidding]

I would consider an urchin. Tuxedo or maybe pin-cushion

[rone_kevin66]

Wc and run gfo. Where are you getting your water from.