Acoustics Reef Algae tank battle Update! 1 month later!

[Acoustic]

Many of you saw my tank in a horrible state last month. Here's the pic:

[Acoustic]

Here's today:

[Acoustic]

Left side:

[Acoustic]

Right side:

[flaunt]

yikes! i've had some algae battles of my own so i know how it is... looks like you've made some great progress. what all have you done to diminish it?

 

i like the aquascaping btw.

[Acoustic]

Here is what I did to combat what is happening:

 

1) Lowered salinity

1a) Stopped using Catalina water and now make my own!

2) Purchased new lightbulbs in case the old one went bad

3) Bought a letttuce nudibranch

4) Left lights off for 24 hours

5) Bought a big old snail to eat the algae

6) Busted out my huge new skimmer to eliminate the bad stuff from the water.

7) Bought more hermit crabs.

9) Got rid of ALL fish and non-photosynthetic corals!

[flaunt]

hmm... i've never heard of someone getting rid of all non-photosynthetic corals to combat algae. were you figuring they were the most likely to be covered in the stuff?

[Acoustic]

Here's why I came to that conclusion. Basically if you think about it, a nonphotosynthetic coral is the same as about 3 fish minus the swim action. You have to feed it, it craps, it grows. This process creates nutrients in your tank. SOooooooooooOOO, it is plain to see that non-photosynthetic have the potential to create a huge bioload problem in your tank. Especially for nano's this could lead to disaster. Need Proof? Look at the first picture. As you can see only 1 month later with the same filtration, lighting, etc. there is a huge difference.

 

So my conclusion is, No fish and no non-photosynthetic corals equals a happy nano. I think that in another month my tank will look outstanding.

[flaunt]

makes sense to an extent. what corals did you remove besides the sun coral? i usually feed mine outside the tank so i don't end up putting as many nutrients into the main tank. other than that i don't have any non-photosynthetics so i dunno. so i can see where feeding non-photos in the tank can create a nutrient problem, but i believe everything "craps" in one way or another so i'm not sure you're saving much there. interesting thought though.

[Acoustic]

That is the only non-photo coral I had in the tank. So I got rid of my strawberry pseudochromis and the sun coral.

[caja]

I wish you the best of luck with your fight with the algae.

[Crakeur]

getting there acoustic. nice thinking on the non-photo corals. Never thought about the additional issues they pose.

[jdsabin1]

I have a large sun coral and also feed my scolymia, fungia, and bubble coral the same stuff I feed my sun and have never had an algae problem. I can see where overfeeding these corals could be potentially harmful but I am not sure I agree with comparing them to a fish load X 3.

 

At any rate, good luck and keep us posted!

[LIVEROCKER]

wow your corals look healthier...a still see alot of algae..but better.hey..do you syphon out that cyno when you do your water changes.thats how i got rid of mine.i just do it at every water change.i have a 25 gallon and about 8 TURBO snails.3 are HUGE.maybe you should get more snails.worked for me.after 1 week.no more algae.havent seen any since.and if i do see any i just syphon it out right away.i like to keep my tank really clean.(pet peeve!).well anyways...good luck on you battle against evil.looks better.

[Jahkaya]

Acoustic:

 

I have some Red Slime remover if you need some, and some Maracyn Talbets. Knocked my Cyano out cold. I have been testing religously, and found that I have a bit of Trates 5-10 after the Cyano left, whereas there was almost none before. Once the Cyano left, the Hair had more nutirients to feed off of, though. I am in 92688, south OC if you need some. Let me know. Now I begin the Hair fight.

[hickncali]

what is with yall and algea problems(no offense intended). i have never had that big of a mess, and im working on my third tank. prolly just dumb luck

[drdrew]

more snails more snails