Need to know if there is any algae control medications that won’t hurt corals or anemones or scaleless fish?

[GlassHouse]

2 minutes ago, HarryPotter said:

 

"Yes. It kills bryopsis and hair algae"

In some tanks. In others it appears to have done nothing. This could be due to different species perhaps. 

 

 

 

"Yes. It's completely reef safe."

So can you elaborate on what exactly it kills? Not all algae clearly, we agree about that, but what ones DOES it work on 100% of the time? 

(And you know me saying 100% is just leading you into a trap, because I can easily find a thread where someone complains it didnt help 😉 ). 

 

 

 

"Yes, when the algae dies, you have to remove the nutrients via water changes" 

Water changes will temporally remove nutrients, but the inherent surplus of nutrients is what caused it in the first place. Hence you will either have high nutrients, or grow algae again without addressing the issue. 

 

 

"Most of these things are covered in the thread I linked. Perhaps you should read it."

Ive read it. Works for some to kill certain species of algaes. Doesn't work for everyone.

 

I am not saying it is a "bad" solution, but the way you tried to present it was totally inaccurate. 

 

 

Your original post said "There is no chemical that will just kill all the algae without harming the tank." Now you apparently concede that Fluconazole actually does work. 

I have no idea why some people on the internet claim it doesn't work. Perhaps they left their carbon in, perhaps they didn't dose it correctly, perhaps it froze during shipment, perhaps they trying to kill the competition to the snake oil they sell. It could be any number of things. What I do know is the science behind Fluconazole is pretty indisputable. It works. It works for a gross majority of people that use it.  I'd bet you $20 it would work for the OP to eliminate their nuisance algae. 

 

Similarly, I don't know why some people that used fluconazole lost corals. I dose two part and my red planet frag died. Should I blame B-ionic? The creatures in our tanks die for all sorts of reasons. If you have hair algae, your tank  isn't in the best condition to begin with and your inhabitants are probably already stressed. Whether you dose Fluconazole, do a large water change, or use GFO to reduce phosphates, you are creating a change in your aquarium that could potentially result in death. That doesn't mean that water changes aren't "reef safe" and it also doesn't mean that fluconazole isn't reef safe. It is.

 

Your original statement was inaccurate. There is indeed a chemical that kills algae without harming the tank. You just didn't know about it. It's called Fluconazole.
 

[Tamberav]

2 hours ago, EthanPhillyCheesesteak said:

I do water changes weekly, but I’m not adding the correct water, I had to use purified bottled water the past few changes, bc I ran out of the stuff that I get from my LFS. The closest LFS to me is an hour away, that’s why I haven’t been able to get any more yet, I’ve just been really busy lately. Tight on money too. I’m sorry about the pictures, I’ll get some in a few minutes.

 

If you have a Walmart or grocery store nearby, you should be able to buy Distilled water. It comes in gallon jugs and cost about $1 each.

[ReefGoat]

Question for the Original Poster. When you say you took your rock out and rinsed the algae in the sink. Did you use water from the faucet to do this? Like freshwater from the faucet?

[ReefGoat]

4 minutes ago, Tamberav said:

 

If you have a Walmart or grocery store nearby, you should be able to buy Distilled water. It comes in gallon jugs and cost about $1 each.

I actually haven't even been using my RODI. I have been using Walmart distilled for my ATO and I'm seeing positive results.  Eventually I'll replace my membrane. But Im in no hurry. I'm even going to go pick 10 up this weekend and do a 10 gallon water change with wallyworld distilled water lol

[EthanPhillyCheesesteak]

Well, a lot happened while I was gone. I try to take care of my tank as good as I can, but I’m extremely low on extra cash right now. I took out all the live rock and cleaned it thoroughly, I mixed up the sand, and I cleaned the powerhead. This is what it looks like right now.

[EthanPhillyCheesesteak]

[Tamberav]

3 minutes ago, EthanPhillyCheesesteak said:

Well, a lot happened while I was gone. I try to take care of my tank as good as I can, but I’m extremely low on extra cash right now. I took out all the live rock and cleaned it thoroughly, I mixed up the sand, and I cleaned the powerhead. This is what it looks like right now.

 

I would absolutely not dose flucanozole in this tank. 

 

A picture is 100% helpful and your issue is cyano not even much GHA. 

 

And before anyone says it, don't use chemiclean either. That is A LOT of cyano and trying to murder so much cyano in a tank in bad state has a very good reason to turn into dino instead which is WAY worse than your current algae. 

 

 

[GlassHouse]

2 minutes ago, Tamberav said:

 

I would absolutely not dose flucanozole in this tank. 

 

A picture is 100% helpful and your issue is cyano not even much GHA. 

 

And before anyone says it, don't use chemiclean either. That is A LOT of cyano and trying to murder so much cyano in a tank in bad state has a very good reason to turn into dino instead which is WAY worse than your current algae. 

 

 

 

Agreed. It's not algae, it's cyanobacteria. Definitely needs to be cleaned out first, but I've seen far worse tanks that have been dosed with chemiclean and made it.

[WV Reefer]

4 minutes ago, Tamberav said:

 

I would absolutely not dose flucanozole in this tank. 

 

A picture is 100% helpful and your issue is cyano not even much GHA. 

 

And before anyone says it, don't use chemiclean either. That is A LOT of cyano and trying to murder so much cyano in a tank in bad state has a very good reason to turn into dino instead which is WAY worse than your current algae. 

 

 

Agree 100%

 

Thanks OP.....thats why we needed the pics. 

[EthanPhillyCheesesteak]

Should I just start using a better water source and get more clean up crew? I only have 2 turbo snails, 2 red legged hermits, 2 emerald crabs, and 2 different anemones(but they aren’t really a clean up crew), and a porcelain anemone crab.

And also get rid of this flame angelfish 

[EthanPhillyCheesesteak]

You’re welcome for the pics, sorry it took so long.

[FrontMan]

15 minutes ago, GlassHouse said:

 

Your original post said "There is no chemical that will just kill all the algae without harming the tank." Now you apparently concede that Fluconazole actually does work. 

I have no idea why some people on the internet claim it doesn't work. Perhaps they left their carbon in, perhaps they didn't dose it correctly, perhaps it froze during shipment, perhaps they trying to kill the competition to the snake oil they sell. It could be any number of things. What I do know is the science behind Fluconazole is pretty indisputable. It works. It works for a gross majority of people that use it.  I'd bet you $20 it would work for the OP to eliminate their nuisance algae. 

 

Similarly, I don't know why some people that used fluconazole lost corals. I dose two part and my red planet frag died. Should I blame B-ionic? The creatures in our tanks die for all sorts of reasons. If you have hair algae, your tank  isn't in the best condition to begin with and your inhabitants are probably already stressed. Whether you dose Fluconazole, do a large water change, or use GFO to reduce phosphates, you are creating a change in your aquarium that could potentially result in death. That doesn't mean that water changes aren't "reef safe" and it also doesn't mean that fluconazole isn't reef safe. It is.

 

Your original statement was inaccurate. There is indeed a chemical that kills algae without harming the tank. You just didn't know about it. It's called Fluconazole.
 

Facts and science aren’t appreciated here on nano-reef apparently. They prefer to cling to stories they read on the internet 20 years ago and old wives tales. Some of the biggest names in the reefing community have called Fluconazole “groundbreaking” and “game changing”, but it’s treated like it’s voodo magic here. Geez. 

[Tamberav]

1. Clean your filter, FREQUENTLY. Twice a week or more, whenever its dirty, clean it. Use disposable filter floss to make this easy and cheap.

 

2. I would siphon out and remove that sand bed. Start removing some with each water change, try not to disturb it and cloud the tank, just suck some out, idk whats trapped in there but it doesn't look good. You can save the sand for later as you may be able to clean/wash it but for now just remove it.

 

3. Scrape that glass, keep it clean, scrape the walls, you want that stuff being sucked up into the filter or moved out with your water changes.

 

4. Re-home some fish, at least the angel for now as it has the biggest bioload. 

 

5. Use distilled water from a grocery store or walmart

 

6. Buy a turkey baster, they are like $2 and blast the cyano off the rock and suck it out with each water change. 

 

Don't expect the tank to fix over night but this will get you on your way. 

 

 

[FrontMan]

10 minutes ago, EthanPhillyCheesesteak said:

You have a bad case of cyano. You need to vacuum as much as you can out and dose chemiclean AFTER YOU CLEAN IT UP. 

 

I have no idea why you are getting so much hate on this thread. I only see three fish. That’s barely overstocked. Are there more hiding? 

[Tamberav]

2 minutes ago, FrontMan said:

Facts and science aren’t appreciated here on nano-reef apparently. They prefer to cling to stories they read on the internet 20 years ago and old wives tales. Some of the biggest names in the reefing community have called Fluconazole “groundbreaking” and “game changing”, but it’s treated like it’s voodo magic here. Geez. 

 

That is a bit dramatic, there are many here who have used fluconazole. I feel it has its place and have it in my fish med drawer. I think we would all agree it is not a replacement for poor water quality or husbandry but can be a useful tool in tandem or for bryopsis which can grow even in low nutrient systems. 

[mitten_reef]

7 minutes ago, EthanPhillyCheesesteak said:

Well, a lot happened while I was gone. I try to take care of my tank as good as I can, but I’m extremely low on extra cash right now. I took out all the live rock and cleaned it thoroughly, I mixed up the sand, and I cleaned the powerhead. This is what it looks like right now.

I'm glad you posted some pics!  I'd do water change and suck out as much cyano as you can.  you may have to do this aggressively over the next few days, they like to come back.  during the same time, you may shorten the lighting period (i.e. if you have it on 10 hours, do 8. if you have it on for 8 hours, do 6) to help slow down their growth.  

[Tamberav]

3 minutes ago, FrontMan said:

You have a bad case of cyano. You need to vacuum as much as you can out and dose chemiclean AFTER YOU CLEAN IT UP. 

 

I have no idea why you are getting so much hate on this thread. I only see three fish. That’s barely overstocked. Are there more hiding? 

He has 7 which he mentioned in another thread. He also has another chemical in the tank treating ich, don't remember the name but worth noting before dosing any other chemicals as we don't know how they react. 

[EthanPhillyCheesesteak]

1 minute ago, FrontMan said:

You have a bad case of cyano. You need to vacuum as much as you can out and dose chemiclean AFTER YOU CLEAN IT UP. 

 

I have no idea why you are getting so much hate on this thread. I only see three fish. That’s barely overstocked. Are there more hiding? 

Yea, I also have a fire fish that you aren’t seeing, and a very small six line wrasse that I haven’t seen in 3 days, I’m hoping that he’s just hiding bc I’ve been moving stuff around a lot. And I also have a orange spotted goby

[EthanPhillyCheesesteak]

It’s Melafix, trying to treat the flame angel, he has something, but I’m pretty sure that it’s the start of ich.

[Tamberav]

Just now, EthanPhillyCheesesteak said:

Yea, I also have a fire fish that you aren’t seeing, and a very small six line wrasse that I haven’t seen in 3 days, I’m hoping that he’s just hiding bc I’ve been moving stuff around a lot. And I also have a orange spotted goby

And a watchman, right?

 

2 clowns

angel

watchman

spotted

firefish

sixline (maybe)

[EthanPhillyCheesesteak]

I didn’t mean to start so much outrage, my bad😂

Just now, Tamberav said:

And a watchman, right?

 

2 clowns

angel

watchman

spotted

firefish

sixline (maybe)

Yea, forgot him

[FrontMan]

1 minute ago, EthanPhillyCheesesteak said:

Yea, I also have a fire fish that you aren’t seeing, and a very small six line wrasse that I haven’t seen in 3 days, I’m hoping that he’s just hiding bc I’ve been moving stuff around a lot. And I also have a orange spotted goby

At the upper end of your fish limit, but I’d barely call it “overstocked”. Certainly don’t buy more fish and you might want to consider re-homing your clown or angel in the future. 

[WV Reefer]

1 minute ago, EthanPhillyCheesesteak said:

I didn’t mean to start so much outrage, my bad😂

Yea, forgot him

No ones’s outraged. Just trying to get all the info so we can give you the best advice. 🙂

[HarryPotter]

Absolutely not a case for Fluconazole- that is just lack of maintenance. Gotta do your water changes and sand vacuuming 😞

[FrontMan]

7 minutes ago, Tamberav said:

 

That is a bit dramatic, there are many here who have used fluconazole. I feel it has its place and have it in my fish med drawer. I think we would all agree it is not a replacement for poor water quality or husbandry but can be a useful tool in tandem or for bryopsis which can grow even in low nutrient systems. 

Perhaps you didn’t read the same thread I did.