FishProfiles.com Message Forums

...or some kind of green, long, stringy algae.

is there any way i can get rid of this in my 46gallon? its taking over my rocks one by one. maybe some kind of critter or fish. help please, its getting to be really ugly.

Probably have high nutrients in the tank. Have you checked phosphates?

Water changes with RO water would be a good start.

i changed the water a few days ago, about 30% before the new cleanup crew was added this morning. i used RO water. if you suggest another water change, how much?


edit: oh yes, how do you check for phosphates. i haven't seen a test kit for it at my lfs..

[span class="edited"][Edited by 2004-06-29 16:35][/span]

There are test kits available, but as I understand it, they don't pick up every form of phosphate. Still probably I good idea to test. Maybe you could ask your LFS to order one for you, or you could order one online?

I hope I'm not doing anything wrong by posting a link to another forum. This is a very good aricle on hair alage, what causes it and how to rid your tank of it. This was very helpful for me (it really worked!), so I thought I'd pass it on.


http://www.reefcentral.com/FAQ/algae/greenhair/1/

Hope this helps you out some.

I've heard that black long spine urchens are good at cleaning up algea. I added one the other day, to soon to tell for sure. Don't get the banded long spine as they are not reef safe.



Dan

that was a great link chicken. ill definitely try that. my cleanup crew was just put in today, and i spent about a half hour taking out the smaller pieces of rock and scrubbing them some soo...hopefully that will get a head start on things. i'll pick up a test kit for phosphates tomorrow and see where i'm at. i think the problem might have been caused by m topping off with tap water, only about twice (what was i thinking arrggghhhh), thus introducing phosphates and nitrates. well, i'll never do that again.

i'm not familiar w/ the requirements of an urchin, but i've heard that greenbanded gobies form some sort of relationship with them? that might be kind of cute in the future...

how about a lawnmower blenny?

Urchins will eat the algea all right, all of it. While they are great cleaners they also eat coraline algea. This isn't a problem for some but you should be aware of it. Hermit crabs will help eat it as well, but they are better at maintenance than getting it under control. You might remove what you can by hand and leave the rest to the cleanup crew. Another 20% water change with RO wouldn't hurt either. Good luck.

Raider_fish

You can always try a lettuce slug. They're neat little critters.

Also, get something like Phos-ban and starting using it to remove the phosphates from your tank.

a lettuce slug eh? i've seen them at my favorite LFS, but recently they have been kind of lacking. i saw a couple dead fish there last time i went, and they had some true perc pairs that were covered in ich. i'm upset that they don't seem to be taking care of their livestock as well as they used to, so i'm kind of hesitant about buying from them. i'll read up more about lettuce slugs and see if i can get them online or special ordered. thanks!

Just a note: When all the byroprisis has been removed from the tank, the lettuce slug will more than likely die.

In other words, their time in aquaira is not very long.

You're on the mark, Raider, I originally had 4 urchins with my live rock and had zero problems with algae. I have given three of the urchins away over the last month or so because half of my coralline algae is gone. I figure the last one will eventually have to go as well in time. I like the coralline algae too much.

Sally lightfoot crabs eat hair algae, but unlike the slugs they won't die when it is all gone since thier diet also includes other algaes and stuff they find on the bottom. Good luck!

The good thing about lettuce Nudibranch's is that you can substitute their diet with algae sheets. They are the only Nudi that I would recommend for a tank, and the only one that I know will live long term if they are looked after properly.