Algae Outbreaks: What's your BEST defense against it?

[ReefBeta]

Healthy coral growth + tang gank = no algae problem

 

[Gemdora]

I have never had major algae problems in the 20+ years that I have had reef tanks. Occasionally I get a little rust colored algae on some of the sandbed.

I think the fact that I run my actinic lights only 9 hours a day and the daylight bulb only 5 is a big reason. The one thing algae absolutely needs is light for photosynthesis.

The second factor is I have a refugium with macro algae/seagrass and DSB/live rock. The macro algae/seagrass take up nutrients and outcompete the nuisance algae. The DSB/live rock provide a home for bio-life that help keep nuisance algae at bay.

I do not have a skimmer or any kind of reactor. I do not use socks or filter material except if I am clearing up a stirred sandbed or something like that. I do a 10% WC once every 2 weeks.

I have 16-18 fish in my 100 gallon system and I feed very heavy. My nitrates are easily 30ppm and phosphates are about .05ppm.

This method has worked for me and my mixed reef.

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[AJI23]

Algae is the kryptonite that keeps our aquarium super powers from becoming to powerful for our own good! - author unknown (ok it was me)

But really is nuisance algae just something that we will always have to battle from time to time each year or can it be very rare to non existent in some reef tanks? For those that rarely deal with nuisance algae what do you think your best defense is against it? Let's moan and complain a little and see what comes up!

PS. I hate algae

1. How many times a year do you have to do battle with nuisance algae?

2. If you rarely deal with nuisance algae what do you think is your best defense against it?


image via @Chiefmaster30

I actually never have any algae breakout besides your regular cleaning of the glass slightly with my flipper. 7years and never a issue. I run carbon and gfo that I change every 2 weeks and a

Algae is the kryptonite that keeps our aquarium super powers from becoming to powerful for our own good! - author unknown (ok it was me)

But really is nuisance algae just something that we will always have to battle from time to time each year or can it be very rare to non existent in some reef tanks? For those that rarely deal with nuisance algae what do you think your best defense is against it? Let's moan and complain a little and see what comes up!

PS. I hate algae

1. How many times a year do you have to do battle with nuisance algae?

2. If you rarely deal with nuisance algae what do you think is your best defense against it?


image via @Chiefmaster30

i never have a algae breakout. Besides your regular cleaning of the glass with my flipper. I run gfo and carbon that I change every 2 weeks and I run a pentair aquatics UV 40 watt on my 220 gallon and for 7 years never an outbreak. Water changes every 3 weeks of 25%.

 

[The_Skrimp]

Mostly commenting to follow because boy do I need some help with my GHA problem. My tank is covered in hair algae. My refugium isn’t doing anything to kill it even though my chaeto is growing well. I’ve taken rocks out and brushed them. I’ve picked the algae off by hand a couple times a week. I used a whole bottle of microbacter clean and I’m about to try vibrant. Crossing my fingers.

 

[jaxteller007]

I had a huge hair algae problem, like the back glass looked like a field of grass, in our 180. 5 Mexican turbos later and we haven't had hair algae since.
I like to keep a lot of various snails to keep all kinds of algae in check.

 

[jaxteller007]

Its as simple as "I live 1 hour away from the nearest saltwater fish store" and "Well I am still in highschool and only work in the summer so dont have money whenever i want XD" .
Im dealing with a major GHA outbreak, im gonna get a pincushion urchin, some more crabs and maybe like 2 nassarius snails or a serpent starfish.

If your tank is big enough I've found Mexican turbo snails will destroy hair algae.

 

[reefdoink]

I'm new to this saltwater stuff. But from what I have learned are rock is the most critical part in algae control. Algae grows no matter what if there's a source. When I first setup my tank I used dry live seeded rock from caribsea. I'm fairly certain my rock work was leaching phosphates and growing algae. So after fighting it for awhile I just stopped taking it out off the rocks. Also adding different kinds of bacteria when I changed water seemed to slow it down for a few days. Finally I raised my magnesium up to close to 1500. Now my tank although not free of algae, but is kept in check with my cuc. After all the waiting I think light cleaning of the sand bed and keeping rock work cleaned off with my water changes, the alage should stay short and under control.

 

[Subsea]

It’s all about consumers & competitors. Within the confines of our glass tanks, we mix & match. After 50 yrs of Reefing, I find much enjoyment in the challenge to establish a compatible community. For me, it all came together after reading John Tullock’s book, “The Natural Reef Aquarium”.

My main focus has been nutrient recycling using organic & inorganic nutrients to grow live food for hungry mouths. Most of this is done in mud/macro refugium. The macro algae allows for both nutrient export & nutrient recycling, so, I have been practicing the Triton Method without the skimmer. Makeup for evaporation is ground water from 1000’ with a tds of > 900. In the last few years, sponges have become the third leg of biofiltration in my 25 year tank.

 

[TheDuude]

Absolute rubbish, what an absurd statement! Macro algae’s are a threat to reefs naturally as they outgrow corals and shade them out. Coral reefs are a low nutrient environment, hence corals have evolved to exploit this!!! Th only algae that has a place in a reef are symbiotics and corallines!

So your saying algae is not present in natural reefs? Wrong.

 

[Wayne P.]

I'm only about two weeks after cycle on my new Cade 1800. Not many issues yet, but I'm expecting the uglies to start any day now.

My JBJ stayed pretty good. Light levels weren't crazy high because I don't mess with SPS. CUC, 1 huge turbo seemed to keep things in control.

 

[jsker]

With a busy schedule, things can get ugly pretty quick

 

[DxMarinefish]

Yes I have a system that deals with algae pretty well, except just one ...Bubble Algae.

No matter what i do it just keeps coming back.
I run two ATS that are rock solid, so much that today’s reading is N clear and P 0.014 (Ultra low Hanna).
but the bubble algae just won’t go away. I have installed a UV last week and it’s properly configured and I am hoping it can deal with any algae in the water. I don’t try and take the bubbles off because it will definitely burst (I know it will eventually burst).

I have tried crabs, fox face and other tangs- no luck.

Now I have my fingers crossed that the UV will provide a balance so it does not get out of hand like it did early last yearhopefully zap the DNA of any in the water column.

Mentally I have just had to accept them in my DT.

thing is that I have my sump and hang on back fuge dark the last 9 months and this had really helped because the only place they can run riot is my DT. I don’t see any on my ATS when I harvest.

If anyone knows of a specific flow rate through a UV to target Bubble algae, they would be my hero.

 

[gambler]

always have an algae scrubber works great

 

[Subsea]

If anyone knows of a specific flow rate through a UV to target Bubble algae, they would be my hero.

@DxMarinefish
Flow rate thru UV for algae is much less than flow rate for parasite. With that said, slow flow rate will kill everything. Many different algae produce spores. Just as in a garden, weeds will grow if nothing is there and nobody eats it.

 

[Dkmoo]

Best defense is tank stability for me - Algae only thrive when there's "left over food" since what they absorb is the last step in the nutrient cycle in terms of what you put in vs how far they get converted. A stable tank means "what you put in" has stabilized with "what is absorbed and taken out", and if algae is not a part of equation of "what is absorbed" then they cannot explode to massive proportions.

I don't dislike algaes - they are part of the natural microecological system that we try to recreate in our tanks. small amounts add to the stability of the tank b/c they act like buffers from nutrient swings. and large explosions give you the first warning sign that something is wrong with the tank.

 

[Roy Arena]

A little Ulva in the sump plus a few snails and a tang in display.

 

[Fastpitch]

It is probably just lucky chance but I have never had bubble, dinos, GHA, Cyano, etc. Just garden variety diatoms. I struggled a little bit with red turf algae but that is an easy solve by soaking my rock for a couple days in Clorox. And once I switched from those cheap strip LED lights to Kessil, the red turf has not returned. I use Microbacter7 and have Vibrant on hand. My PO4/NO3 are .03 and 50ppm, so I do have high nitrates. But the nitrates are not surprising since I never do water changes. I just refuse. Experimenting with a Chaeto reactor now for the nitrates.

My problems in this hobby have always been getting fish through QT alive.

 

[CanuckReefer]

1. My big battle is red cyano on the rocks. At least I think that’s what it is. Don’t deal with any nuisance algae
2. Best defense by far is having algae eating critters! Between our blenny and tangs, 2 urchins, too many snails to count (and they breed like mice!), and hermits I no longer even see algae. Our nutrients also run very low even though our staple diet is our home made “reef chili”. Maybe we’re just lucky?

Those are two gorgeous looking bubbles....

 

[CanuckReefer]

Tang, Pygmy Angel's, and my biggest assets are Sand Sifting star, 2 urchins, snails , hermits , and Sea Cucumber....they keep stuff in check.

 

[Doglips56]

Those are two gorgeous looking bubbles....

It’s grown like crazy!