Algae questions

[Uzair Aiman]

Hi! I have a 20 Gallon tank with a pair of clown, a turbo snail, a gsp frag and a hammer coral. My tank is undergoing a diatom bloom right now. Brown everywhere on rocks and sand. And now Im starting to see green algae showing up. Id like to ask what should I expect next? I know its normal for this to happen for a new tank.

What should I do to remove all the algae later on?
What should I expect to happen next?
Is the algae problematic for my live stock and corals?

My Hammer coral seems to be unhappy since the diatoms arrived but IDK if that was the cause of the issue.

 

[BanjoBandito]

This is all natural, but you want to be adamant not to try and "over filter" your tank or try and immediately clean everything up leaving a nutrient void. It's best at this point to try and bring your phosphates in line slowly, and remove any "excess" GHA....if you go in with too much gusto and/or chemical treatments you may start a dino bloom, which can be crippling.

How old is your tank?

You may want to get some more snails to handle the diatoms/GHA for the time being. I have 5 in my 12 gallon. They do a bang up job and won't mess with the coral.

 

[Uzair Aiman]

This is all natural, but you want to be adamant not to try and "over filter" your tank or try and immediately clean everything up leaving a nutrient void. It's best at this point to try and bring your phosphates in line slowly, and remove any "excess" GHA....if you go in with too much gusto and/or chemical treatments you may start a dino bloom, which can be crippling.

How old is your tank?

You may want to get some more snails to handle the diatoms/GHA for the time being. I have 5 in my 12 gallon. They do a bang up job and won't mess with the coral.

The tank was set up in May. So technically 2-3 months now. How am I supposed to lower the phosphates in the first place? How many CUC should I add in a 20 gallon and what types? (I am really into hermit crabs so is that ok? Ill surely add more snails.)
Also, what is gusto? ahaha sorry.

So if I am doing things right (lowering phosphates), all the algae will be gone in a few weeks?

 

[BanjoBandito]

The tank was set up in May. So technically 2-3 months now. How am I supposed to lower the phosphates in the first place? How many CUC should I add in a 20 gallon and what types? (I am really into hermit crabs so is that ok? Ill surely add more snails.)
Also, what is gusto? ahaha sorry.

So if I am doing things right (lowering phosphates), all the algae will be gone in a few weeks?

Stick with dwarf blue leg hermits....I tend to have less "issues" with them (crabs are crabs, they'll eat anything...even stuff you want to keep). Usually it's about 2 gallon per "critter"....so you could add 4 trochus (or similar) snails and 6 hermits. I tend to prefer a trochus as they seem to be less picky about eating certain algaes....but that could be all in my head. lol.

What equipment are you running?

My nano I had major phosphate and nitrate issues for the first couple months, big swings, etc. I eventually removed my protein skimmer and dose a product called "PRO BIO F" by Aquaforest and things have been easy peasey since. Feeding is a MAJOR impact to phosphates so it all depends if you are a heavy hand or not. I use ZERO coral foods, my experience is they are phosphate bombs and will spur nuisance growth. If you started with dry rock it can take awhile for it to stop leaching and start "filtering" real good...as with all things reefing....patience.

If you can keep your phosphates under .2 (or even better floating around .05-.1) you'll see significant decrease in the spread of algae. But test kits are funny....if you have a tank full of GHA, you can get a ZERO reading because of all the "trapped" phosphates being held by the GHA. Things don't just "appear" they are there because the environment allows them to be there. Reef tanks take awhile to mature.

Once you get your CUC in place, phosphates stable and are still having issues you can try something to help tame it. I've used VIBRANT (as directed) and it got some GHA right outta there. I still have diatoms, but it seems the thinking now is DIATOMS GOOD, NO MAKE DINOFLAGELLATES COME. Plus, my snails love it.

There's more "extreme" phosphate removers out there....the liquids can wipe it out fast, but it'll turn it into gunk and you'll have to watch your mech. filtration. I've never liked it and only use it for EXTREME ISSUES (being drunk and dumping reef roids in for example). If It's sooooo bad, you can remove the rocks one by one and scrub and blast with H202 (hydrogen peroxide). If you search PHOSPHATES on the search bar you'll find LOTS of threads with people giving suggestions. Just go slow. Don't nuke anything. It's not that big a deal unless you have just a SEA OF HAIR. lol.


GUSTO - enjoyment or vigor in doing something; zest.

 

[BanjoBandito]

I'm also very PRO - copepods and phyto. I usually dose phyto daily. Copepods get "dosed" whenever I can't see activity. Plus, my fish love them and I'm pretty sure the coral do too. I also feed bi-weekly with freshly hatched brine shrimp. I try to stay away from the powdered/flaked foods due to the phosphate issues mentioned.

FULL DISCLOSURE: I am an idiot reefer. What do I know.

 

[Uzair Aiman]

Stick with dwarf blue leg hermits....I tend to have less "issues" with them (crabs are crabs, they'll eat anything...even stuff you want to keep). Usually it's about 2 gallon per "critter"....so you could add 4 trochus (or similar) snails and 6 hermits. I tend to prefer a trochus as they seem to be less picky about eating certain algaes....but that could be all in my head. lol.

What equipment are you running?

My nano I had major phosphate and nitrate issues for the first couple months, big swings, etc. I eventually removed my protein skimmer and dose a product called "PRO BIO F" by Aquaforest and things have been easy peasey since. Feeding is a MAJOR impact to phosphates so it all depends if you are a heavy hand or not. I use ZERO coral foods, my experience is they are phosphate bombs and will spur nuisance growth. If you started with dry rock it can take awhile for it to stop leaching and start "filtering" real good...as with all things reefing....patience.

If you can keep your phosphates under .2 (or even better floating around .05-.1) you'll see significant decrease in the spread of algae. But test kits are funny....if you have a tank full of GHA, you can get a ZERO reading because of all the "trapped" phosphates being held by the GHA. Things don't just "appear" they are there because the environment allows them to be there. Reef tanks take awhile to mature.

Once you get your CUC in place, phosphates stable and are still having issues you can try something to help tame it. I've used VIBRANT (as directed) and it got some GHA right outta there. I still have diatoms, but it seems the thinking now is DIATOMS GOOD, NO MAKE DINOFLAGELLATES COME. Plus, my snails love it.

There's more "extreme" phosphate removers out there....the liquids can wipe it out fast, but it'll turn it into gunk and you'll have to watch your mech. filtration. I've never liked it and only use it for EXTREME ISSUES (being drunk and dumping reef roids in for example). If It's sooooo bad, you can remove the rocks one by one and scrub and blast with H202 (hydrogen peroxide). If you search PHOSPHATES on the search bar you'll find LOTS of threads with people giving suggestions. Just go slow. Don't nuke anything. It's not that big a deal unless you have just a SEA OF HAIR. lol.


GUSTO - enjoyment or vigor in doing something; zest.

Im only running activated carbon (Seachem matrix), a filter cotton floss or some sort idk whats it called and some bio media. No skimmer or anything since I dont want to add medias that can ruin my nutrients to the extremes. So the only thing Im doing right now is just water changes since all the GHA or Diatoms arent really EXTREME so I guess my routine is good enough.

I think Ill add the blue legged hermits and some turbos cause I know my LFS has those in stock. Maybe 2 hermits and 3 more turbos? (a total of 4 turbos) should be okay? Yes I started with dry rock so I guess patience really is key. I dont mind an ugly tank for the time being I just want to ensure that my fish and coral arent irritated about it. I was just worried for my hammer since it closed up but Ill keep a close eye on it during this blooming period.

Ill try to see what I can do to "tame" the phosphates after everything is settled down. And that saying of DIATOMS GOOD NO MAKE DINOFLGELLATES COME is really useful haha I like the sound of it.

Anyways I appreciate your reply! It really helped and made me see a clearer picture on what to do next. Just wait it out, control your nutrients and then keep it there. Thank you!

 

[Uzair Aiman]

I'm also very PRO - copepods and phyto. I usually dose phyto daily. Copepods get "dosed" whenever I can't see activity. Plus, my fish love them and I'm pretty sure the coral do too. I also feed bi-weekly with freshly hatched brine shrimp. I try to stay away from the powdered/flaked foods due to the phosphate issues mentioned.

FULL DISCLOSURE: I am an idiot reefer. What do I know.

Cope and phyto (live) are hard to find here in Malaysia so I only have a few diet options. right now Im just feeding pellets and the Zooplanktos-S from brightwells. I keep the feeding on the low until I get new fishes (hopefully when my tank is more matured to cope the nutrients).

Any other diet options you got?

 

[BanjoBandito]

Cope and phyto (live) are hard to find here in Malaysia so I only have a few diet options. right now Im just feeding pellets and the Zooplanktos-S from brightwells. I keep the feeding on the low until I get new fishes (hopefully when my tank is more matured to cope the nutrients).

Any other diet options you got?

I would add the additional CUC and wait and see whats going on. The pellets alone should be fine for the clowns and anything they miss those crabbies will eat. The snails will do their own thing. If you GHA is really long and flowing, you may want to try and nip it down so the CUC will eat it. They usually won't mess with the really long patches, so while they are great at maintenance, they won't eradicate the problem out right for now. Good luck!

 

[Uzair Aiman]

I would add the additional CUC and wait and see whats going on. The pellets alone should be fine for the clowns and anything they miss those crabbies will eat. The snails will do their own thing. If you GHA is really long and flowing, you may want to try and nip it down so the CUC will eat it. They usually won't mess with the really long patches, so while they are great at maintenance, they won't eradicate the problem out right for now. Good luck!

Alrightey will do! Thanks alot