Bad algae problem.

[timmyrules]

Hello, I have been having bad algae problems with my reef tank lately….I have a very small leather coral, and the algae is growing like crazy on the poor coral. So I am wondering if dipping the coral in hydrogen peroxide would help. There also appears to be algae growing on the surface of the water…I thought it was some sort of film at first. But there is green bits of algae floating at the surface. So if anyone has any ideas for what I can do to get rid of the algae on the surface and on the coral, please let me know.

 

[Jekyl]

Tank size, age, clean up crew and parameters?

 

[timmyrules]

The tank is 10 gallons, it is about 4 months old…there is no clean up crew at the moment. The parameters are: ammonia 0ppm, nitrite 0ppm, nitrate 5ppm, ph 7.8ppm

 

[Jekyl]

The tank is 10 gallons, it is about 4 months old…there is no clean up crew at the moment. The parameters are: ammonia 0ppm, nitrite 0ppm, nitrate 5ppm, ph 7.8ppm

4 months old is just the tip of the iceberg for the ugly phase. It's probably going to get worse, not better. I would add a clean up crew that's as diverse as you can find and remove what you can manually during water changes.

 

[timmyrules]

Ok, I’m currently working on getting some snails…they were stuck in a tank with ich, but the 72 days is almost up. What can I do for the coral?

 

[Jekyl]

Ok, I’m currently working on getting some snails…they were stuck in a tank with ich, but the 72 days is almost up. What can I do for the coral?

Manual removal during water changes is probably best. Use a toothbrush at the end of your siphon.

 

[timmyrules]

can the coral be scrubbed with the toothbrush?…or will it damage the coral?

 

[Jekyl]

can the coral be scrubbed with the toothbrush?…or will it damage the coral?

The algae is growing from the plug most likely. It won't actually grow in the coral flesh.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Is there a powerhead in the tank? The surface needs agitation to avoid aglae growing on it ,and the coral also needs flow to help it clean itself.

 

[timmyrules]

There is a filter in the tank that creates some surface movement…the coral is sitting right in front of the filter, so it gets a fair amount of flow.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

a filter provides a trickle of water onto the water surface. Flow means moving water from one side of the tank to the other. Your tank has no flow, thats why surface scum is building up and thats why algae is growing on your coral.

 

[timmyrules]

Ok, thanks for the input…I’ll be sure to make sure there’s flow in there once I get home.