Corals for nutrient control, myth or reality?

[SteveMM62Reef]

I removed Kenya Tree Coral by the Fist full, and now I’m battling Cyno out of nowhere. The Kenya is slowly coming back, so I’ll see if Cyno will go away. Also I introduced Blue Plating Sponge, but it doesn’t seem to be working.

 

[JHSteepat]

I removed Kenya Tree Coral by the Fist full, and now I’m battling Cyno out of nowhere. The Kenya is slowly coming back, so I’ll see if Cyno will go away. Also I introduced Blue Plating Sponge, but it doesn’t seem to be working.

I was thinking about less invasive species, such as increasing overall number of stony corals and softies that don’t take over tank so quickly (zoa island, nephtheas). I am thinking more like a slower growing version of my meteor cyphastrea that in six months has grown 2-3” and fortunately is on its own rock.

Sounds like it is a good thing in general to add corals if I am lighting tank for corals. And once the gha appears to be receding, monitor my nutrients and dose/feed to avoid dinos.

 

[madadi]

Since your nitrates are 0 and descent Phosphate level your scenario was very similar to mine since my tank was also a year old. i had to actually dose nitrates i know crazy. Dosing nitrate when all you see is algae thriving in the tank. my tank was nutrient limited, and the algae did a better job sucking up the nitrate than anything else. once i started to dose nitrate and manually remove the algae, it didn't come back with such vigor and eventually the corals and coralline algae started to really take off and look healthy. my tank is mostly algae free and nutrients a very respectable 10 Na and .3 Phos. also make sure you change your GFO no less than monthly.

 

[exnisstech]

Controlling nutrients will never control algae the way people think. Herbivores control algae.

This exactly what I have found. I have a tank too small for tangs with N and P barely detectable and rocks are covered in algae. Other tank with N 10-15 and P 0.25-0.4 but tangs in the tank and no algae. Unfortunately I've never gotten results using only inverts controlling algae without having a tang or two so my small tank struggles.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

This exactly what I have found. I have a tank too small for tangs with N and P barely detectable and rocks are covered in algae. Other tank with N 10-15 and P 0.25-0.4 but tangs in the tank and no algae. Unfortunately I've never gotten results using only inverts controlling algae without having a tang or two so my small tank struggles.

It is a problem in small tanks, and I don't have a perfect answer. Nutrients are not the key, unless one wants to go the ULNS route like zeovit.

A one spot foxface eradicated all algae pests in my 120 display, including caulerpa racemosa. Obviously that's not a plan in a small tank.

 

[BeanAnimal]

IMHO that many urchins are going to do as much harm as good. While they may mow down some GHA, they love to grind coralline off of the rocks, allowing the GHA to have more area to take hold.

Turbo snails have voracious appetites and are likely going to be your most efficient herbivores that don't come with crazy downsides (sea apples, or cucumbers, etc.).

In a 120 - I would turn a dozen or two turbo's loose and watch the party begin. I get mine from @Dr. Reef simply because they are quarantined and I have had good luck with his inverts. I don't tend to buy them from the LFS, as I don't trust the high chance of importing disease.

 

[JHSteepat]

It is a problem in small tanks, and I don't have a perfect answer. Nutrients are not the key, unless one wants to go the ULNS route like zeovit.

A one spot foxface eradicated all algae pests in my 120 display, including caulerpa racemosa. Obviously that's not a plan in a small tank.

My foxface was useless and then jumped. My Tomini is equally useless.

Since your nitrates are 0 and descent Phosphate level your scenario was very similar to mine since my tank was also a year old. i had to actually dose nitrates i know crazy. Dosing nitrate when all you see is algae thriving in the tank. my tank was nutrient limited, and the algae did a better job sucking up the nitrate than anything else. once i started to dose nitrate and manually remove the algae, it didn't come back with such vigor and eventually the corals and coralline algae started to really take off and look healthy. my tank is mostly algae free and nutrients a very respectable 10 Na and .3 Phos. also make sure you change your GFO no less than monthly.

I was wondering about that. Thanks.

IMHO that many urchins are going to do as much harm as good. While they may mow down some GHA, they love to grind coralline off of the rocks, allowing the GHA to have more area to take hold.

Turbo snails have voracious appetites and are likely going to be your most efficient herbivores that don't come with crazy downsides (sea apples, or cucumbers, etc.).

In a 120 - I would turn a dozen or two turbo's loose and watch the party begin. I get mine from @Dr. Reef simply because they are quarantined and I have had good luck with his inverts. I don't tend to buy them from the LFS, as I don't trust the high chance of importing disease.

I lost five within a couple of weeks, but the hidden tulip snails that the lfs hid with them did well until I removed them. Something else in my tank is killing gastropods.

As to the urchins, They seem to be helpng coralline growth. The surfaces they leave have a pink tinge. And from an earlier tank, eating overgrown corraline isn’t a bad thing-once it overgrows.

Just ordered from Dr. Reef, maybe I can try to add a couple of turbos.

 

[BeanAnimal]

I am not sure what LFS you use - each has their pros and cons and it is nice to have several, but I don't use them for livestock, as I don't have any means to QT. Not a chance that I would stock fish or inverts from any of them without.

 

[Battlecorals Verified Sponsor]

Times have definitely changed as far as thoughts on nutrients, in fact people were still striving for zero nutrients back when this was written but here's an article I wrote that touches on this subject in 2015

!!!SPS SUCK! THE ACRO-FUGIUM WRITE UP!!! I guess I finally finished this thing, sort of

How about a complete reversal of nearly all of the preconceived essential rules to keeping our sps healthy? Now this really isn’t so new a concept, as I’ve been having this conversation with many of you over the years. In fact, so many that I felt it was finally time to just lay this one on...

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