Questions about what clams and corals eat

[KleineVampir]

I got some questions that are perhaps a bit too specific for my build thread. Nobody is answering them there so here I am!

A little background: My tank has a ton of hair algae. I'm trying to do a 0 water change tank. Basically it's fine except for the hair algae. After buying hundreds of dollars worth of algae eaters, I've now realized that they can only do so much. Now it's time to attack it from another angle, which is nutrient control/nutrient export. Sure I have a chaeto refugium but that really only goes so far.

So now I'm wondering: Would a clam actually eat the same nutrients that algae use to grow? I have GSP (coral)...does that need the solid food aka coral chili? Or is the coral eating the same nutrients as the algae?

My water is so full of nutrients. I would think clams would be all over that. In that case, a clam might be a miracle worker for this tank. Plausible? Do clams and coral eat on the micro or macro size of food? I have fish so of course there is a little fish food going in as well. This is a 40b by the way. The refugium is like 5 or so gallons, I forget, so it's a solid 40 gallons not no 35 or so.

 

[KleineVampir]

If the nutrients are too high to not have algae problems, but too low to sustain a clam, I could supplement its diet with phytoplankton, to my understanding. Also what do clams do with the coral chili? Would that be something they might eat?

A little side note: I've been trying to feed the corals the coral chili every other day but I've noticed that it seems to be making the hair algae problem worse. So now I've stopped and I'm trying to be careful with how much I feed the fish.

 

[Bryson.bobby]

I’m pretty sure that clams use phytoplankton and photosynthesis to thrive. I’m not really sure about nutrients, however.

 

[KleineVampir]

I’m pretty sure that clams use phytoplankton and photosynthesis to thrive. I’m not really sure about nutrients, however.

I think they just eat the phytoplankton but they use zooxenthellae to photosynthesize, just like corals do.

 

[DHill6]

Pacific East Aquaculture has information posted on clam care.

 

[Steelheader09]

I would use BRS Reef Chili!

 

[W1ngz]

Clams and corals aren't the solution to hair algae.

You state 'My water is so full of nutrients'. I would avoid the word nutrients, it's just too vague. List all of the parameters you have test results for. Stop the coral chili. GSP doesn't need it. All you're doing in your particular tank right now is feeding the hair algae with the nitrates and phosphates it releases when it breaks down.

The solution to hair algae is limiting nitrates and phosphates in the water and manual removal. Clean up critters will take care of the small stuff, usually before you can see it. Once it starts to grow better than your lawn, they won't do much for you. Get in there and pull it like weeds, siphon it out, then scrub it with an old toothbrush.

Chaeto in your refugium doesn't 'only go so far', it goes really far! First you need to knock back where the algae has taken hold, so the chaeto becomes the primary algae in the system.

 

[KleineVampir]

Clams and corals aren't the solution to hair algae.

You state 'My water is so full of nutrients'. I would avoid the word nutrients, it's just too vague. List all of the parameters you have test results for.

The solution to hair algae is limiting nitrates and phosphates in the water and manual removal. Clean up critters will take care of the small stuff, usually before you can see it. Once it starts to grow better than your lawn, they won't do much for you.

Chaeto in your refugium doesn't 'only go so far', it goes really far! First you need to knock back where the algae has taken hold, so the chaeto becomes the primary algae in the system.

I don't think parameters are the answer either, though. Here's why: I never get any readings of anything. No ammonia, no nitrates, no nitrite, no phosphate. I have a guess as to why: The algae absorbs it all! So there's no doubt that those things exist in some quantity but since it's constantly absorbed, I can't actually get a reading of it in the water. That's probably a good thing for the fish but the GHA is not good for our eyes.

Clams absorb nitrates and phosphates, and ammonia too. So tell me why they wouldn't at least help considerably with hair algae.

 

[Dr. Dendrostein]

I got some questions that are perhaps a bit too specific for my build thread. Nobody is answering them there so here I am!

A little background: My tank has a ton of hair algae. I'm trying to do a 0 water change tank. Basically it's fine except for the hair algae. After buying hundreds of dollars worth of algae eaters, I've now realized that they can only do so much. Now it's time to attack it from another angle, which is nutrient control/nutrient export. Sure I have a chaeto refugium but that really only goes so far.

So now I'm wondering: Would a clam actually eat the same nutrients that algae use to grow? I have GSP (coral)...does that need the solid food aka coral chili? Or is the coral eating the same nutrients as the algae?

My water is so full of nutrients. I would think clams would be all over that. In that case, a clam might be a miracle worker for this tank. Plausible? Do clams and coral eat on the micro or macro size of food? I have fish so of course there is a little fish food going in as well. This is a 40b by the way. The refugium is like 5 or so gallons, I forget, so it's a solid 40 gallons not no 35 or so.

Any photos?

 

[W1ngz]

Clams absorb nitrates and phosphates, and ammonia too. So tell me why they wouldn't at least help considerably with hair algae.

Clams and corals are 99% photosynthetic. Yes, they consume some level of nitrate and phosphate, like every living thing does, but to say it's 'considerable' isn't realistic. It's not going to be anywhere near the point of helping, at all.

Please don't put a clam in a 2 month old tank. It's chances of survival are slim.

 

[Phycodurus]

several points/clarifications i will respectfully address:

• how old is the tank?
• where are the “hundreds of dollars worth of algae eaters” now?
• a chaeto refugium is only as effective as the light source on it IMHO ... i.e. it should at least match the intensity of the light set-up on the main tank.
• i believe clams don’t absorb the same target nutrients (that algae use) at anywhere near the same rate ... and target feeding clams is a constantly debated topic. many believe they do just fine photosynthesizing their own food.
• thus, if you do opt for a clam, don’t expect it to have an impact on yr nutrient export, (and make sure the fish you have aren’t known clam nippers).
• i’m wary of chemical solutions, but i’ve had success getting rid of GHA using fluconazole.

 

[KleineVampir]

The tank is about 4 or 5 months old. It ages pretty fast if you don't change the water though! The algae eaters are still in the tank. Where else would they be? xD

99 percent photosynthetic? Some clams those are! Coral, more like! Man that is more like a plant than an animal. Wild stuff.

Welp back to the drawing board on that idea. Isn't there any filter feeder that could conceivably make a difference?

 

[Phycodurus]

Isn't there any filter feeder that could conceivably make a difference?

unfortunately no, as far as i’m aware.

what light set-up do you have over the chaeto refugium?

 

[Bret Brinkmann]

A healthy reef in the wilds has a ton of algae growth. You never notice because of all the herbivores. They have schools of tangs, not just one. It takes a surprising number of herbivores to keep it in check. As long as you keep getting more algae growth than they can keep up with, then it's safe to add more. At least foodwise, maybe not roomwise. Also make sure their primary food is the algae you want to get rid of and not some other type.

 

[KleineVampir]

unfortunately no, as far as i’m aware.

what light set-up do you have over the chaeto refugium?

I wonder if some kind of mussel would be good. Something that filter feeds a lot but doesn't photosynthesize like a clam or coral.

Yes my light is a little mediocre. In my mind there are basically 2 good options: The 70 buck tunze fuge light or the 300 dollar kessil purple fuge light. Needless to say the kessil is probably a heck of a lot better. It just costs so much! Actually what I've found with the tunze is that it does work and everything, it's just that it isn't gonna penetrate like the kessil. So what ends up happening is that you grow hair algae on top of your chaeto. And the chaeto stays mediocre. So yeah the fuge right now is not as effective as it probably could be but I needed a good reason to go for the $300 light.