Thinking of going fish only due to algae

[Cflip]

I just have one zoa and an long tentacle. I’m sick of all the algae problems. If I go to a fish only tank will all of that go away? Would my tank need a different filtering system? Just have a skimmer and sock in a sump now.

 

[chefjpaul]

Toothbrush and a sea urchin

 

[Cflip]

It’s going to take more than that. Plus I am constantly battling bubble as well.

 

[chefjpaul]

It's not that bad.

One issue with pulling out fish, or only could be a significant drop in nutrients or high rise.

Whats you nutrients numbers, nutrients reduction methods etc..?

I literally grew GHA to out compete dino and it was severe. A couple of urchins, addition of macros, and manual removal with some time took care of it.

 

[NS Mike D]

corals and algae compete for nutrients light and space. In a fish only tank there is nothing to compete with the algae for nutrients, light and space. On the other you don't need space (rock etc) as much light and you can be much more aggressive killing it.

Read some of @Paul B 's threads and his comments on algae. If I can paraphrase, it's part of the cycle. As the tank matures and corals and algae eating inverts and fish are added the algae recedes. It will always be there and it doesn't bother the fish.

I think as we see pictures of mature tanks packed with forests of corals we don't see the journey of work, set backs and trials and errors to get to that point. Someone recently posted that tank cycle and tank maturity are 2 different things.

Those tanks in the pics usually have an army of inverts and tangs that pic at algae all day keeping it at bay while the corals take up space, light and nutrients.

 

[Cflip]

corals and algae compete for nutrients light and space. In a fish only tank there is nothing to compete with the algae for nutrients, light and space. On the other you don't need space (rock etc) as much light and you can be much more aggressive killing it.

Read some of @Paul B 's threads and his comments on algae. If I can paraphrase, it's part of the cycle. As the tank matures and corals and algae eating inverts and fish are added the algae recedes. It will always be there and it doesn't bother the fish.

I think as we see pictures of mature tanks packed with forests of corals we don't see the journey of work, set backs and trials and errors to get to that point. Someone recently posted that tank cycle and tank maturity are 2 different things.

Those tanks in the pics usually have an army of inverts and tangs that pic at algae all day keeping it at bay while the corals take up space, light and nutrients.

 

[Cflip]

My tank is mature. Been running for years now. I have a hawkfish which limits my CUC. I’ve tried additives and increased current by adding an mp40. So just wondering at this point what would happen if I removed the live rock.

 

[chefjpaul]

Or add lots of corals

 

[albyone]

I added dalmation mollies to my cuc and they are about as efficient as a blenny eating anything I dont see them eating bubble algae but crabs will

 

[NS Mike D]

My tank is mature. Been running for years now. I have a hawkfish which limits my CUC. I’ve tried additives and increased current by adding an mp40. So just wondering at this point what would happen if I removed the live rock.

there are a number of posts that suggest that we put too much rock in our tanks. In your picture I see one anemone and a lot of rock without corals on it. IMO, maturity includes coral density.

In a recent presentation, the speaker prefers marine pure blocks over live rock. He believes that live rock clogs over time reducing its effectiveness while he can replace the marine pure blocks and needed. He only has live rock in his display to secure corals, no live rock in his sumps and no live rock in his frag and grow out systems.

That being said, I have contemplated removing some rock (and all sand) from my system - and I would start that already if not for the mandarin.

 

[NS Mike D]

Or add lots of corals

it's all about finding the right balance, no?

 

[Cflip]

there are a number of posts that suggest that we put too much rock in our tanks. In your picture I see one anemone and a lot of rock without corals on it. IMO, maturity includes coral density.

In a recent presentation, the speaker prefers marine pure blocks over live rock. He believes that live rock clogs over time reducing its effectiveness while he can replace the marine pure blocks and needed. He only has live rock in his display to secure corals, no live rock in his sumps and no live rock in his frag and grow out systems.

That being said, I have contemplated removing some rock (and all sand) from my system - and I would start that already if not for the mandarin.

Interesting. Thanks.

 

[chefjpaul]

it's all about finding the right balance, no?

Of course, if balance is a proper term regarding aquarium.

I will say, if its just algae, there are many methods to eradicate. If OP desires to just rid of corals and inverts, then no light requiring that life support is needed and one is removed to keep alive.

To fill rock with corals and coraline will definitely out compete nuance algae, so if there were a balance, I wouldn't know the ratio. Just watch the turn over of consumption from one to another.

 

[Cflip]

I’m so jealous of those clean looking tanks! Just saw another one the other day. No green anywhere. Sand was a perfect clean white.

 

[Cflip]

there are a number of posts that suggest that we put too much rock in our tanks. In your picture I see one anemone and a lot of rock without corals on it. IMO, maturity includes coral density.

In a recent presentation, the speaker prefers marine pure blocks over live rock. He believes that live rock clogs over time reducing its effectiveness while he can replace the marine pure blocks and needed. He only has live rock in his display to secure corals, no live rock in his sumps and no live rock in his frag and grow out systems.

That being said, I have contemplated removing some rock (and all sand) from my system - and I would start that already if not for the mandarin.

By the way that’s a long tentacle plate coral I would hate to lose.

 

[Dan_P]

Your tank doesn’t look that bad.

 

[Cflip]

Here’s some bubble I’m constantly removing manually as well.

 

[chk4tix]

Here is my unconventional advise, I had a major problem of algae for a couple of years and I tried a ton of things to resolve the problem. From adding/removing LR to buying all trips of natural predators to increased macro algae in sump to different chemicals from the LFS, nothing was keeping up with the growth of the algae.
The only thing I found that actually worked was dosing Hydrogen Proxide. In all my searching at the time, I found very little info other than some suggestions and cautions. The recommendations were 1-5mil for every 10gal, with either direct application to trouble areas or dose the whole tank once a day. The cautions were related to crabs and shrimp and to move them out of the tank if possible. They indicated dosing every day and by the 7th day you should be good to go.

In my tank specifically, the dose I used was 2mil per 10gal direct application with a syringe twice a day. You can see it start working instantly with bubbles growing on the algae. By day 3 there was a dramatic change and obvious change in amount of algae. By day 5 it was completely gone, it was amazing.

As far as livestock, I did have crabs, snails, anemones, fish, SPS, LPS, softies, a few peppermint shrimp, and a cleaner shrimp. I didn't have anywhere to move my livestock, so hesitantly, I made the choice to dose with everything in the tank. During the dosing process, the only issue I had was with the peppermint shrimp. 2 of the 3 didn't survive, so if you have anything like that I would recommend moving them to a temp location.
Once all the problem algae was gone, my snails/craps/fish were able to keep up the cleaning. Every once in a while when I see a small problem area that my inverts can't get to, I do a quick dose directly to the area and it's gone by the next day.

Obviously, you should try and find what the underlying cause and resolve that (possibly have a Triton test done). However, if you just can't figure it out and you have no other options, this is is an option.

/FlameSuitOn