Considering pulling the plug on my tank - GHA

[sanzz18]

I have a ton of algae in my tank but it brings me pleasure. Its all hunkered down here

Get or make one of these and algae go by by in tank.

Which one do you have? Did you make it?

If your at wits end wouldn't vibrant be a good choice?

Sounds ironic but because I know if I use any chemical to attempt to nuke it, the next thing is lurking around the corner, maybe not but its been my experience with the reef flux.

you do have a lot of fish, how big is your tank? Your fish look very healthy, but their high number would make you feed them a lot and they will produce a lot of nitrate. GHA love it.
I know it is tempting to get all these beautiful fish, but there is a reason why many people urged not to over crowd the tank.
I would have suggested a foxface, but you have one. So I cannot help you. Sorry.

My display is 165g water volume give or take. I only feed all of them 2 cubes if mysis a day at this point or 1 cube of mysis and 1 little chunk of Rods. I am very conservative when feeding. 1 half sheet of nori 2-3 times a week if that as well. The tank is not overcrowded at this point, just looks that way because when I am making a video of a specific part of the tank, they will literally all flock where I am. Far back, my tank could actually use more fish one day if I ever get a hold of this, don’t shut it down in a rage, and eventually have a bunch of coral and maybe a turf scrubber/fuge to uptake extra nutrients.

It's really funning how people avoid the one thing they know deep down inside that'll work 100% of the time because it requires effort. All you have to do is go after the algae relentlessly with an old toothbrush and do maybe a 10% water change each time. Algae can't thrive without a habitat. It also can't thrive without nutrients. Adding chemicals to kill the algae will only cause the dead algae to release all of the building blocks to grow algae contained within it and will only cause more algae to pop right back up when the algaecide dissipates. When you get things under control, feed less or do maintenance more frequently.

I actually have put a ton of effort in to this tank, done a bunch of manual removal. Effort is not an issue, time is sometimes. It is funny how people assume people are lazy. Maybe some, but not all. I also stated I was really trying my best to avoid chemicals for the very specific reason you stated. I am seriously trying so….

 

[ptrick21186]

Did you mention if you're running GFO by any chance? I'm not a fan of disassembling a tank so I lean more towards finding the problem....i.e. nutrients. Manual removal helps but it's basically impossible to remove it all by toothbrush alone. If it has what it needs it's gonna grow back. No matter how well you scrubbed.

 

[ryanjohn1]

Don’t give up. It’s not that bad. I battled way worse for longer. Have you considered switching from frozen food to pellets or flakes. That helped me a lot. Also pin cushion urchin.

 

[fish farmer]

Which one do you have? Did you make it?



Sounds ironic but because I know if I use any chemical to attempt to nuke it, the next thing is lurking around the corner, maybe not but its been my experience with the reef flux.



My display is 165g water volume give or take. I only feed all of them 2 cubes if mysis a day at this point or 1 cube of mysis and 1 little chunk of Rods. I am very conservative when feeding. 1 half sheet of nori 2-3 times a week if that as well. The tank is not overcrowded at this point, just looks that way because when I am making a video of a specific part of the tank, they will literally all flock where I am. Far back, my tank could actually use more fish one day if I ever get a hold of this, don’t shut it down in a rage, and eventually have a bunch of coral and maybe a turf scrubber/fuge to uptake extra nutrients.



I actually have put a ton of effort in to this tank, done a bunch of manual removal. Effort is not an issue, time is sometimes. It is funny how people assume people are lazy. Maybe some, but not all. I also stated I was really trying my best to avoid chemicals for the very specific reason you stated. I am seriously trying so….

So you don't have an ats or refuge filled with chaeto right now?

I suggest getting one or the other, do manual removal by siphoning out during water changes. I like a stainless steel straw on a tube for scraping things off rocks, get it to down to a length your tangs and cuc can manage.

It might take a couple months, but it worked for me. My GHA went away and my chaeto did so well it actually stopped growing and nitrates and phos were undetectable for a while.

 

[Crustaceon]

I actually have put a ton of effort in to this tank, done a bunch of manual removal. Effort is not an issue, time is sometimes. It is funny how people assume people are lazy. Maybe some, but not all. I also stated I was really trying my best to avoid chemicals for the very specific reason you stated. I am seriously trying so….

I get it because I was in the same position with my first tank. I hear you. I spent literally weeks, every single day with my arm flailing around inside of the tank, frantically scrubbing with a toothbrush. Scrub scrub scrub, suck suck suck. I hated the algae so much that I looked forward to coming home after work to attack those rocks again and again for an hour or two at a time. But that's what it took and I really didn't have algae issues with that tank afterwards. It's not a weekend project and call it good. It's seriously "this stuff is going to get killed with fire and that's all there is to it" dedication to getting rid of it. GHA is tenacious and you have to be even moreso. I've also tried the algaecide route and all you'll end up with is a bunch of light brown decaying algae to get out of the tank manually, which made me wonder why I even bothered with it vs. manual removal, which is why I eventually just bit the bullet and went that route in the end. For a little bit of turf algae? Sure, but not for marshland worth of GHA. And an ATS or refugium isn't going to "starve' the stuff out. A bad GHA outbreak will pretty easily outcompete an ATS. Carbon dosing won't help much either. Not without honestly causing worse issues than having bad looking algae if you want it to be a fast fix. Been there, done that many times. This is either going to require a near daily effort to get the results you want quickly or profound changes to feeding type/quantity and some method of gradual nutrient reduction, which takes up less of your free time, but will take much longer to address the underlying issue.

 

[Graemesreef]

It's really funning how people avoid the one thing they know deep down inside that'll work 100% of the time because it requires effort. All you have to do is go after the algae relentlessly with an old toothbrush and do maybe a 10% water change each time. Algae can't thrive without a habitat. It also can't thrive without nutrients. Adding chemicals to kill the algae will only cause the dead algae to release all of the building blocks to grow algae contained within it and will only cause more algae to pop right back up when the algaecide dissipates. When you get things under control, feed less or do maintenance more frequently.

It's really Funny that people think an old toothbrush is the fix when it's more like pulling a weed and not getting the root. Hum that must make me lazy? CORALS also can't thrive without nutrients. I don't overfeed and keep an almost too low nutrient system as well as daily 2 gallon water changes. Exporting what dead algae lets off is simple?

 

[sczlars]

I would add a fish grazer. Some tang would be very happy in there. Honestly, real reefs grow algae

 

[Crustaceon]

It's really Funny that people think an old toothbrush is the fix when it's more like pulling a weed and not getting the root. Hum that must make me lazy? CORALS also can't thrive without nutrients. I don't overfeed and keep an almost too low nutrient system as well as daily 2 gallon water changes. Exporting what dead algae lets off is simple?

I never said it alone was a fix. I said it was a fix in conjunction with water changes. The point is, you need to remove the algae from the rock and then export it and the nutrients it contains out of the system.

 

[Crustaceon]

I would add a fish grazer. Some tang would be very happy in there. Honestly, real reefs grow algae

True so long as you have the livestock to do it. It's also how people end up with sky high nitrates and phosphates without having a visible cue until they finally decide to test those parameters.

 

[sczlars]

Sure, just be aware, and test, and there are ways to deal with nutrient export. Part of the learning curve.

 

[Pistondog]

Like @Jekyl said, start culturing phyto, dose 300ml to tank daily.

Get a couple of 2 quart soda botfles, air pump, light source and some tubing.
Order some nano phyto and f2 fertilizer from @Eldredge.
My gha mostly disappeared in 4 months.

Gha by itself is no reason to throw in the towel, but if you are not having fun...

 

[bobnicaragua]

I would add lots of turbo snails and urchins.

Run an 8 hour photoperiod for a while.

Reduce white light for a while.

You beat Dino’s, this is nothing you can’t handle!

 

[Graemesreef]

I never said it alone was a fix. I said it was a fix in conjunction with water changes. The point is, you need to remove the algae from the rock and then export it and the nutrients it contains out of the system.

I understand what you said and what you didn't. With that being said these problems can occur to all realms of the spectrum. Me for example, low #s, 4 tangs, a fox, a blenny, and an annual $400 cuc, the list goes on and on. BRS said to me last week "and I quote" you have us as stumped as you are and we suggest VIBRANT. There are hundreds of strains of what we call GHA and the one that I have is toxic and inverts and fish will not mess with it. SO HIROSHIMA WE GO!

 

[sanzz18]

Did you mention if you're running GFO by any chance? I'm not a fan of disassembling a tank so I lean more towards finding the problem....i.e. nutrients. Manual removal helps but it's basically impossible to remove it all by toothbrush alone. If it has what it needs it's gonna grow back. No matter how well you scrubbed.

I am actually using Tropic Marin Elimi-Phos (lanthanum chloride). I am dosing small amounts of it via my ATO into skimmer.

Don’t give up. It’s not that bad. I battled way worse for longer. Have you considered switching from frozen food to pellets or flakes. That helped me a lot. Also pin cushion urchin.

I am seriously trying. This may be more of a venting session than me actually meaning it, but not sure lol. Might be looking for words of encouragement.

So you don't have an ats or refuge filled with chaeto right now?

I suggest getting one or the other, do manual removal by siphoning out during water changes. I like a stainless steel straw on a tube for scraping things off rocks, get it to down to a length your tangs and cuc can manage.

It might take a couple months, but it worked for me. My GHA went away and my chaeto did so well it actually stopped growing and nitrates and phos were undetectable for a while.

I do not. I had great success with chaeto last year but after using reef flux for the turf algae not so much. Any time I try to add it to the refugium, it becomes entangled with Cyano and it does not last. I would like to get an ATS but they are so much and with how I am feeling about my tank lately, not thrilled about spending that. When the tank is going good or even just okay, I will dump any amount of money into it. I just been feeling kind of hopeless lately with it.

I would add a fish grazer. Some tang would be very happy in there. Honestly, real reefs grow algae

I have 4 tangs (hippo, purple, naso, and squaretail bristle tooth tang) and a foxface. I have no problem with not eradicating it, I just want it managed. I get how reef tanks/real reefs work, I just for some reason have not been applying it too well.

Like @Jekyl said, start culturing phyto, dose 300ml to tank daily.

Get a couple of 2 quart soda botfles, air pump, light source and some tubing.
Order some nano phyto and f2 fertilizer from @Eldredge.
My gha mostly disappeared in 4 months.

Gha by itself is no reason to throw in the towel, but if you are not having fun...

Phyto is not known to fuel the GHA is it? I am trying not to throw in the towel. I love the hobby a ton, I just have not been loving it lately lol.

I would add lots of turbo snails and urchins.

Run an 8 hour photoperiod for a while.

Reduce white light for a while.

You beat Dino’s, this is nothing you can’t handle!

Will do. I had easy dinos though (ostreopsis). All I basically did was get nutrients up and install a UV sterilizer and they were gone.

 

[Pistondog]

Phyto is not known to fuel the GHA is it? I am trying not to throw in the towel. I love the hobby a ton, I just have not been loving it lately lol.

No, they compete for the same resources.

 

[Seansea]

Its the clearwater 50. Ya its expensive and doesnt even come with a pump but keeps that algae in check. Might be able to build one or just put a bunch of rock in your sump and run a red light on it 24/7 and hair alage will grow in there. Just needs something to grab onto.

Your tank is nice man. Fish look healthy and got shrimp chillin. Just a little algae problem. Just gotta get it to grow somewhere other than tank.

 

[olonmv]

I went the natural way with a Mexican turbo snail. He’s an absolute GHA hog. I was getting tired of manual removal with no end in sight. Best CUC I have, he’s put my tuxedo to shame.

 

[fish farmer]

I went the natural way with a Mexican turbo snail. He’s an absolute GHA hog. I was getting tired of manual removal with no end in sight. Best CUC I have, he’s put my tuxedo to shame.

Mexican turbos are awesome. I know some people don't like them because they are big, don't live long at warm temps, etc., They are the only thing that would eat a stubborn red algae I have.

 

[olonmv]

Mexican turbos are awesome. I know some people don't like them because they are big, don't live long at warm temps, etc., They are the only thing that would eat a stubborn red algae I have.

I’m amazed at how efficient he is. He goes through GHA like nobody’s business.

 

[Eric R.]

I meant to watch this a few weeks ago and will do so later this evening.

If you like the talk but haven't checked out the reef beef podcast/YouTube yet, I suggest doing so! (As long as you don't mind cursing) There's also a really active discord community with lots of really knowledgeable people, good place to get some encouragement when needed.

You can beat it!