The ongoing battle in your reef: Is there a nuisance algae that is hard to get rid of for you?
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AtlantiCat
41% Salt, 59% Fresh, 100% Weird
I have something that I think is Bryopsis, but it's not responding to Reef Flux. It stopped growing, but that's all it did and it's been three weeks. It's like a very stiff hair algae that grows in clusters all over the rockwork. I can trim it with scissors, but I can't yank it, it really doesn't tear.
I also have no options to get a fish or CUC that might eat it as it's in a tiny 1G. The largest tank I have is too small for most of the creatures I might add as well, so I can't move the rock. Hungry hermits nibble it a bit, but not enough.
I also have no options to get a fish or CUC that might eat it as it's in a tiny 1G. The largest tank I have is too small for most of the creatures I might add as well, so I can't move the rock. Hungry hermits nibble it a bit, but not enough.
After about a year of slowly adding corals to my 20G nano, GHA took over almost overnight. It slowly but steadily killed many of my corals and gorgonians. I tried everything I could find but for months it was beating me, almost to the point of my giving up.
Then I hit on carbon dosing with vodka. I was suspicious at first and went quite slow, but it did bring my nitrates down from ~50 to 10-15. My GHA has been gone, totally gone for 6 months or more and I'm back in love with the hobby.
Then I hit on carbon dosing with vodka. I was suspicious at first and went quite slow, but it did bring my nitrates down from ~50 to 10-15. My GHA has been gone, totally gone for 6 months or more and I'm back in love with the hobby.
Valonia. Horribly difficult to keep on top of and tank is too small for a foxface. Recently received a very effective pitho crab from ReefCleaners who is putting in WORK. Fingers crossed it keeps up!
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HumbleAsianReefer
Community Member
previously, whatever it is in my tank, i tried to fix it. BUT...the more i try to fix it, the more troublesome it'll be. until the point where i just ignore everything..and guess what, all these nuisance algae go away on it's own. i've been free from all these 'aliens' for few months now. the only thing i do now is manual regular sandbed cleaning since i dont have any snails in my tank (died from dinos outbreak few months ago)
Paul B
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Rock Pool Reef Keepers
I have quite a bit of algae which I like and want as it means health. Algaes of some type grow on every healthy reef in the sea but of course we don't want it covering corals to the point of cutting off the light.
To me, just enough is perfect and much better than no algae. But thats just me.
I worry if I have absolutely no algae but unfortunately sometimes all the algae disappears.
I took the following pictures in the sea in the South Pacific or the Caribbean..
To me, just enough is perfect and much better than no algae. But thats just me.
I worry if I have absolutely no algae but unfortunately sometimes all the algae disappears.
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I took the following pictures in the sea in the South Pacific or the Caribbean..
I never struggle with nuisance alga. Simple techniques for manual removal and herbivores like urchins and blennies and algae eating crabs have always worked for me.
To be fair, those aren't pictures of healthy reefs. There's always going to be some tufts of algae somewhere, but actual healthy reefs really don't have that much algae aroundI have quite a bit of algae which I like and want as it means health. Algaes of some type grow on every healthy reef in the sea but of course we don't want it covering corals to the point of cutting off the light.
To me, just enough is perfect and much better than no algae. But thats just me.
I worry if I have absolutely no algae but unfortunately sometimes all the algae disappears.
I took the following pictures in the sea in the South Pacific or the Caribbean..
Healthy reefs are getting less and less common in nature though
Paul B
10K Club member
Excellence Award
Reef Tank 365
Reef Of The Month
Article Contributor
Rock Pool Reef Keepers
Some of those pictures I took off of Bora Bora in French Polynesia which about as far from pollution as you can get.
The one with the hair algae was off Lanai a remote Hawaiian Island. Those places are not considered polluted.
I have been diving almost 60 years and find algae everywhere.
The algae is there because for some reason the herbivores disappeared. If the seas didn't contain algae what are urchins, manatees, slugs, algae bleenies, chitens, tangs etc eating?
There is no algae here in Hawaii because every hole is filled with an urchin. Which eat the algae as soon as it grows. If not for the algae, urchins would not be there.
Tangs are the most common fish on the reef. Every couple of minutes they swoop down to trim the very short algae. Thats about all they are scraping off the rocks which is why they appear bare.
The one with the hair algae was off Lanai a remote Hawaiian Island. Those places are not considered polluted.
I have been diving almost 60 years and find algae everywhere.
The algae is there because for some reason the herbivores disappeared. If the seas didn't contain algae what are urchins, manatees, slugs, algae bleenies, chitens, tangs etc eating?
There is no algae here in Hawaii because every hole is filled with an urchin. Which eat the algae as soon as it grows. If not for the algae, urchins would not be there.
Tangs are the most common fish on the reef. Every couple of minutes they swoop down to trim the very short algae. Thats about all they are scraping off the rocks which is why they appear bare.
Yeah the disappearance of herbivores marks the start to middle of a reefs death spiral. Not necessarily because of pollution. Those pictures mostly show dead rock that used to be coral once with a few living corals strewn aboutSome of those pictures I took off of Bora Bora in French Polynesia which about as far from pollution as you can get.
The one with the hair algae was off Lanai a remote Hawaiian Island. Those places are not considered polluted.
I have been diving almost 60 years and find algae everywhere.
The algae is there because for some reason the herbivores disappeared. If the seas didn't contain algae what are urchins, manatees, slugs, algae bleenies, chitens, tangs etc eating?
There is no algae here in Hawaii because every hole is filled with an urchin. Which eat the algae as soon as it grows. If not for the algae, urchins would not be there.
Tangs are the most common fish on the reef. Every couple of minutes they swoop down to trim the very short algae. Thats about all they are scraping off the rocks which is why they appear bare.
mfinn
likes zoanthids
I checked "other".
I seem to always have a issue with bubble algae and occasional hair algae in one of my tanks.
It's not a struggle. I just deal with it, usually with extra cleanup crew.
I seem to always have a issue with bubble algae and occasional hair algae in one of my tanks.
It's not a struggle. I just deal with it, usually with extra cleanup crew.
ClownSchool
Well-Known Member
I occasionally get algae blooms, but my current one is the worst since leaving the tank for over three weeks while on vacation. Having almost two weeks of skimmer tea pour into my system during a skimmer malfunction isn’t helping. So, I bought additional CUC today and added a sea hare for the first time.
Wish me luck!
Wish me luck!
ErieReef92
New Member
How did you get rid of the dictyota? Having a real
Issue with it right now and can’t keep sea hares as they seem to keep going into my fans. That was the only thing I could find to eat it.
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