[SalTee]

Hello everybody! Got a question- I know that algea in my tank is inevitable and a fact of aquarium keeping, but I have a serious problem with these thick mats of hair algea carpeting the bottom of my tank, and not growing anywhere else. I can tolerate its existence in my tank both as a food scource and as breeding grounds for copepods, but does anybody have any suggestions on how to get it to grow elsewhere, say, on the rocks where it looks marginally better? Think sushi-nori patches.Seriously, the stuff grows an inch thick and covers any sandy area that receives light except, strangely, the rocks. Just tonight I reached in and pulled a 4 by 6 inch patch out of the water whole! It's getting to the point where people have looked in my tank and asked why I put a green carpet on the bottom instead of sand. See ya!

[inuyasha_lover_21]

I got the same problem you have. The bottom is turning green cause of the MH I have. Its growing the algae. I might get snails that will eat the algae and sift the sand for me.

[zhenya]

Hi SalTee,

Can you post a picture of this green algae? The reason I ask is because often people confuse true algae with cyanobacteria (which could be red or green color), and cyanobacteria is not algae at all.
Also, what type of sand do you have and how deep it is. And, lastly, do you see any air bubbles on this algae during photoperiod?

[SalTee]

well, sadly I can't get a photo up, but it does produce bubbles. I don't think it's cyanobacteria because it would probably float to the top eventually. The sand I use is aragonite that is not quite sugar fine, but still small grained, I'll say about one millimeter in diameter.

Also- since I started this thread, I've had a chance to talk to a local reef guru who gave me a different point-of-view. He told me that if it's not growing on the rocks or corals, is easy to remove, and grows so excessive as to sap up uneeded nutrients, it might be a good idea to just keep removing it by hand. So, while I'm just a tad annoyed at the extra work, i'm not lazy and like doing tank chores.

[zhenya]

Originally Posted by SalTee

well, sadly I can't get a photo up, but it does produce bubbles. I don't think it's cyanobacteria because it would probably float to the top eventually. The sand I use is aragonite that is not quite sugar fine, but still small grained, I'll say about one millimeter in diameter.

How deep is your sand bed? It is true, the cyano could float upwords with the bubbles if disturbed, and if it is really thin, however it is not the reason to dismiss it as a possible cyanobacteria in your case.

Also- since I started this thread, I've had a chance to talk to a local reef guru who gave me a different point-of-view. He told me that if it's not growing on the rocks or corals, is easy to remove, and grows so excessive as to sap up uneeded nutrients, it might be a good idea to just keep removing it by hand. So, while I'm just a tad annoyed at the extra work, i'm not lazy and like doing tank chores.

Well, it is up to you if you want to look at it daily... Your friend is right, though, whatever it is it's appears to be limited by the nutrients in your sand bed and feeds off of it. How long have you had your tank set up and what do you keep in your tank? Feeding schedule?

[SalTee]

Well, the sand bed is a little over 4 in. deep, As far as stocking goes, It is admittedly fairly dense for a 24 gallon tank- but i'll be fixing that soon enough- Inverts are two turbo snails, six blue legged hermits, one hermit of unknown type, several snails that hitchhiked in on the live rock, two Peppermint shrimps, Favia coral, and afew Zoanthid Colonies. Fish is the kicker- Two Perculas, one Scooter Dragonet( eating very well), one Neon Goby, and one Coral Beauty Angel. Tank has been set up since Sept. '07. Feeding schedule is some pellets every morning, and at night it's either frozen zooplankton, frozen mysids, frozen brine shrimp, or a frozen 'Marine Cuisine' cubes. The plankton, mysids, and brine gets thawed and put into a syringe- 3cc worth- 1cc feeds the brain coral and Zoos, 2cc feeds the fish. Also, twice weekly, I put a piece of nori in the tank. So far as water changes, I do 15% every week. Oh, and i think I see this question coming, so I'll answer it- no, there is not a protien skimmer. The JBJ 24 gallon DX is not add-on friendly- an evil design flaw.

BUT- Since my last thread addition, a very strange and thoroughly unexplainable thing happened- I can't explain it, I'm happy with the results, and for the sake of my sanity, i'm not trying to explain it.

Here goes- the day of the last post, my filtration pump died. I had nothing to fall back on and it would be another day or two before I could get another. Turns out, it was three. Three days of zero circulation besides a tiny air pump bubbling away. Some green crust started taking over the glass- i needed a razor to remove that. My Condy anemone died, and none of the zooanthids would open after the first day. Finally, I get the new pump, install it, and since then the green carpet has receded- it's still there in a few noticeable pathches, but receded. I'd say it's cut back a good 60% since then. See ya!

[bongobrian]

Glad to hear the algae has begun to clear up for you. I just also wanted to recommend that if you're trying to promote the growth of algae is a designated area, then a refugium is a perfect way to do that.

There are quite a few other variables that could be contributing to the aglae growth. Here's a great article Articles Detail that can help you identify the type of algae and also offer several good practices for removing/preventing problematic algae growth.