cuc

[tedlepplin]

got a bit of algae growing. i wouldnt say its totally out of control, just that its there. when an area gets cleared by snails or hermits and they move on it only takes round 2 weeks before it starts coming back, there is definately more than they can eat, it doesn't look like it getting worse, its jut not getting any better and its looked like this for a month.

am thinking about adding a few more cuc

2x45wt5's for 11hrs a day, ph 8.4, amm 0 nites 0 rates 5 sg 1.026 not sure on phosphate as dont have a kit for it, however as a precaution got some roaphos for the canister. will get a phos kit next week.

what would anyone reccomend in the way of cuc for a 50g (usg)

not sure if i have enough?

think i have about;
3 turbo snails
5 Nassarius snails
6 r/l hermits

thanks all

[tedlepplin]

ps lfs had suggested a sea hare or emerald crab, not sure if thats a cure or just going to become another problem when the algae has been eaten.

any thoughts on these or emerald crabs.

i read hare's get big, and crabs can ge angry and start eating corals and try to catch fish

[tedlepplin]

this is what the problem looks like!

[tank1970]

Are you using any cheto?

Also are you using a canister filter? if so that could be part of the problem. Do you have a test for nitrogen? What type of water are you using to top up and wc? RO water helps a lot.

[tedlepplin]

hi tank1970,

i dont use cheto, perhaps something i might need to think about but i always use ro, both top up and salted, i do have a canister for roaphos and carbon, it gets cleaned weekly with an 8gal w/c.

when u say test for nitrogen, do you mean in the form of;

Ammonia-Nitrogen (NH3-N)
Nitrite-Nitrogen (NO-2-N)
Nitrate-Nitrogen (NO-3-N)

thanks

[tank1970]

Nitrate-Nitrogen

I have been using cheto with success in a refugium. I had the same issue and cleared up in 2 weeks.

My first tank I used a canister and it always gave me issues even when cleaning weekly. Not that I am an expert but have not had those same issues since using a refugium.

Just curious on your carbon filter (bag) what kind do you use? I have been thinking of adding it just for prevention.

Nassarius snails were my saving grace when I first added my clowns - they eat all the extra food like vultures. And keep the nitrogen low.

[FoMoCo Master Tech]

I think adding many more snails will help. Most wont touch the longer stuff though. I have about 200 snails and about 160 of them are algae grazers (75 gal). Chateo would help with nutrient export. Phosphate testing is a must. Source water can be an issue as well so be sure to test that before and after mixing salt. Be careful with crabs of any kind. They are opportunistic eaters and can go after other livestock. The majority of my snails are astrea. They do a good job but cannot right themselves when flipped over. I usually have to rescue 4 or 5 a week. Turbo snails are arguably the studs of grazers but can bulldoze your rockwork. There's probably more factors causing your issues but the above would be a good start. I'm no expert so others will probably chime in if I'm off base. Hope this helps and keep us updated.

[metalhead]

Yes, more snails for sure and cheato is worth its weight in gold... good advise from Ted and FoMoCo in regard

As for the crabs, IMO stay away from anything but the blue or red leg reef variety. Definitely run away from any crab with a big claw on one side or two big claws. Lightfoot's are cool at first but they get too big and both they and emeralds, or any other mithrax-like crab, will cost you more in snails and/or shrimp than they're worth.

As for the algae, the parameters you posted so far look good. Keep digging and find the source if it becomes a real problem. Understand too though that having some algae is perfectly natural and beneficial to your reef tank.

[FoMoCo Master Tech]

+1 on saying no to crabs. The wife love her emerald and I didn't mind it too much until it ate one of my cleaner shrimp. It caught it just after the shrimp molted and made a nice meal of it.

[tedlepplin]

cheers for the responses all,

tank 1970-not sure what brand of carbon it is, alot of my stuff i got from local adverts rather than the shop, bit cheaper! the guy i got my duncan from offered some carbon granuals and a few of the filter bags, it just says "active carbon-cagex" on the label.

metal and fomoco-thanks for the advice on the crabs, prob b best to try to keep away from those.

fomoco- 200 snails! i must be seriously understocked on snails, i think i have less than 10 in there, again ones i bought "2nd hand".

could you offer any advice on sea slugs? lfs mentioned sea hares to me and said they have 3 in their display as its too deep and they dont have the time to keep reaching in to pick up snails each time they fall over.

what do you think to these chaps? Saltwater aquarium sea slug page: Aquatic Connection

think the one he has reccomened is the dwarf sea hare.... some of the others look stunning though!

went on a mission last w/e with a new tooth brush, a bit of elbow grease and about 2hrs of scrubbing and netting as much of the algae as i could manage... also picked up a little bit of dead rock, soaked it for a few days in last w/es w/c change water, after giving it a good blast with a power hose, and put it in last night looking much cleaner in there now but pretty keen to get the cuc numbers up or get a sea hare before it starts growing back!!!!;)

[metalhead]

could you offer any advice on sea slugs? lfs mentioned sea hares to me and said they have 3 in their display as its too deep and they dont have the time to keep reaching in to pick up snails each time they fall over.

I would stay away from these for now... I have kept lettuce slugs in the past but found that you really need too much algae in your tank to support them long term... IMO it's really just not practical to keep them in a reef tank, but that's just my $.02... I'd probably add a blenny instead if the hair algae problem persists.

went on a mission last w/e with a new tooth brush, a bit of elbow grease and about 2hrs of scrubbing and netting as much of the algae as i could manage... also picked up a little bit of dead rock, soaked it for a few days in last w/es w/c change water, after giving it a good blast with a power hose, and put it in last night looking much cleaner in there now but pretty keen to get the cuc numbers up or get a sea hare before it starts growing back!!!!;)

That's generally the best way to remove unwanted algae from your display. Just be careful about taking rock out, cleaning/rinsing it and putting it back in or adding uncured rock - you definitely don't want to start a cycle unintentionally or get any of your water parameters out of whack in the process.