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Pet Forum / Aquaria / Marine Reef / May 2005Macro-Algae and agressive snowflake eel
I've got a big problem. I have 55 gallon tank with a bunch of live rock, matel haylides, Red Sea skimmer (the big one), powerheads,etc. The water parameters are fine. I've had this tank for 5 years with no problems. I've had a Hippo and Powder Tang for about 3 years and they took care of the algae. All was fine until -stupid me- introduced a baby snowflake. He was fine when he was little, but about a month ago, he killed both Tangs and a lawnmower blenny. He's about 1 1/2 feet long and I feed him 3 times a week, so he isn't starving. Since Percy killed the fish, my tank looks like a kelp forrest unless I pull it all out. Are there any algae eating/bad tasting fish out there? I would really appreciate any ideas. To control the macro-algae, 1) reduce or eliminate feeding to get rid of phosphates (having the eel makes this tricky). 2) change any old flourescent lamps that shifted to the red spectrum over time, or minimize the lighting period for a while. 3) crank up the protein skimmer to export phosphates and organics. 4) add "good" kinds of macro-algae to the tank to compete with the hair algae for nutrients. 5) physically pull out as much as possible of the hair algae with tweezers. the most effective - give away all the fish and eliminate feedings entirely for a while. People will often recommend blue legged hermits, tangs, snails, etc to control hair algae, but in my experience these things don't work. The water parameters look fine because the hair algae is taking up excess nutrients before the test kit can detect it. Dan www.komaromi.com > I've got a big problem. I have 55 gallon tank with a bunch of live > rock, matel haylides, Red Sea skimmer (the big one), powerheads,etc. [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > out. Are there any algae eating/bad tasting fish out there? I would > really appreciate any ideas. Hi Dan, A protein skimmer will not export nutrients, if it did nobody would have an algae problem, lights are not the cause of algae although they can contribute to the growth, algae is caused by excess neutriants, caused by incorrect filtration, or from the water supply, or overfeeding. The best nutrient control, after you have eliminated the main source is a deep sand bed 4" to 6" in the tank or the refugium. regards, unclenorm. unclenorm - John Tullock, the famous reef expert, writes, "One important algae nutrient is Dissolved Organic Matter (DOC). Removal of DOC by means of a protein skimmer is one of the simplest techniques of algae control." Also see the section on Lightining - I believe he is in agreement with what I said, it's just a matter of "chosen words." http://www.amdareef.com/ho_algae.htm Dan > Hi Dan, > A protein skimmer will not export nutrients, if it did [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > regards, > unclenorm. Hi Dan, Ask John Tullock to explain why protein skimmers (and I mean good ones) seam to have little or no effect on most peoples algae problems, in a well run system the amount of DOC should be quite small, if the tank is over fed then it isn't well run. The main nutrients fuelling algae in the vast majority of tanks with an algae problem are nitrate and phosphate, nitrate being far and away the main offender. A protein skimmer will not, I repeat will not remove nitrate. So how can you justify the claim that a protein skimmer will control algae ?. It will help a little for those people that have a lot of DOC but will but will do nothing to eliminate the main problem,and high DOC usually means high nitrates. Don't misunderstand me I'm not anti Protein skimmers in fact I consider them essential. I'm just trying to quell the misconception that Protein skimmers will remove nitrates. I'm finding a lot of people that think biological filters i.e. bio wheels, canisters, wet & drys etc., (all of which are nitrate factories) are ok because they have a protein skimmer that will remove the nitrates not so. regards, unclenorm. > unclenorm - > [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > > regards, > > unclenorm. Protein skimmers remove proteins. No proteins No amino acids ...No amino acids No ammonia ...No ammonia No Nitrite ... No Nitrite No Nitrate its that simple just like catalytic converters don't remove ozone they remove the stuff that will ultimately form the ozone. Kevin > Hi Dan, > Ask John Tullock to explain why protein skimmers (and I mean [quoted text clipped - 45 lines] >> > regards, >> > unclenorm. |
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