Algea Bloom

[ogden10]

I went away for the holiday weekend and had my mother in law feed my fish. I came home to a tank heavy with greenish algea, where there had been none when I left. There was a small amount on the glass which came off easily with my magnet, but there is a visible layer on some of my live rock and the crushed coral substrait. I suspect that she was overfeeding or left the light on too long. Anyway I was hoping by purchasing a skimmer this would help get rid of this.... am I on the right track, or should I do something else???

 

[reefrunner69]

Anyway I was hoping by purchasing a skimmer this would help get rid of this....

A skimmer will help lower the nutrients feeding the algae.

am I on the right track

manual removal and water changes with RO/DI water will also help. Depending on your set up, you might also look into herbivores to help. Do you know what kind of algae your having problems with? Some algae erradication methods are better for certain types of algae.

 

[ogden10]

I am not sure what type of algae it is. It has an almost lime green color to it. What herbavores would you suggest. I have a couple of Hermits, a serpent star, a chocolate chip star, and a black spined urchin. Also a few small fish and a seabae anemone.

 

[reefrunner69]

It has an almost lime green color to it.

Sounds like it might be cyanobacteria, in which case a skimmer is recommmended also siphoning it out and doing some waterchanges. Lay off the food for a few days and increase the waterflow in the tank. There are very few herbivores that are noted for eating cyano.

 

[ogden10]

what herbovores would you suggest? I had read that tangs are great for eating algae as well as snails ( turbo ), but I have also heard that Tangs can very hard to keep and are not very hardy. How about a blennie ?

Thanks

 

[Thelionfishman]

Algae problem

:x Hi,

I know what you mean about that green old algae. First you should make sure that there is no sunlight hitting your tank. Purchase four turbo snails for every 20 gallons you have. Purchase a medium Algae Blennie
(Salarius fasciatus) and if you can afford it in the fulture, get yourself a Diatom filter once a month you can run a Diatom filter for four hour and you will remove the algae from your tank.
I haven't seen green or brown algae in my tanks for almost a year now. Let me know how it turns out for you