How did you solve your algae problem?

[Racer X]

I think the biggest common problem with maintaining a home aquarium would have to be algae control. It seems to be the most frequently asked question as well as the hardest problem to solve. I too am having an algae problem but instead of going through the normal routine of listing water specs, blah blah, etc. I wanted to take a different approach.

If you once had an algae problem and were able to completely rid yourself of it or at least get it under control, how did you do it? (as much detail as possible would be great!) If you have before and after pictures of your tank, that would be an extra plus. I'm looking for a little more constructive answers then "tore down the tank and restarted" and so on. I'm especially interested in stories with smaller tanks in the 5 to 15 gallon range but all stories are welcome.

 

[mastershake]

well, algea is a sign of healthy tank usually, and i just let my algea grow and take its course, eventually it will all balance out and it will seem like there isnt any in there, but it will be just in small quantities instead of large blooms

 

[jgc8fan]

I had my 39 gal sw aquarium for 4 years, and tried everything to get it under control... Snails and hermit crabs, tear down and clean, changing lighting (3 times), changing filtration systems (also 3 times), phosphate sponges, coral, live rock, live sand, RO water, deionized water, and even tried that Bi Aquaculture stuff that "guarantees" no more algae. Nothing worked... I finally did come up with a solution... I gave my fish over to someone who had a marine tank that was maintained by a lfs cleaning service, and switched my tank to freshwater. Worked like a charm. Now I've got a sparkling clear tank with plants, and no algae.

I know... Not what you want to hear, but it's the only thing that worked (for me)... I literally put thousands of $$$ into trying to fix it, and that's all that worked. The sw fish and critters were cool, but I could never keep up with the maintenance. I would rather have fw fish that I can actually see. LOL

 

[PatM]

The best way to keep algae down IMO is to keep it packed with inverts. I stop at the LFS weekly and grab a handfull of snails or hermits. I keep 2-3 snails/hermits per gallon and I have never had much of a problem. One quick scrape off the front glass once a week and thats it. I also did keep a 20 gal reef for a couple years the same way so this has definitely worked for me in the small tank situation as well.

Definitely the first place to check is your water source, phosphates and other pollutants will create tons of problems. If you start with a pure source and don't give the algae too much to feed on it should be able to be kept in check, though in agreeing with mastershake some algae is just part of the whole system, you'll never completely rid yourself of it.

 

[Racer X]

jgc8fan, lol. I've been considering tearing down my tank as the maintenance is becoming taxing on me too. I love the tank and the fish but its so much work. I'm going to keep at it for a good while longer to see if the algae problem slowly dies off. I'm not one of those impaitent people who needs to see instant results, I know it takes time.

I clean my tank twice a week doing a 1/3 or so water change + cleaning the glass and trimming back the algae with scisors + cleaning out the sponge filter. I put in two Penicillus sp. (Shaving brush plants) to help steal some of the nutrients that the "bad or unwanted" algae is feeding off of and have the typically recommended cleanup crew.

Hopefuly I'll some day be able to post a reply to my own question! But untill then, I'd love to hear other peoples stories.

 

[Racer X]

PatM, thankyou for your reply. I know there can be lots of causes of algae (if fish were as hardy as algae is, I don't think we'd ever have to worry about loosing a fish again). I use RO/DI water and everything in my tank is seemingly very healthy. I haven't lost anything yet accept a Paguristes cadenati (Scarlet Reef Hermit Crab) which I think my Clibanarius tricolor (Dwarf Blue Leg Hermit Crab) killed because one day the Scarlet crab is alive and fine and the next day the Dwarf crab was in his shell and the Scarlet crab was no where to be found. I wish I could have been around to see that happen!

 

[SsSarahsS]

I have had my tank for about 3 months. I started to have really bad algea and just over the past week after adding a hermit 4 snails and a bahama star to my tank the algea has been gone. But even before I added those inhabitants the tank was clearing up. Maybe I got lucky... but I think I will have more algea growth again in the future

 

[Gatorfreak]

About 6 months now with my 90 gal. First I had green algae (both flat and hairy varieties) taking over. Got a bunch of turbo snails and they went to town! It was all gone in a matter of days. Simply incredible. Next came a tougher challenge: cyano. I've been battling cyano the last few months. I've read that Mexican Red Legged hermits eat it but I can't find any locally. I've been removing what I can manually and I dramatically reduced feedings. It's been slow, but it's getting better. I've also read that having a skimmer can help so I'm hoping to get one before long.

 

[X the Outsider]

I only clean the algae when it's on the front or sides of my tank. I let the algae grow unless it affects my view.

But if you don't like it get snails or hermit crabs. All of those will clean your tank, and leaving you with very little algae wiping.

 

[Mrbill]

Worked like a charm. Now I've got a sparkling clear tank with plants, and no algae.

Ha, I guess I'm not the only one. I'm seriously considering doing the same thing. My tank is about 1 1/4 years old and is seriously overrun with hair algae. I've tried everything you mentioned and nothing is working! It's driving me crazy!

I'm also not the impatient type, I even posted a thread a while back to encourage newbies that they can do it if they are patient! Now, I'm feeling like throwing in the towel myself.

What would I do with about 70lbs of live rock if I switched to FW?

 

[Gatorfreak]

MrBill, do you have Turbo (Astrea) snails? I had lots of hair algae and they took care of it real quick.

 

[Mrbill]

I have some small ones, but they're not putting a dent in the algae. I also had a few mexican turbos, but they all died recently after about a year in the tank. I also have a bunch of hermits and they are doing next to nothing to eradicate the algae.

 

[ericosuave]

I got rid of most of my algae by taking most of it out with my hand.. as much as i could possible.. than i bought tons of hermit crabs to take care of the rest.. I actually took a couple of the rocks out and scrubbed them clean. tank looks great now!

 

[arminkropp]

I Went and got 22 Turbos and a yellow Tang yesterday and today I can notice a BIG difference in my Hair algae! I mean the Yellow Tang started eating hair algae after about an hour in my tank. The Turbos are actually leaving cleared trails in the hair algae from where they've been. considering its only been 20 Hours I'm impressed!
I'll be getting hermits next week and perhaps some Peppermint shrimp. Me thinks the hair algea is gonna go bye bye! (i hope )


And I know some people that are saying"he didn't Qt the tang!" no I didnt. I'm taking a risk, right now the hair algae is the greater of two evils. in my opinion.

 

[Clown Monarch]

I used snails with shorter light cycles and carefully monitored food. I still had lots of algae that I'd occasionally have to pull from the tank.

When I changed the bulb in my UV sterilizer, my algae completely disappeared -enough that I was concerned that my PBT wouldn't have anything to graze on.

 

[PiscesLou]

The best way to keep algae down IMO is to keep it packed with inverts.

I agree! I had a major hair algea problem for months,bought a 8 huge turbo snails and within a week they clean all my rocks and then went to work on my glass. Now, then only place that i have to scrape algea is the front of my tank. also I bought and 1 emerald crab and 3 sally lightfoots. Now that I look back I dont know why I even waited so long to get inverts

 

[Smo]

My algae problem was given to me! A friend had his tank for 9 years, got tired of the upkeep, and let it go. When I rescued it, the thing was so full of hair algae that it looked like all the Muppets were having sex inside the tank.
During the move to my house, we scrubbed every piece of LR, cleaned the glass with a razor blade, and got rid of all the water. Since then, about 6 weeks ago, I have acquired 6 Astrea snails that hunt down algae for a living. Doing 10 - 15% water change every week with Distilled Water has helped tremendously. My friend had an RO system at his house, but in the 7 years he was there, he only changed the carts and filters once! Now you can surely guess where the alge farm came from.

The other key factor here besides excellent husbandry would be patience!

Looking forward to the all purple coraline display look in my reef soon!

 

[jeff8183]

I had a big problem with hair aglae and got some sally light foot crabs and those things are awesome, they never stop working just eating all day long. If hair algae is your problem these crabs are for you

 

[buggsmarinetank]

The only thing that I hate about getting snails, is even if they are in there for only one day, they will lay so many freakin babies its not funny. Then yo have them climbing all over your walls. Good treats for chichlids though...lol

 

[Jonathan G.]

i got a feather duster and he loves it when i take my mag float to my tank, i also have 10 big turbos; they look like mexican turbos, about 10 astrea snails, 1 emerald and 1 red mythrax crabs and about 30 of the tiniest blue hermits, oh and also alawnmower blenny and i just set up my tank in febuary and they have been doing a great job cleaning the tank and rocks. i had a little bit of an like brown algea outbreak after i set up my PC's but i have shortened their time and put in a few phosphate pads just in case i had a little bit of a phosohate problem. it seemed to have halted the problem but it still is growing slowly, i think it might just be a phase im going through since i set up my tank recently