brown algae

[marcinek101]

After my 75 got done cycling, i had a brown hair algae explosion growing on the live rocks. I have since added a cleaner crew consisting of the following
1 algae blenny
1 bicolor blenny
12 nassarius snails
12 bumblee snails
6 astrea snails
4 turbo snails
10 hermit crabs

The cleaners seem to be demolishing the algae, will they keep it under control? I have read that the sponge filters in cannister filters are not all that great. I clean mine once a week. Tank has 2 fluval 305's, remora pro skimmer, 90lbs of live rock and sand.

 

[seaham358]

Have you tested for nitrates and phosphates? You should, these fuel algae and if there high you need to lower them to help control algaes.
Also bumblebee snails will eat good worms and other snails in your tank.

 

[melosu58]

I agree you need to test for the excessive nutrients that seaham mention. We need to find the fuel factor.

 

[lando]

This is common in cycling or just cycled tanks. As mentioned, a full list of water parameters would help...Ph, NH3, NO2,NO3, PO4, SG and temp. Have you done a water change lately? What are you using for source water?

 

[lando]

I have read that the sponge filters in cannister filters are not all that great. I clean mine once a week.

They are not "all that great". Canisters in a SW application can cause NO3 issues becuase of the sponges in them. If you clean them on a very regular basis you should be fine. Just make sure you are rinsing them in aged SW and not FW. This will preserve the benefical bacteria that has colonized on the sponge. While canisters can be a pain to deal with and have their downsides, they do offer added flow and a good place to run mechanical or chemical filtration. Regular cleaning is the key. If you turn them off at feeding time you will have better luck.

 

[marcinek101]

I can get water parameters on friday. I dont think the algae is a real headache, since the blennies are quite ferocious when feeding, and it gives the cleaners something to do. They seem to be cleaning the rocks and the sand in a timely fashion.

 

[lando]

I dont think the algae is a real headache, since the blennies are quite ferocious when feeding, and it gives the cleaners something to do. They seem to be cleaning the rocks and the sand in a timely fashion.

Better to take care of the issue now. Nuisance algae can become a "headache" so fast it will make your non-achy head spin 8O