hey.......

[ConanTheLibraia]

Hey, I havn't been around here in awhile. My tank is doing alright, there is a lot of algae though. My liverock had mostly died due to neglect and poor planning so I think that is the reason for all the algae. Anyways, at least I got such a good deal on my liverock that I payed as much as I would for baserock, so its not a huge loss I guess. Ive put in a few pieces of cured LR from the LFS, but there is still a huge abundance of algae. I'm sure the tank has enough circulation, maybie it needs some mechanical filtration for now? I still havn't had the funds to get a protien skimmer but I think I will get a fairly cheap air-driven one to use with a air pump I already have.

 

[e-cat]

try keeping up on the water changes for now, the protien skimmer helped with my algae probelm.

 

[fishfreek]

What type of algae is it? its best to try to remove the algae as best as possible. If its hair algae this might require scrubbing of the rocks with a stiff nylon brissle brush.

 

[ConanTheLibraia]

thats easier said than done, ive tried many times to get rid of it with a brush or whatnot but it seems like it comes back the next day. I'll have to get that skimmer.

 

[beachbumin]

Astrea snails seem to handle the workload pretty good but if you still havent bought a skimmer I would suggest waiting for a sale or saving up before buying a air driven one! Sometimes they can be more trouble than they are worth!! I just found one at a LFS for around $80.00 Its the new Auarium Systems thats venturi driven.

 

[cj10488]

I had a major hair algae problem and it was solved by switching to RO/Di and adding about 40 different hermits and a few sally lighfoots.. Havent seen the algae come back for about a month


Hth,
James

 

[toddwess]

My liverock had mostly died ....

Live Rock can die??? This stuff is sounding worse and worse to me.

Will base rock eventually turn into Live Rock?

Why not just fill a 50 gallon tank with 50 gallons of base rock instead of LR?

Will stuff still live?

Todd

 

[wseaton]

Any type of porus material in a stocked aquarium that has adequate circulation will become 'live' because it will soon host ammo/nitrite reducing bacteria.

However, LR is called such because it hosts more than just the generic utility bacteria that take care of ammonia and nitrite. Healthy LR contains other organisms and bacteria that help break down nitrate and other nutrients that contribute to algae growth. Nuisance algae usually has a hard time growing on healthy LR because all the 'good bugs' inside LR (or growing on the surface such as corallaine alage) suck up the nutrients on the surface and don't leave anything for nuisance algae to eat. Hence, why we assume LR that's not so 'live' as growing lots of algae.

Lot's of alage in a tank is a sign of many, many symptoms. Bad water, too much white light, low PH, high nitrate counts, etc.