A recipe for success: How do you manage algae in your tank?

[Peace River]

A recipe for success: How do you manage algae in your tank?

Managing algae is much like crafting a Thanksgiving recipe. It requires the right ingredients (lighting, nutrients) and a careful balance to achieve the perfect result. While some people try to avoid any type of algae in their tanks, others try to balance the desirable algae and the undesirable algae. You may be trying to grow macro algae, cheato, or other algae for nutrient control. In contrast, you may need to manage the conditions in the tank to avoid unwanted algae. How do you manage algae in your tank? Tell us about your approach and we welcome any tips that you are willing to share.

Photo by @macrouk


This QOTD is sponsored by: www.topshelfaquatics.com

“Top Shelf Aquatics helps you feel confident in the quality, reliability, and consistency of getting everything you need for a perfect saltwater aquarium. From corals and fish to inverts and aquarium supplies, you can count on us to provide you with a seamless reefing experience.”

 

[Subsea]

I don’t manage algae, I partner with it.

After Reefing for 53 years, I exercise nutrient management by recycling nutrients into live food, using algae, bacteria and sponges as major players in achieving “dynamic equilibrium”.

 

[Boehmtown]

How in the world did inverts not make it on the list. Just keep adding inverts

 

[tnw50cal]

Snails, urchins and TIME for tank/rocks to mature.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I think herbivores is an obvious missing choice.

 

[Starbuxxx]

I think herbivores is an obvious missing choice.

Agreed. Tang, snails, crab and Algae scrubber.

 

[Mr. Roboto]

I have to manually remove what I can and hope the others take care of whats left.

 

[JayM]

Tangs, dwarf angels, snails, hermits, etc.

I have no clue if I'm doing something right, or if I'm just lucky (probably lucky). My tank is only about 4 months old, I've not had an "ugly phase" and the algae that's in the DT now looks to be "just right" to keep the inhabitants happy and fat, yet not at all visually unappealing.

 

[JoJosReef]

Cocktail of Algaefix + Vibrant + 35% H2O2 (final tank concentration) + 10x NaClO! Cleans off all of the algae 100% every time!

KIDDING!

- Flux Rx for bryopsis and out of control Valonia (tank too small for rabbitfish)
- An armada of snails
- Manual removal/glass scraping
- Keep nutrients at levels the corals are consuming

 

[brandon429]

articles on reef tank algae control in fama 1996 were exactly like this, yet even as of today in the nuisance algae forum the vast majority of these invaded tanks already use one or more of those methods and still are fully invaded

plus nowadays there are disease vectoring risks in just adding 200 reefcleaners packages like we did in 2010

in all algae articles the confidence factor is high, really confident, in the advised means of invasion control as is written here.

but step into the nuisance algae forum here or on any site for fix practice using other people's tanks

convince ten people to let one person fix their tanks remotely, by typing to them what to do, and log outcomes in link collections to show a pattern

the recommended steps to algae control change starkly when proof is demanded is my bet. nearly everything mentioned here can't be wielded like it's being sold.

being oversold is a big deal in reefing nowadays, we pay for all types of testing we don't need and we probably won't ever get off the invasion habit and into fix-ability in the nuisance algae forum until article writers branch out, and collect some outbound jobs.

Imagine if blog writers who are very authoritative in tone, very reliant on years spent in the hobby to imply reliability, simply had to do ten live time work jobs for others + write about them.

Nuisance Algae (including bacteria)

Need help with nuisance algae, cyanobacteria, or dinoflagellates? Maybe you just need an ID of what you have in your tank? This is the section for you.

www.reef2reef.com

 

[randomfishdude]

I purposely shot up my nutrients when I had dinos 3 months ago so I would get algae. I never lowered them and I've never had a algae issue.
The rocks are just green.
Kept short by the tangs and inverts.

The only issue I'm having now is the diatoms on the sandbed because of the new sand.

2 tangs and a foxface go a long way.
You can see all the algae in the images.

 

[Sleeping Giant]

I have to manually remove what I can and hope the others take care of whats left.

me too

 

[Alpha_and_Gec]

*insert sea hare propaganda*

 

[jason2459]

What's wrong with algae? This stuff is great sign of a healthy tank. I've got two Scrubbers kicking butt and lots of healthy herbivores/omnivores happy as can be.

 

[AtlantiCat]

My best friend is a toothbrush.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

articles on reef tank algae control in fama 1996 were exactly like this, yet even as of today in the nuisance algae forum the vast majority of these invaded tanks already use one or more of those methods and still are fully invaded

plus nowadays there are disease vectoring risks in just adding 200 reefcleaners packages like we did in 2010

in all algae articles the confidence factor is high, really confident, in the advised means of invasion control as is written here.

but step into the nuisance algae forum here or on any site for fix practice using other people's tanks

convince ten people to let one person fix their tanks remotely, by typing to them what to do, and log outcomes in link collections to show a pattern

the recommended steps to algae control change starkly when proof is demanded is my bet. nearly everything mentioned here can't be wielded like it's being sold.

being oversold is a big deal in reefing nowadays, we pay for all types of testing we don't need and we probably won't ever get off the invasion habit and into fix-ability in the nuisance algae forum until article writers branch out, and collect some outbound jobs.

Imagine if blog writers who are very authoritative in tone, very reliant on years spent in the hobby to imply reliability, simply had to do ten live time work jobs for others + write about them.

IMO, the explanation for what you are saying is simple:

Herbivorous fish in adequate numbers and type (such as a foxface) solve the problem in big tanks for all but unusual, less palatable algae types,, and the best herbivore fish are too big for smaller tanks, leaving them without any perfect answer.

 

[lwien01]

A recipe for success: How do you manage algae in your tank?

Managing algae is much like crafting a Thanksgiving recipe. It requires the right ingredients (lighting, nutrients) and a careful balance to achieve the perfect result. While some people try to avoid any type of algae in their tanks, others try to balance the desirable algae and the undesirable algae. You may be trying to grow macro algae, cheato, or other algae for nutrient control. In contrast, you may need to manage the conditions in the tank to avoid unwanted algae. How do you manage algae in your tank? Tell us about your approach and we welcome any tips that you are willing to share.

Photo by @macrouk


This QOTD is sponsored by: www.topshelfaquatics.com

“Top Shelf Aquatics helps you feel confident in the quality, reliability, and consistency of getting everything you need for a perfect saltwater aquarium. From corals and fish to inverts and aquarium supplies, you can count on us to provide you with a seamless reefing experience.”

Algae is always present in a reef tank. Whether you have Diatoms, Red Algae, Green Hair Algae, or something else. I find using a refugium with Chaeto, Ulva filled with snails, tons of copepods, and acceptable levels of Nitrate help. Clean up crew such as Blennies, Sea Cucumbers, Tiny Sea Serpents, Red/Blue legged crabs, Snails all work together to keep algae at a minimum. Good water husbandry that has Zero TDS helps tremendously. Get a RO/DI and a UV Sterilizer and a Good Skimmer. Alot to do but worth the effort good luck Larry Wien

 

[hexcolor reef]

I use hermit crabs, shorter lighting schedule, refugium, tangs

Hermit crabs works best IMO

 

[hexcolor reef]

IMO, the explanation for what you are saying is simple:

Herbivorous fish in adequate numbers and type (such as a foxface) solve the problem in big tanks for all but unusual, less palatable algae types,, and the best herbivore fish are too big for smaller tanks, leaving them without any perfect answer.

Hermit crabs for smaller tanks with shorter lighting schedule

 

[brandon429]

I would like to see any best practices offers ran through that forum as ten outbound job work threads, pick any ten tanks/reefers/and sell them on how to correct the tank/log the results

if we filter our best practices through that I predict a big change in what is recommended as best practice.

*for sure I agree grazing organisms do the job in nature and can be harnessed in a reef tank

can be
vs guaranteed

to shore up that last factor/variable I'd like to see ten work threads done recently in that specific forum to at least gain some pattern. that's a very hard bar to reach. we circulate untested best practices methods, so algae control in reefing doesn't evolve is my take.

I formally request that in 2024 anyone who writes reef articles on invasion control (reefbuilders, are you reading) formally throw their hats in the ring to do a mere ten outbound work jobs from web forums, show masterful control over the method across a few tanks. many hundreds of challenge tank owners love to hand over the reigns if u catch them at the right posting stage (I'm going to quit) then write about that experience

let's see if old ways best practices are best



we're softshoeing the science from a comfortable zone to skip doing work in the nuisance algae forum.

making best practices work above live time in the nuisance algae forum should be easy based on any algae article I can search up. someone should make a help invite thread there so we can watch live-time jobs