00W's AIO Smorgasbord

[Calmwaters]

Oh, that's a tough one. You'll have to pardon me because my brain is in grant-writing mode and I've got a bad case of C.R.S. right now. What kind of rocks do you have? NO3/PO4 levels? Lights? Sorry, I know I can look it up, just budgeting time :)

Quickly, my method of getting rid of GHA when it is like that is to (1) drain tank to level of rock affected by GHA--corals will be fine, I just use a pipette to keep them hydrated; (2) rip off as much as possible with paper towels, which helps grab it and get it all off; (3) use a spray bottle of hydrogen peroxide and give the rocks a spray, enough to cover the surface where all GHA was, but not enough to start saturating the rocks and killing your bacteria inside the rocks--wait a few minutes while continuing to hydrate the corals/nems; (4) dump a bunch of CUC in, particularly Turbo snails, which keep the lawn mowed very well.

If the tank is very big and that's too much water to drain, I've got a little method using baby bottle nipples and pipette tips that can knock out patches of GHA at a time. Here are a few links--sorry, videos were deleted a long time ago to make space, so links broken:

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/please-advise-gha-on-zoa.945739/post-10740119https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/hair-algae-removal-from-softies.1025275/post-12039259https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/o...-max-nano-peninsula-tank.934369/post-10737852https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/zoas-with-algae-growing-on-them.983337/post-11336972

Tanks 125 gallons so I would prefer not to drain it however I could take the rocks out and spray the peroxide on the algea spots. These are my readings from this morning.
Phosphate .25
Kh 9.3
Magnesium 1230
Calcium 460
Nitrate 25
Ph 7.7

 

[kevgib67]

And what else should I add to my cleanup crew? I have these give or take...
2 Margarita Snails
110 Dwarf Ceriths
27 Nassarius
39 Florida Ceriths
26 Nerites
33 Assorted Hermits
1 emerald crab

When I was at my lfs today the had a 3” sea hair, they are supposed to eradicate gha in no time but prepare to rehome it they will starve quickly when the gha is gone. My best cuc is my tuxedo urchin followed by my turbo snails and emerald crabs.

 

[Calmwaters]

Could it be too much white, green or red light? I don't really know but I've heard that too much percentage of those lights can bring in algae.

This is my lighting...

 

[Calmwaters]

When I was at my lfs today the had a 3” sea hair, they are supposed to eradicate gha in no time but prepare to rehome it they will starve quickly when the gha is gone. My best cuc is my tuxedo urchin followed by my turbo snails and emerald crabs.

I have a pincushion urchin as well I could get more emeralds and some turbos.

 

[Calmwaters]

Not enough rock chewers. Astraeas, trochus and --most effective-- turbos will spend more time on the rocks. I also add a few money cowries for show. They are pretty when out and long-lived. Turbos are lawn mowers. They also, unfortunately, have a bad habit of knocking things over.

What are money cowries?

 

[tbrown]

What are money cowries?

I think they're cold water snails. Good for glass until they die. Some do end up living long term. Mine lasted 2 weeks.

 

[JoJosReef]

Tanks 125 gallons so I would prefer not to drain it however I could take the rocks out and spray the peroxide on the algea spots. These are my readings from this morning.
Phosphate .25
Kh 9.3
Magnesium 1230
Calcium 460
Nitrate 25
Ph 7.7

How about the rocks? Were they originally dry rocks, and how long have they been wet? Sometimes they can gather up PO4 and then leech it out as the water column levels get under control--then you have GHA soaking it up, meaning PO4 (and NO3) can actually be a bit higher than readings show.

Being able to remove the rocks is great. Here's my nano with GHA:

And then this is post-drain/rip/spray method:

With a turbo on top keeping everything in check. It stayed that way thereafter.

NOTE: sorry, had to cobble together old photos, so there are some 5 months between those shots (as evidenced by the growth and new corals/nems), but the rocks basically looked the same with algae covering the tops and all of the ledges.

 

[JoJosReef]

What are money cowries?

They are fun little guys.

They have a smooth glossy shell with a gold ring on it (hence "money"), as well as a mantle that they can tuck underneath them and take out at night to roam around sensing things. In this shot, the cowrie has it's brown-black mantle partially pulled over its shell.

Medium-effective cleaner, but long-lived and pretty when you get to see them.

https://www.reefcleaners.org/aquarium-store/tank-cleaners/dwarf-or-ringed-cowrie-detail

 

[Calmwaters]

They are fun little guys.

They have a smooth glossy shell with a gold ring on it (hence "money"), as well as a mantle that they can tuck underneath them and take out at night to roam around sensing things. In this shot, the cowrie has it's brown-black mantle partially pulled over its shell.

Medium-effective cleaner, but long-lived and pretty when you get to see them.

https://www.reefcleaners.org/aquarium-store/tank-cleaners/dwarf-or-ringed-cowrie-detail

They are very pretty! Reef cleaners only has three right now. I put them in my cart. What else should I add to my cart?

How about the rocks? Were they originally dry rocks, and how long have they been wet? Sometimes they can gather up PO4 and then leech it out as the water column levels get under control--then you have GHA soaking it up, meaning PO4 (and NO3) can actually be a bit higher than readings show.

Being able to remove the rocks is great. Here's my nano with GHA:

And then this is post-drain/rip/spray method:

With a turbo on top keeping everything in check. It stayed that way thereafter.

NOTE: sorry, had to cobble together old photos, so there are some 5 months between those shots (as evidenced by the growth and new corals/nems), but the rocks basically looked the same with algae covering the tops and all of the ledges.

The rocks were live rocks when I got them the tank was setup and stocked until the day I picked it up and had been setup for several years.

 

[Calmwaters]

This is my cart...

 

[kevgib67]

Sea hare! @Calmwaters

 

[JoJosReef]

This is my cart...

Good list. I've found the Mexican turbos to be slightly more reliable. I've had smooth and crowned turbos, and they died for some reason or another, but my two Mexicans lived so long I gave them away to someone else that actually had algae (I was manually feeding them nori for several weeks!).

https://www.reefcleaners.org/aquarium-store/tank-cleaners/mexican-turbo-snail-detail
These guys are great for the sand bed:
https://www.reefcleaners.org/aquarium-store/tank-cleaners/assorted-smaller-conchs-detail
If you ever have bubble algae, these guys can put in work:
https://www.reefcleaners.org/aquarium-store/tank-cleaners/pitho-crab-detail

 

[tbrown]

This is my cart...

I like Trochus. They'll breed in your tank.

 

[JoJosReef]

This is my cart...

John's also got some flat branch gracilaria in stock. It can be a bit delicate, but looks nice if you get it growing well:

https://www.reefcleaners.org/aquarium-store/plants-macroalgae/fauchea-red-dictyota-detail
Also grape caulerpa, which is pretty good:
https://www.reefcleaners.org/aquarium-store/plants-macroalgae/grape-caulerpa-detail
Personally, I'd prefer Gracilaria hayi (pom pom gracilaria) because it is easier to keep in one place, grows quickly and soaks up nutrients well. Codium, too.

 

[Calmwaters]

I like Trochus. They'll breed in your tank.

I will add some

 

[Calmwaters]

I like Trochus. They'll breed in your tank.

I have some of those as well already I forgot to add them to my list.

 

[Calmwaters]

Sea hare! @Calmwaters

They don't have any in stock.

 

[JoJosReef]

Sea hares can be tricky. They might also have specific tastes for certain algae--I think my Derbesia was not on the menu for my hare, and it met a slow demise.

 

[kevgib67]

They don't have any in stock.

 

[Calmwaters]

Thank you!