Algae control in small tank.

[OrionN]

My office 40 gal AIO cube have outbreak of algae due to staff over feeding when I was on vacation. It is better with better Managment and water changes. Still having bubble algae (wide spread) and this green tuff algae at a few place. Any opinion at what is best for these problems?

FTS

 

[FrozenReefer]

Do a ReefFlux (fluconizol) treatment and add in a emerald crab or two.

For the hair algaue, you need to figure out what is causing your nutrients to spike which is the cause of the hair algae but honestly doing a treatment or two wont hurt the corals or fish and does give you a quick baseline to go from. I tried for months to fix mine with every possible natural method and after two weeks of treatments my tank looks awesome.

For the bubble algae, you can also try to scrape them off with a siphon hose to suck up the small bits as they come off. This likely leads to more pieces floating around the tank than would be helpful. That is why I would recommend the crab. You can do both too which is what I would do. Get the crab so it can keep the new ones back, but scrape the current ones back to start fresh. Reef Flux also does bubble algae too.

 

[Fish Fan]

I feel weird giving you advice @OrionN it's usually the other ay around

For the turf algae, manual removal, and then what really helped me was a solid clean up crew. I got my last CUC package from @coralmonsters.judy who has great prices and large, healthy animals.

Good luck!

 

[sixty_reefer]

Small clay pot cut in half, cover a small area each week and you will have a clean tank again eventually.

 

[exnisstech]

Small clay pot cut in half, cover a small area each week and you will have a clean tank again eventually.

Kind if link a controlled black out. No light no algae. I hope don't need to but I love this suggestion.

 

[OrionN]

A tang or two will get this in control in no time but all my tangs are large and won’t fit. My main tank is full so I can not add another one once he grow out of my AIO tank.
No chemical for me so this leave small tank CUC.
I have urchins, snails and Emerald crabs and it is slowly getting better. But I have been working on this since 6/1/2025. I wish it get better quicker.

 

[OrionN]

Walk to wall and floor to ceiling east window so black out is impossible. It is an in really high light tank. My office has one glass wall. Full sunlight in AM to about 10 AM. Shadow see (cars) at about 10:45 AM in that picture just now.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

It might be time for a rock swap, those rocks belong to the bubble algae now

 

[OrionN]

It might be time for a rock swap, those rocks belong to the bubble algae now

I think this would be the easiest thing for me to do. Put these rocks back to my main tank and redo my office tank.
Too bad since I like the aquascape of this tank just fine.

 

[sixty_reefer]

Kind if link a controlled black out. No light no algae. I hope don't need to but I love this suggestion.

Yeah, I used to do it with kitchen foil and a large water change there after to remove any contaminants (aluminium) although I wouldn’t suggest anyone using it. Thats why clay pots are usually a good alternative and easy to balance on the rockscape.
A small problem is that killing large amounts of algae in a tank lowers nitrates and phosphate due to increased heterotrophic bacteria activity if not kept in check it can lead to other problems.

 

[OrionN]

Bubble algae and hair algae does not grow in high light area, only in the shady part of the rocks.

My Gigantea anemone and Black Snowflakes clowns are doing great.

 

[skey44]

I have personally found my bubble algae population to ebb and flow with nutrients. Only issue is as you start to starve the algae corals also starve. I would add one of the small pincher pithos crabs too. They are a little hit or miss and have had relatively short life spans for me but the ones with the little claws have done really well for me. They’re the equivalent of 4 or more emerald crabs IME.

 

[OrionN]

My Tang gang would solve this problem quickly but too bad they won’t fit in a 40 gal cube.

 

[OrionN]

I think I will let it ride. Có tune with good maintenance and see. The algae is receding. Will see how long it take to go away with just good diligent tank care.

 

[OrionN]

Same tank. Picture just now.
That algae is loaded with pods. I am trying to nurse this beautiful LTA back to health. I got a tiny bleached anemone from Petco. He is really doing well. Double in diameter the last several weeks since I got him.
If it wasn’t for these darn algae, I would say my tank is doing really well