Algae Finally Gone: Now how do you keep it away? Easy as ABC?

revhtree · May 22, 2020

Algae Finally Gone: Now how do you keep it away?

So if you're like me when you FINALLY beat that pesky algae you don't want to have to fight it again any time soon so you have to figure out a few things! This is what you need to know:

A. What type of algae were you fighting?
B. What does that particular algae need to survive?
C. What were you doing to feed it?

It's as simple as ABC right? :/

So let's talk about some algae preventive measures today! Please answer me this:

1. What measures are you taking to prevent the spread of nuisance algae in your reef aquarium?

2. What is the worst type of algae you have ever battled?

andrewey · May 22, 2020

I guess it depends on the type of algae- in general, I try and focus on stability and maintaining consistent nutrient levels without spikes up or down. After that, I rely on not introducing pesky algae into the tank as best I can (e.g. bubble algae, turf algae) and let the combination of a mature tank, consistent and predictable nutrient import/export, coraline algae coverage, biodiversity, and a robust cleanup crew help keep algae from taking over.

andrewey · May 22, 2020

I will add that the tank's age and amount of coral play a large part in keeping algae in check. The first year or two will always be a struggle while the tanks in flux- after that, a mature tank naturally gives you a leg up on keeping the algae at bay.

Chrille26 · May 22, 2020

1. What measures are you taking to prevent the spread of nuisance algae in your reef aquarium?
Nutrientcontrol mainly, refugium with Chaeto, bio media and algae grazers.

2. What is the worst type of algae you have ever battled?
Valonia, or more commonly called bubble algae. dang it spreads fast, no garanteed predators, grows in hard to reach spots and spreads like a wildfire.

Still fighting it..

sp1187 · May 22, 2020

Close to two years up & running.
no serious algae outbreaks.
had a strange cyano bacteria outbreak. (are we including cyano?) all in low light areas, flow didn't matter.
treated with chem-clean and cut back on the frozen feed, increased pellets.
using an up-flow algae scrubber. no skimmer. no water changes since mid December ( aside from one 30% change after the chem-clean treatment).

revhtree · May 22, 2020

Chrille26 said:
1. What measures are you taking to prevent the spread of nuisance algae in your reef aquarium?
Nutrientcontrol mainly, refugium with Chaeto, bio media and algae grazers.

2. What is the worst type of algae you have ever battled?
Valonia, or more commonly called bubble algae. dang it spreads fast, no garanteed predators, grows in hard to reach spots and spreads like a wildfire.

Still fighting it..

Vibrant worked so well for me against bubble algae. Have you tried it?

Chrille26 · May 22, 2020

revhtree said:
Vibrant worked so well for me against bubble algae. Have you tried it?

I have considered it but Im really worried about my Chaeto, I have nowhere to store it while dosing Vibrant and I have seeded it alot with pods that I want to keep alive and growing. But I will definatly give it a try when everything else have failed!

dopey · May 22, 2020

My build thread shows my battle with caulerpa, and it's finally over. I have no interest in another self-inflicted infestation of a nuisance algea or pest.

As for prevention:
1.) Refugium. I'm a believer. I resisted doing one but now that I have one I am amazed. I credit it for atleast a part of my suceess.
2.) Not introducing a new pest. If you can *see* something bad on a frag just don't buy it..

Edit: last but not least.. keep up with maintenance! Neglect is not good.

William Norman · May 22, 2020

1. What measures are you taking to prevent the spread of nuisance algae in your reef aquarium?
QT everything wet going into the tank
Fish and invert selection
Nutrient control: Filter Floss changes every 3 days, 15% water change every other week, Fuge, Algae Scrubber, GFO and Bio pellets when needed,

I did a 4 month cycle on my new tank with lights off and a slow ramp up following.

2. What is the worst type of algae you have ever battled? In tank prior to knowing better and QT - Bubble algae finally found out about vibrant and that took it down where the emerald crabs and more vibrant kept it at bay.

Salt_Creep · May 22, 2020

My current tank is only 9 months old, so I am still fighting every kind of new tank algae. Recently I had to take the drastic measure of turning off my lights for 3 days, which completely destroyed the outbreak I was having (appeared to be diatom) without any ill effects to the numerous collector corals I have. Otherwise I dose some vibrant if something starts trying to take hold.

tdlawdo · May 22, 2020

WATERBOX 230.6 Preventive measures, 18 months old the tank not me!
1. Pentair 40W UV at proper flow
2. Tangs - white tail and powder brown
3. Lawnmower blenny
4. Fuge fertility
5. Emerald crab platoon
Had some early growth algae after cycle but tangs took care of that. Params have been pretty stable all along. I feed five times a day three frozen meals with LRS and two pellet feeds auto feeder with hikari.
recently had a bubble algae explosion that came in on a frag I thought I cleaned well. But it went berserk. I had an emerald crab bc of prior experience over the last ten years in smaller tanks then realized if I wanted a wide spread clean up (not scraping and sucking on my own) I would need to call in the platoon. So I got myself 10 emeralds and now...7-10 days later not a bubble to be seen.
I also now use Zeo system fully. Skimmer shaker etc.
I never used a chemical product to get rid of algae I figured this way has worked stick with it and don’t want to dose a huge tank with all of that. Zeo keeps me busy enough dosing .

Lasse · May 22, 2020

Always have a disent CUC

Sincerely Lasse

AZMSGT · May 22, 2020

I’m actually doing low doses of vibrant to help keep diatoms at bay. Silicates have been my nemesis and trying to get them all under control has been a real chore. So to get the diatoms down to a non-leathal level I tried vibrant and it’s been working.

My CUC only could control part of the diatoms.

Yes, I’m sure it was diatoms and it was choking out corals it was so heavy. Now that I have it under control my corals are looking great and growing.

The guppy guru · May 22, 2020

Yes I’m using mollies in my reef system to keep the algae at bay. It works very well the fish is one I would recommend to many others.

o-townFLA · May 22, 2020

I started my tank in late February and went through my cycle trying to be as pristine as possible. The end result was that my nitrates and phosphates bottomed out and I’m now dealing with green slime in the refugium. The Big 3 are on point though and they DT is looking good and even have coralline growth...

CUC consist of:
(3) Turbo Snails
(3) Red Tipped hermits
(1) Bi-color Blenny that doesn’t do much

reefer fro canada · May 22, 2020

My tank is about a year old and I have no alge problems at all.Aged my rock in the beginning for four months before I even considered putting in any fish.Have a fuge and good tang gang with some snails.I have done this before and had problems so this time do it right the first time.

Nicholas Dushynsky · May 22, 2020

Mine is bubble algae, I have introduced an emerald crab to eat it which so far seems to be working. The bubbles I have are really small ones and he seems to be earning his keep, for now that is. I didnt want to go the vibrant route, of which I heard does work. The worst I had was green turf algae and I still have a few little patches.

141918 · May 22, 2020

I just try to keep my nitrates low and keep phosphates low. Keeping these both low means very little algae for me. I use phosgaurd for phosphates and do weekly 5 gallon water changes in my 20 long. I have 3 fish that are around 2.5 inch average. I find having a light source strong enough for corals will really affect the amount of algae you have. If you have high nutrients and intense light its a disaster waiting to happen lol. It’s one of the reasons I don’t like doing a freshwater tank. Because tap water is loaded full of garbage that creates algae. I find Reefing a much easier and rewarding hobby.

141918 · May 22, 2020

Back in my earlier days I had a red turf algae infestation. The only thing that worked for me was two turbo snails. I was lucky they liked it and in a few weeks it was all gone.