Algae is controlled by maintenance!

[CHSUB]

Everyday we see several posts about algae problems. Often times the advice centers around nutrients being too high or too low based on inaccurate, low resolution hobby test kits. If there is algae, regardless of the kind including dinoflagellates, there are plenty of nutrients. A clean, well maintained aquarium will never have algae problems including dinoflagellate. If you have algae problems your aquarium is dirty and you are not doing enough maintenance. It is that simple.
My saltwater aquarium never has algae problems because I maintain it properly. The same can not be said for my freshwater aquarium. I’ve gotten lazy and have not touched it in over 3 months. The tank is over feed and doesn’t have significant plant growth. Today I decided it needed some maintenance: a WC and manual removal. This was not a “rip cleaning” that some suggest, but I did remove and clean the decor. Does not matter if it is saltwater or freshwater, aquariums are maintained the same way. Keeping them clean with maintenance is all that is required.
Here is my before and after today, only took about an hour….

 

[Saltyreef]

Everyday we see several posts about algae problems. Often times the advice centers around nutrients being too high or too low based on inaccurate, low resolution hobby test kits. If there is algae, regardless of the kind including dinoflagellates, there are plenty of nutrients. A clean, well maintained aquarium will never have algae problems including dinoflagellate. If you have algae problems your aquarium is dirty and you are not doing enough maintenance. It is that simple.
My saltwater aquarium never has algae problems because I maintain it properly. The same can not be said for my freshwater aquarium. I’ve gotten lazy and have not touched it in over 3 months. The tank is over feed and doesn’t have significant plant growth. Today I decided it needed some maintenance: a WC and manual removal. This was not a “rip cleaning” that some suggest, but I did remove and clean the decor. Does not matter if it is saltwater or freshwater, aquariums are maintained the same way. Keeping them clean with maintenance is all that is required.
Here is my before and after today, only took about an hour….

Agreed.

Ive been seeing more dry rock started tanks these days with algae issues. This is a unique situation of nutrient levels associated with algae growth.
when the tank is covered in GHA with a dry rock started tank ive experienced low phosphate levels but as soon as the GHA is beat and phosphate is allowed to be present in the water column or after equalibrium is made with rock and substrate, its sky high and needs to be brought into spec.

 

[sixty_reefer]

I’d argue that algae problems are not always just a nutrient issue, nutrient management is one aspect of husbandry but grazing or predation can also influence algae abundance. In addition, microbial and other microscopic organisms may affect algae through competition, consumption, or decomposition, even though they are not visible to the naked eye. With patience and limited intervention, some of these organisms may increase naturally and contribute to improved algae control, although their effects can vary by system.

 

[BeanAnimal]

But wait... I don't do maintenance!

 

[edsbeaker]

Can’t high lighting in itself cause algae problems, or does that only happen in combination with a dirty tank?

 

[Saltyreef]

Can’t high lighting in itself cause algae problems, or does that only happen in combination with a dirty tank?

It can magnify the problem. Combustion for the fuel drives the car.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Everyday we see several posts about algae problems. Often times the advice centers around nutrients being too high or too low based on inaccurate, low resolution hobby test kits. If there is algae, regardless of the kind including dinoflagellates, there are plenty of nutrients. A clean, well maintained aquarium will never have algae problems including dinoflagellate. If you have algae problems your aquarium is dirty and you are not doing enough maintenance. It is that simple.
My saltwater aquarium never has algae problems because I maintain it properly. The same can not be said for my freshwater aquarium. I’ve gotten lazy and have not touched it in over 3 months. The tank is over feed and doesn’t have significant plant growth. Today I decided it needed some maintenance: a WC and manual removal. This was not a “rip cleaning” that some suggest, but I did remove and clean the decor. Does not matter if it is saltwater or freshwater, aquariums are maintained the same way. Keeping them clean with maintenance is all that is required.
Here is my before and after today, only took about an hour….

That is a night and day difference! Well done!

 

[The Ugly Phase]

in my tank algae is controlled by my sea hare :D supplemented with a a4 sheet of nori every night

 

[sixty_reefer]

Can’t high lighting in itself cause algae problems, or does that only happen in combination with a dirty tank?

Light is an energy source for photosynthetic organisms, so it will always contribute to algae growth in one way or another. A tank doesn’t necessarily have to be dirty for algae to thrive.

 

[A_Blind_Reefer]

Yeah, manual labor is so below me and why I have employees. They do get a bit peeved with management at times for not having a grip on what they’re doing, and it shows in their work. As much as I complain about not being able to find good employees these days, and how lazy and disinterested they can be (who raised these guys?), I have to admit that they actually do a decent job….most of the time. For some odd reason they only like to focus on the rock, pumps, bottom and back wall. I think they neglect the front and side glass just to tick me off. I know I’m skirting the law by not giving them vacation time, overtime pay, or insurance…..and to be honest, holding them captive is frowned upon these days. However, they do get all they can eat, three hots and cot so to speak. Over the years several have died on the job but I don’t have to do anything about it. The other employees resort to cannabalism. Sick little jerks.

Maybe I should have an employee of the month, you know…to keep up worker morale. Mr. Urchin, you have been nominated my first official employee of the month! Keep up the good work, and continue setting a prime example for the others to follow! No, no you don’t win anything. Who do you think you are? Back to work you lazy *******!

 

[exnisstech]

Sorry @CHSUB , you keep some very nice tanks but we'll have to agree to disagree that lack of maintenance is the cause of nuisance algae, at least in my tanks. I run multiple tanks and the only ones I ever have algae problems in are tanks too small for herbivorous fish.
No one can convince me high nutrients drive nuisance algae. I have a 330g that runs NO3 40-50 and PO4 0.4-0.9. The tank has run for over 3 years at those levels and I've never had any nuisance algae in that tank. I do have 9 tangs 2 large pincushions urchins and 3 huge turbo snails.
IME certain dry rock also grows algae. I have a couple of chunks of rock that have been in 3 different small tanks and they always grow hair algae. It's live rock now after several years and still gets covered in gha.
The rocks were pulled, scrubbed and sprayed with peroxide 2 weeks ago.
This is today.

The rock next to it which happens to sit directly under the light

 

[CHSUB]

Sorry @CHSUB , you keep some very nice tanks but we'll have to agree to disagree that lack of maintenance is the cause of nuisance algae, at least in my tanks. I run multiple tanks and the only ones I ever have algae problems in are tanks too small for herbivorous fish.
No one can convince me high nutrients drive nuisance algae. I have a 330g that runs NO3 40-50 and PO4 0.4-0.9. The tank has run for over 3 years at those levels and I've never had any nuisance algae in that tank. I do have 9 tangs 2 large pincushions urchins and 3 huge turbo snails.
IME certain dry rock also grows algae. I have a couple of chunks of rock that have been in 3 different small tanks and they always grow hair algae. It's live rock now after several years and still gets covered in gha.
The rocks were pulled, scrubbed and sprayed with peroxide 2 weeks ago.
This is today.

The rock next to it which happens to sit directly under the light

I’m not sure we are disagreeing? I agree, high nutrients are not the only and definitive cause of algae. Often we see aquariums with unreadable nutrient levels and nuisance algae problems. Imo algae is extremely resourceful and can easily survive and thrive with very low nutrients, levels far below hobby testing resolution. If real-estate is limited by coral or plants (freshwater) and an adequate CUC (hobbyist included sometimes) is present, algae problems are unlikely regardless of nutrient levels.

 

[exnisstech]

I guess I thought we were disagreeing.

A clean, well maintained aquarium will never have algae problems including dinoflagellate. If you have algae problems your aquarium is dirty and you are not doing enough maintenance. It is that simple.

 

[W31Olds]

CHSUB, I think "Algae is controlled by maintenance!" is oversimplifying this common problem. There are many factors that contribute to excessive Algae growth. I did regular Maintenance for over a year, and GHA would come and go, then Bryopsis was introduced and it comes and goes. I wish just Maintenance was the magic bullet but for me it never solved the problem. I still have some minor issues today, but GFO, feeding less, reduced lighting, and removing and treating rocks with Hydrogen Peroxide has helped a lot.

 

[EnterName]

treating rocks with Hydrogen Peroxide has helped a lot.

You are "resetting" the periphyton on that rock and that could resolve the issue by allowing other organisms to grow on the rock. It's probably the same phenomenon @exnisstech and Randy are talking about when they mention how high-nutrient tanks can be algae-free.

I don't think it's all thanks to CUC, herbivores, or coral "real estate". Many more organisms in our tanks cover surface area, and they don't want to be overgrown by algae. Spionid and Spirorbid worms, sponges, coralline algae (and look-alikes), bacterial films, diatoms, and others all want to keep their surface area to themselves. They have likely developed some ways to keep algae from overgrowing them, at least up to a point.

This is the only explanation I have found so far that accounts for why nuisance algae or dinoflagellates sometimes cover only the rocks or only the substrate, or why they appear in a few spots but not others in the same tank, even when flow and light are very similar in those places.

 

[W31Olds]

You are "resetting" the periphyton on that rock and that could resolve the issue by allowing other organisms to grow on the rock. It's probably the same phenomenon @exnisstech and Randy are talking about when they mention how high-nutrient tanks can be algae-free.

I don't think it's all thanks to CUC, herbivores, or coral "real estate". Many more organisms in our tanks cover surface area, and they don't want to be overgrown by algae. Spionid and Spirorbid worms, sponges, coralline algae (and look-alikes), bacterial films, diatoms, and others all want to keep their surface area to themselves. They have likely developed some ways to keep algae from overgrowing them, at least up to a point.

This is the only explanation I have found so far that accounts for why nuisance algae or dinoflagellates sometimes cover only the rocks or only the substrate, or why they appear in a few spots but not others in the same tank, even when flow and light are very similar in those places.

I agree that some of the good stuff on the Live Rock is destroyed. I only did about 50 percent of the Rock in my Tank and usually remove and spray the affected areas on the top side. The problem for me is scrubbing the Algae off the Rock doesn't kill the Roots. I equate to mowing my lawn, it doesn't kill the Grass.

 

[EnterName]

I agree that some of the good stuff on the Live Rock is destroyed. I only did about 50 percent of the Rock in my Tank and usually remove and spray the affected areas on the top side. The problem for me is scrubbing the Algae off the Rock doesn't kill the Roots. I equate to mowing my lawn, it doesn't kill the Grass.

Oh, that wasn't supposed to be criticism of using hydrogen peroxide in any way!
I think it's a fair approach to take when other methods apparently can't get the job done.

I also agree that scrubbing algae off is often similar to "mowing the lawn". It surely exports matter and therefore nutrients so it's a good thing, but without some shift in the periphyton on the rock the algae will probably just grow back after a while. It's not like there is a magic value of nitrate and phosphate you can target and then all algae will dissolve but corals stay healthy

 

[Paul B]

I don't know what causes algae and I don't think anyone does either. (I could be wrong)

In the 55 years my tank has been running, some years there is absolutely no hint of algae like this.



And there are times where I can open a produce farm for a few months, like this.



This occurrence, like many things in the sea and in our tanks runs in cycles that we, for some unknown reason have little to no control of.

That is also why there are so many "cures". It runs in cycles and almost always abates on its own no matter what we do.

Some of these cycles last a few months or years. Most people don't keep a tank long enough to see this.

But what do I know? I'm just a bald electrician

 

[BeanAnimal]

But what do I know? I'm just a bald electrician

And former "Yacht" owner.

Where do you park the horses on the Yacht? Did they have their own stable?

Who was in charge of letting out and reeling up the ship to shore telegraph cable?

 

[W31Olds]

My first thought was scrubbing the Rocks would motivate my Fish to keep it in Check. Unfortunately, they are lazy workers who prefer meaty foods with the exception of my Lawnmower Blenny. That and the fact that GHA can grow too fast for them to Control and Cleanup Crew is hit or miss. Urchins are good but you need many. Snails are too slow and I would need over 100. Crabs not useful and bother the Snails.