Algae, Lighting, flow questions

[mwm5461]

Hi all!

I've been running my tank now for about 3 months (two months stocked after cycling) and have a couple questions related to algae/lighting/flow. I've recently been having some algae issues which I primarily believe is due to having high nitrates. Most of the algae are on the sand bed which I believe to be green hair algae and some bubble algae on the rocks. This has been going on for about a month but I decided to start taking the issue a little more seriously by trying to remove the hair algae and am going to tackle removing some bubble algae that's been spreading on Sunday. I'm also doing larger water changes and started trying to feed less and every other day as opposed to every day which I was doing previously. In addition, I just got the corals on the sand bed (pictured below) about a week or two ago but I've had the zoanthid and ricordea corals on the left and right rocks for about a month and haven't seen any growth. I decided I should increase my flow because I think I have some dead spots so I got a second powerhead (a koralia nano 425). I also just got a reef glass nano protein skimmer to help with nutrient export that I'm working on tuning. I currently have 1 koralia nano 240 in the tank. I also have a wavepoint 9 inch LED light which runs from 1pm-11pm every day. My understanding based on what I've read lately is just turning on the lights with full intensity can be bad for the corals. Is this why my zoas and ricordea haven't grown at all? Is there any way I can control the lighting with the simple LED I have for the tank? Will my increased flow help resolve some of these issues, particularly green hair algae on the sand bed? What should I be doing differently or better to reduce the algae growth and get my corals growing?

Some additional information below:
14 gallon nuvo tank
return pump 211 gph
powerhead - koralia 240 nano
Temp: 78
Nitrate: 5ppm
Salinity: 1.026
Calcium: 450
Alk: 9.3
PH: 8

Sorry I'm all over the place but appreciate any help you all can provide. Thanks!

 

[rkpetersen]

Thoughts: Nice aquascape! Your nitrates aren't that high. Algae of various types is extremely common in new tanks; the phosphate bound to rocks and sand promotes their growth. I would recommend checking and acting on phosphate level if it gets high, routinely. However as for right now, you should increase your cleanup crew - some snails, perhaps a red-legged hermit crab, an elysia sea slug, etc to tackle the algae before it gets out of hand. Eventually, as more desirable algae grow (ideally), the nuisance algaes will recede. None of the frags you've got there need particularly high flow, so I suspect your flow is fine. Your light seems very white. I'm not familiar with the light, is the white level adjustable? If so, I would turn it down considerably. Hard to know whether the overall light level is right without a PAR reading or two. Also when you do water changes do you vacuum the sandbed in the process? Many people say you should (although I go back and forth with it.)

 

[Coralreefer1]

Water flow is very important for a number of reasons from increasing the amount of dissolved oxygen in you water to reducing dead spots and detritus/micro algae buildup and growth. Usually when you purchase corals at a pet shop, they are under the blue spectrum which makes the colors pop, however, as for growth, having a full spectrum lighting is ideal. With any new coral, you want to acclimate it slowly to reduce the likeliness of it bleaching, or in the case of soft coral, not opening up and melting.

 

[mwm5461]

I just ordered a phosphate test so I'm going to check those numbers tomorrow. I'll look up ways to reduce phosphates but if anyone has tips on that I'd greatly appreciate the advice. I just got some more snails from reefcleaners.com but I think most of the snails didn't make it and they don't seem to be making too much of a dent on the algae. I'll look into the sea slug and will think about the hermits. I already have some hermits but they seem to be pretty aggressive to the snails so I think they're another reason why my snail count seems low even after just ordering them.

As for the lights I got them based on marine depot's build in this link:
https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&sou...aw28r9ReaRx5elwsmJiQuEj7&ust=1543186350217432
The video has the light getting PAR readings of 90 at the bottom and 210 at the top of the tank. Unfortunately the white light isn't adjustable. It has a blue and white light switch that run on the same power cord so I would have to manually turn off the white light if I just want the blue. I also just got a smaller gravel vacuum because my current one was too big to move around the tank and syphoned too fast to adequately clean the sand bed. I'm hoping my first water change with the new smaller one tomorrow will allow me to vacuum properly.

 

[mwm5461]

Not sure if anyone has any other advice but a quick update based on my maintenance today. I got my phosphate test which showed 0. The test kit was Salifert and I was a little surprised to get a reading of zero based on the issues I noted before. I also used my new smaller python gravel cleaner which worked SO MUCH BETTER. I was able to sift around the sand so I think it'll definitely be beneficial for keeping a clean sand bed going forward. I guess I'm not too sure why the corals seem to be doing poorly since the nitrates aren't too high and my phosphates are low. I also worked to remove a lot of the bubble algae but will need to continue to work on removal in future water changes. Any other input from the community would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again.

 

[Reefin Ryan]

I agree with the other advice you got. I will add that I personally don't like crabs, snails etc but emerald crabs will eat bubble algae. hardly anything else will eat it. Lawnmower blennies and some other blenny species can help with hair algae if its a more filmy soft and squishy type of hair algae but not as much on the thicker wire-y varieties from my experience. a tailspot blenny would be better suited for your size tank and have a LOT of personality and look pretty awesome. A black molly accimated to saltwater does surprisingly well on eating hair algae. They have munched mine down extremely well and are a smaller and peacefull species.

 

[mwm5461]

Ya I don't mind snails but I'm not the biggest fan of crabs due to their aggression but I do think they look cool and I already have hermits so maybe I should just go ahead and get some emerald crabs. How many would I get for a 14 gallon tank? Also, I currently have 2 clownfish and a rainsford goby, would I be able to have a tailspot blenny in addition to those fish for 14 gallons?

 

[Super Fly]

1 emerald is plenty for 14 gal.
were the LR's cured prior to adding livestock?... they appear too new/clean and curing still

 

[Scurvy]

Most snails will specialize with a particular algae. Astrea eat film algae and diatoms very well, Some Turbo snails will eat hair algae, i know the Mexican turbo loves green hair. Other snails dont eat algae at all and are detrivores living off scraps of food and fish waste. I think I see Nerites on your back glass which IME didn't touch much of anything, maybe some film algae but never GHA or Bubble algae.

Its still a very new system and as it matures things will do better and better.

 

[mwm5461]

1 emerald is plenty for 14 gal.
were the LR's cured prior to adding livestock?... they appear too new/clean and curing still

Okay then I think I'm going to get one emerald crab. Should I also get a tailspot blenny or is that overstocking the tank?

I'm not exactly sure what you mean by curing since I'm still new to the hobby. Is that the layer of green algae growing on the LR? Pretty sure mine were not cured. I got https://www.marinedepot.com/AquaMax...eef_Aquariums-AquaMaxx-UJ21010-FISSLR-vi.html
Is it bad they're still not cured?

 

[rkpetersen]

Okay then I think I'm going to get one emerald crab. Should I also get a tailspot blenny or is that overstocking the tank?

You could keep a tailspot blenny in that tank with those other inhabitants. It wouldn't be overcrowding but I'm not sure it would get enough to eat in your tank right now, especially if you're adding snails and crabs first. Maybe wait a couple-few months and reassess.

 

[rkpetersen]

I'm not exactly sure what you mean by curing since I'm still new to the hobby. Is that the layer of green algae growing on the LR? Pretty sure mine were not cured. I got https://www.marinedepot.com/AquaMax...eef_Aquariums-AquaMaxx-UJ21010-FISSLR-vi.html
Is it bad they're still not cured?

Live rock, that is, rock from the ocean with animals and plants growing on and in it, needs to be cured to get rid of the decomposing dead stuff that didn't make it as well as establish solid colonization with nitrifying bacteria. Dry previously-live rock from the ocean may have dried out dead organic stuff on it and should also be cured. Quarried and man-made dry rock don't have any organic material and therefore don't require that part of the curing process, although they will still need to establish the bacteria, which happens naturally with time or can be sped up with additives. Some brands of dried out live rock and man-made rock, though, could potentially have a lot of phosphate in them or on their surface. If so, this will promote algae growth, and it can take a long time for the natural process of leaching to remove the phosphate (although there are ways to speed it up.) However, if your circulating phosphate level is 0, this seems unlikely to be the case with these rocks.

 

[mwm5461]

Most snails will specialize with a particular algae. Astrea eat film algae and diatoms very well, Some Turbo snails will eat hair algae, i know the Mexican turbo loves green hair. Other snails dont eat algae at all and are detrivores living off scraps of food and fish waste. I think I see Nerites on your back glass which IME didn't touch much of anything, maybe some film algae but never GHA or Bubble algae.

Its still a very new system and as it matures things will do better and better.

Appreciate the input. So then is some of this just going through the "tank uglies"? (something I've seen referenced in other forum posts). Seems that turbo snails might be my move. I've read that the turbo snails can knock over frags, is this something I should be concerned about?

I guess I should've more intelligently bought specific snails in my last reefcleaners.com purchase to target the bubble and gha rather than the assorted pack I got.

Lastly, before I get an emerald crab I saw online somewhere that they could potential damage/eat at corals. Is this true or rare? Any other input on this is appreciated.

 

[Coralreefer1]

Live rock, that is, rock from the ocean with animals and plants growing on and in it, needs to be cured to get rid of the decomposing dead stuff that didn't make it as well as establish solid colonization with nitrifying bacteria. Dry previously-live rock from the ocean may have dried out dead organic stuff on it and should also be cured. Quarried and man-made dry rock don't have any organic material and therefore don't require that part of the curing process, although they will still need to establish the bacteria, which happens naturally with time or can be sped up with additives. Some brands of dried out live rock and man-made rock, though, could potentially have a lot of phosphate in them or on their surface. If so, this will promote algae growth, and it can take a long time for the natural process of leaching to remove the phosphate (although there are ways to speed it up.) However, if your circulating phosphate level is 0, this seems unlikely to be the case with these rocks.

If you got your live rock from the pet shop, more than likely, it has already been cured. I have only seen one pet shop that had uncured rock. That was rock from Florida/Caribbean with colorful sponges and other flora and fauna. Usually, the live rock collected from place of origin has been cured before being shipped. That is why if you smell the live rock, it smells like the ocean not an awful stench from the decaying inorganic and organic matter. With any live rock, you will always have some die off in transit causing skimmers to potentially go crazy as well as phosphate, ammonia, nitrites and nitrate spikes depending on the amount of rock added at one time.

 

[Synner Reef]

I admire your aquascape. I don't have much advice. I'm a few months behind you in starting a ecosystem myself. Currently on day 5! Hoping to read that you tackled this situation.

 

[Scurvy]

Appreciate the input. So then is some of this just going through the "tank uglies"? (something I've seen referenced in other forum posts). Seems that turbo snails might be my move. I've read that the turbo snails can knock over frags, is this something I should be concerned about?

I guess I should've more intelligently bought specific snails in my last reefcleaners.com purchase to target the bubble and gha rather than the assorted pack I got.

Lastly, before I get an emerald crab I saw online somewhere that they could potential damage/eat at corals. Is this true or rare? Any other input on this is appreciated.

Yes, I suspect this is mostly a case of the tank maturing and mostly natural. Remember patience is key! I know the desire to act is strong especially when you're new but learning when to let it sort itself out naturally is another key piece of this hobby.

That said I would probably add a turbo snail or two for the GHA if it gets a strong hold. In all honestly the tank doesnt look bad at all. Turbos can knock over or move frags but should they be needed they will do the job. I dont have any experience with Emerald crabs personally but like most things will resort to eating other things if they dont find enough of their prefered food source.

As advised above, Algae prefers white light, if you can tone down the whites that would also be a good idea.

 

[Super Fly]

Okay then I think I'm going to get one emerald crab. Should I also get a tailspot blenny or is that overstocking the tank?

I'm not exactly sure what you mean by curing since I'm still new to the hobby. Is that the layer of green algae growing on the LR? Pretty sure mine were not cured. I got https://www.marinedepot.com/AquaMax...eef_Aquariums-AquaMaxx-UJ21010-FISSLR-vi.html
Is it bad they're still not cured?

Blenny should be fine.
No worries. The rocks you bought from MD are dry rocks that hasn't been cured yet and since it's curing in your tank w white lights, the GHA is forming on them. There are 2 ways to cure live rock (the name is confusing bc we call them LR but it's really not yet "live" until it's been cured) as per Liveaquaria https://m.liveaquaria.com/article/209/?aid=209. Most people cure it in a brute or if curing in display tank they do it prior to adding livestock so they don't have to deal with algae forming on rocks/glass if it's curing in the display tank.

You can look at CJ's Aquarium videos (he has really good info) about what he went through when he placed uncured pukani rocks in his new 120 tank.

Also, not many snails will eat GHA once it's grown long and I beleive turbo snails may be too large for a 14 gal tank.

GL

 

[mwm5461]

I admire your aquascape. I don't have much advice. I'm a few months behind you in starting a ecosystem myself. Currently on day 5! Hoping to read that you tackled this situation.

Thanks! As a fellow newbie good luck! It's a lot of fun.

Yes, I suspect this is mostly a case of the tank maturing and mostly natural. Remember patience is key! I know the desire to act is strong especially when you're new but learning when to let it sort itself out naturally is another key piece of this hobby.

That said I would probably add a turbo snail or two for the GHA if it gets a strong hold. In all honestly the tank doesnt look bad at all. Turbos can knock over or move frags but should they be needed they will do the job. I dont have any experience with Emerald crabs personally but like most things will resort to eating other things if they dont find enough of their prefered food source.

As advised above, Algae prefers white light, if you can tone down the whites that would also be a good idea.

Yes, the patience part is probably the best learning lesson for me in this hobby . I think I'm going to get a single turbo snail to start in the spirit of going slow, see how it looks, and then get a second if needed. I think I'll get an emerald crab along with the mexican turbo snail so the emerald can tackle the bubble algae. With that said I would still appreciate any first hand experience with emeralds in case I should stay away since I would prefer not to put any destructive cleaners in my tanks.

With regard to the light, my schedule is currently on a simple timer from 2pm-10pm. Do you think I should shorten this to limit algae growth? I would prefer not to do anything that would also limit my coral growth. Or would it be smart to turn the white light off towards the end of my light cycle, like at 8pm or 9pm? Realistically I don't think I would do this consistently since I would have to manually turn off the white light as the two lights run on a single electrical plug but just want to get your thoughts. Thanks!

 

[mwm5461]

Blenny should be fine.
No worries. The rocks you bought from MD are dry rocks that hasn't been cured yet and since it's curing in your tank w white lights, the GHA is forming on them. There are 2 ways to cure live rock (the name is confusing bc we call them LR but it's really not yet "live" until it's been cured) as per Liveaquaria https://m.liveaquaria.com/article/209/?aid=209. Most people cure it in a brute or if curing in display tank they do it prior to adding livestock so they don't have to deal with algae forming on rocks/glass if it's curing in the display tank.

You can look at CJ's Aquarium videos (he has really good info) about what he went through when he placed uncured pukani rocks in his new 120 tank.

Also, not many snails will eat GHA once it's grown long and I beleive turbo snails may be too large for a 14 gal tank.

GL

Sorry, saw this after my last post. I guess I'll just stick to manually removing the algae and getting a blenny and a emerald crab then. I don't want a giant turbo snail bulldozing and taking up a large amount of the tank. I'll definitely check out those videos so thank you!

 

[Adamantium]

Careful with emerald crabs. I had to remove mine after he started picking at my acans. People seem to keep them with mixed results.