Any suggestions on how to get rid of the Algae?

[CrazyDuck959]

Hello I am having a bit of a algae problem, I think it’s diatoms but I will post a picture down below if anybody wants to take a look. I have done research and it says they feed on silicates in the water. Any solutions on how to remove it. I think my problem was I was not using RoDI water when I topped off the tank. That probably added extra silicates. I am now fully using RoDI water. But I need to get rid of the current silicates in the water. Any suggestions for that?

Thanks in advance - Sam

Edit - Forgot to add, this is a Fluval Evo 13.5 and it’s current stocking is 2 Clownfish, 1 Firefish, Some Snails And Hermit Crabs.

 

[neonreef3d]

just do your regular water changes, and test for nitrates and phosphates. if it drops too low, dont do water change,,, perhaps a tuxedo urchin will help along with some cerith and turbo snails.... astrea snails do a great job also

 

[ying yang]

Yeah just keep up with wc's and regular maintenance and just use rodi from now on.
And add a few more trouchus snails for rocks and glass and some nassarious snails and possibly 1 conch for keeping sandbed stirred.
Then watch your tank and if cuc not keeping up then add a few more then wait to see if keeping up over next 2-4 week of so happy days,if not add few more,if doing to good a job then may have to add a little nori or algae sheets or algae pellets off some description to supplement their feeding.
I take its a relatively new tank ?
Doesnt look that bad and as you say diatoms feed off silicates and when all used up they die back and another algae takes it place and so on,then we often wish we had corraline algae to take its place then if like my tank it starts literally strangling zoas and think umm be careful what you wish for,but tuxedo urchins are cool and great all round algae eating machines and often love coraline algae so always an answer if we look for it or ask the right questions.

But looks like diatoms and I'm guessing newish tank so just part of tank maturing and you didn't post your parameters ,but keep nitrates and p04 above 0 as read often that can trigger dinos ,alot like nitrates 10-20 and p04 anything from 0.03-0.1 but every tank runs different,some higher and great success and some lower,,some even test at 0/0 but the corals and livestock getting and using all available nutrients and none detectable left on tests but tank runs great so just need find what works for your tank and all my fish except clownfish got a job to do in tank along with cuc then I'm biggest cuc member with my efforts but try keep hands out tank as much as possible and tinkering and let tank do its thing and only ( slowly) intervene if needs must, my tank that usually means removing coral pests lol

 

[Leadfooted]

I would just add a power head, looks like it wants more flow. Hygger mini wave maker could be an option.

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[CrazyDuck959]

just do your regular water changes, and test for nitrates and phosphates. if it drops too low, dont do water change,,, perhaps a tuxedo urchin will help along with some cerith and turbo snails.... astrea snails do a great job also

Yeah just keep up with wc's and regular maintenance and just use rodi from now on.
And add a few more trouchus snails for rocks and glass and some nassarious snails and possibly 1 conch for keeping sandbed stirred.
Then watch your tank and if cuc not keeping up then add a few more then wait to see if keeping up over next 2-4 week of so happy days,if not add few more,if doing to good a job then may have to add a little nori or algae sheets or algae pellets off some description to supplement their feeding.
I take its a relatively new tank ?
Doesnt look that bad and as you say diatoms feed off silicates and when all used up they die back and another algae takes it place and so on,then we often wish we had corraline algae to take its place then if like my tank it starts literally strangling zoas and think umm be careful what you wish for,but tuxedo urchins are cool and great all round algae eating machines and often love coraline algae so always an answer if we look for it or ask the right questions.

But looks like diatoms and I'm guessing newish tank so just part of tank maturing and you didn't post your parameters ,but keep nitrates and p04 above 0 as read often that can trigger dinos ,alot like nitrates 10-20 and p04 anything from 0.03-0.1 but every tank runs different,some higher and great success and some lower,,some even test at 0/0 but the corals and livestock getting and using all available nutrients and none detectable left on tests but tank runs great so just need find what works for your tank and all my fish except clownfish got a job to do in tank along with cuc then I'm biggest cuc member with my efforts but try keep hands out tank as much as possible and tinkering and let tank do its thing and only ( slowly) intervene if needs must, my tank that usually means removing coral pests lol

Currently my CUC is 3 Nassarius Snails, 3 Cerith Snails, 1 Turbo Snail And 1 Trochus Snail, And 3 Hermit Crabs (Really Small Not Sure If any Are Even Still Alive). Yet this clean up crew still can’t handle it. Would adding more stuff overload the tank considering what’s in the CUC + the fish? Also would a urchin and the Conch grow too big? I can 100% get astrea snails.

 

[ying yang]

Let's ask @Sharkbait19 what cuc he had or still has in his evo 13.5 g
You got 8 snails and 3 crabs but imo if current cuc can't keep up then add few more till get to point you got enough ,then periodically replace some as they die or get murdered by something else lol.
Could also search r2r for people with same tank and see what cuc they got.
But imo still boils down to if current cuc can't keep up by helping you I between your wc's and tank maintenance then need add a few more,I've got 80g and when I add more it's like extra 6 nassarius snails and 6 trouchus till I found that sweet spot with right number so your tank 13.5 g so I would be adding say 2-3 of trouchus and 2-3 nass snails.
Regarding conch or urchin and if appropiate for your tank,its same as anything you think may add,ask Google and do little research to see if compatible with tank and other livestock in tank,aslong as you got the algae to feed them or can supplement their feed shouldn't be to much a problem ,my nass snails love algae sheets but they mainly carnivorous so I always add little extra clams,oysters,etc when feed fish so little goes on sandbed and they come straight out the sand and go searching.
You say not even sure if your cuc alive,can't you see the nass snails trunks sticking up out the sand or see them after lights out roaming your tank ,my nass snails mainly active at night ,and trouchus snails active 24/ 7 but more active at night,my hermits mainly always out on the hunt or fighting with each other or picking algae off snail shells

 

[CrazyDuck959]

Let's ask @Sharkbait19 what cuc he had or still has in his evo 13.5 g
You got 8 snails and 3 crabs but imo if current cuc can't keep up then add few more till get to point you got enough ,then periodically replace some as they die or get murdered by something else lol.
Could also search r2r for people with same tank and see what cuc they got.
But imo still boils down to if current cuc can't keep up by helping you I between your wc's and tank maintenance then need add a few more,I've got 80g and when I add more it's like extra 6 nassarius snails and 6 trouchus till I found that sweet spot with right number so your tank 13.5 g so I would be adding say 2-3 of trouchus and 2-3 nass snails.
Regarding conch or urchin and if appropiate for your tank,its same as anything you think may add,ask Google and do little research to see if compatible with tank and other livestock in tank,aslong as you got the algae to feed them or can supplement their feed shouldn't be to much a problem ,my nass snails love algae sheets but they mainly carnivorous so I always add little extra clams,oysters,etc when feed fish so little goes on sandbed and they come straight out the sand and go searching.
You say not even sure if your cuc alive,can't you see the nass snails trunks sticking up out the sand or see them after lights out roaming your tank ,my nass snails mainly active at night ,and trouchus snails active 24/ 7 but more active at night,my hermits mainly always out on the hunt or fighting with each other or picking algae off snail shells

Im not sure if my hermits are alive, also I am not positive its diotoms. either let me get a few more pics and post them. I really just want to get it under control. Because I want to eventually start getting corals.

 

[CrazyDuck959]

Here are the pictures

 

[Sharkbait19]

I had hermits, an emerald crab, astrea snails, nassarius snails, a trochus snail, and a tiger pistol shrimp in mine. Kept the tank nearly spotless, though I do have high phosphates in my source water so I’m always deals by with algae.
Pistol and nass kept the sand clean, emerald and hermits cleaned up the rocks, snails were for glass and rocks.
These definitely are diatoms, check your params to make sure nothing is off. Also, how old is the tank? These are pretty common in new tanks and eventually go away.

 

[ying yang]

Looks like you still got one nass snail alive as can see its black trunk

 

[CrazyDuck959]

I had hermits, an emerald crab, astrea snails, nassarius snails, a trochus snail, and a tiger pistol shrimp in mine. Kept the tank nearly spotless, though I do have high phosphates in my source water so I’m always deals by with algae.
Pistol and nass kept the sand clean, emerald and hermits cleaned up the rocks, snails were for glass and rocks.
These definitely are diatoms, check your params to make sure nothing is off. Also, how old is the tank? These are pretty common in new tanks and eventually go away.

The tank is around 6-7 months old, how many of each did you get?

 

[CrazyDuck959]

Looks like you still got one nass snail alive as can see its black trunk

Yeah all the snails are alive, just idk about the hermits they were tiny and when I mean tiny I mean tiny.

 

[Sharkbait19]

The tank is around 6-7 months old, how many of each did you get?

Sometimes it was hard to keep track of the numbers, but when I had a Fluval 13.5 I had about 10 nassarius, five astreas, a single emerald crab and pistol shrimp, one trochus, and eight hermits, though could probably have kept even more snails. Ofttentimes the numbers would fluctuate, so it would be hard to tell the precise amount, so I’d just replenish the population if I noticed it becoming rather low.

 

[CrazyDuck959]

Sometimes it was hard to keep track of the numbers, but when I had a Fluval 13.5 I had about 10 nassarius, five astreas, a single emerald crab and pistol shrimp, one trochus, and eight hermits, though could probably have kept even more snails. Ofttentimes the numbers would fluctuate, so it would be hard to tell the precise amount, so I’d just replenish the population if I noticed it becoming rather low.

Alright so I should probably get more clean up crew then? Also when I do eventually get corals do I need to worry about them getting knocked over?

 

[Sharkbait19]

Alright so I should probably get more clean up crew then? Also when I do eventually get corals do I need to worry about them getting knocked over?

Depends on the invert. Any coral in the sandbed is liable to get knocked over or taken by a pistol shrimp, so glue things down. Mine was pretty well behaved once he had a good cave, provide lots of shells and rubble for it to play with.
Hermits and snails may accidentally knock things over, but as long as corals are securely fastened they aren’t going anywhere.

 

[CrazyDuck959]

Depends on the invert. Any coral in the sandbed is liable to get knocked over or taken by a pistol shrimp, so glue things down. Mine was pretty well behaved once he had a good cave, provide lots of shells and rubble for it to play with.
Hermits and snails may accidentally knock things over, but as long as corals are securely fastened they aren’t going anywhere.

I’m going to go to my lfs and get some more nassarius snails and cerith snails. And then continue regular water changes while also making sure to use RoDI water when filling the tank. I’ll give an update in a month. Hopefully I can get it under control , thanks for your help y’all!