Help Keeping Corals Clean In Frag Tank

[nim6us]

I've got a little frag tank I started, mostly to be mega cautious and quarantine anything that enters into my DT. It's 18x12x12 bare bottom, with a frag rack, hooked up to a canister filter with media and filtration, it's been up about 5 months.

Thus far I've just had 4 trochus snails in there that do a pretty good job of keeping it clean. However I'm starting to get hair algae growth on my acans between the heads. This is causing an issue because it's making the heads recede and the corals are closing up.

What the best way to clean this up? I don't know if my rabbitfish and dwarf angels are keeping the corals in my DT clean. But as I said the tank is pretty small and bare bottom so I don't know that putting a fish in there is the answer. I was thinking maybe a hermit? I'm just not sure and it's really bumming me out seeing my big fluffy acans all receded, any advice welcome.

 

[Quietman]

Astraea snails did it for me. Great at getting between polyps on frags.

 

[nim6us]

Yeah I think I'll have to get in there with some tweezers until my LFS opens back up, but thanks for the suggestion.

 

[EMeyer]

IME fish are a necessity for a frag tank. Yours is on the small side though, hard to fit even a small tang and honestly I havent found much besides tangs that makes a difference.

Hermit crabs help for me, but fish are the best cleanup crew IMO

 

[Quietman]

I had a yellow watchman goby in mine (I ordered two by mistake from LA) and it kept it cycled. Felt bad for it though in a bare bottom tank with no shrimp buddy. Gave him away eventually when I shut the QT down a few months later.

I was thinking maybe a molly to keep it cycled as I'll never have a QT big enough for a tang.

I'm also rethinking coral QT (doubt I do that again). My last batch was just aggressively dipped (CoralRX and Bayer) and ended up much healthier much quicker. Now if I saw AEFW or other really significant pests come off during dip...boom, out comes the QT tank (it's in the garage with all the equipment ready to go and you really don't need to cycle with just corals and in 10 gallons I can water change the heck out of it until it is).

 

[Dempsey941]

Mollies, and blennies are all good algae eaters for frag tanks. I have actually been moving a couple of my hermits from my display and putting them in my frag tank they pile up on the plugs and after a day or two the algae on them is gone. When they are finished they go back to the display, or if I had one the sump.

 

[Quietman]

Mollies, and blennies are all good algae eaters for frag tanks. I have actually been moving a couple of my hermits from my display and putting them in my frag tank they pile up on the plugs and after a day or two the algae on them is gone. When they are finished they go back to the display, or if I had one the sump.

My tailspot blenny never seems interested in algae, unless it's pellets or nori. Cute little bugger, but a bit of an algae snob evidently.

 

[Dempsey941]

My tailspot blenny never seems interested in algae, unless it's pellets or nori. Cute little bugger, but a bit of an algae snob evidently.

Mine were like that too, I think the better option would be a lawnmower or similar.

 

[EMeyer]

I've never seen a blennie eat hair algae, only film algae on surfaces. For hair algae the only things I've seen eat it are hermits or tangs.

I thought tangs were over rated until I started setting up frag tanks. Now theyre my #1 worker fish, required in each tank.

 

[Greatdane]

Yeah I have the same issue with my waving hands just algae covering it and it wouldn’t open I used to have a coral beauty and that did the job it pecked so much at the rock there was only a few spaces on the rock with brown algae but sadly the coral beauty died and and the brown algae came back >

 

[nim6us]

Yeah I found a good video from Billy Pipes talking about dipping corals in hydrogen peroxide for a couple minutes and then turkey blasting the algae off. I've not had a hair algae problem before, so maybe I'll be more sparing with the Reef Roids or up my water change schedule going forward. That is the great part about it being no rock or sand, aside from the corals there's nowhere for the hair algae to take hold, so perhaps H202 dips when necessary may be my best bet.

OR.. I could get a LARGER frag tank that could house a fish, I'm sure the wife would understand ;Greedy

 

[vetteguy53081]

A little hint of Vibrant liquid weekly

 

[Alvaro_Spain]

I bought a cypraea annulus (cowrie) from my LFS because I thought it was cute, but has actually became the holy grial of my CuC. It eats everything. It is night active though.

I only have 2 other snails in my CuC, two cerithium, in my 10 gallon. But this one keeps the frag plugs even white. When I buy corals from LFS the frag plug is brown-green. And after a day it is white thanks to it.

 

[nano reef]

I had a yellow watchman goby in mine (I ordered two by mistake from LA) and it kept it cycled. Felt bad for it though in a bare bottom tank with no shrimp buddy. Gave him away eventually when I shut the QT down a few months later.

I was thinking maybe a molly to keep it cycled as I'll never have a QT big enough for a tang.

I'm also rethinking coral QT (doubt I do that again). My last batch was just aggressively dipped (CoralRX and Bayer) and ended up much healthier much quicker. Now if I saw AEFW or other really significant pests come off during dip...boom, out comes the QT tank (it's in the garage with all the equipment ready to go and you really don't need to cycle with just corals and in 10 gallons I can water change the heck out of it until it is).

I did not know you could keep corals in an uncycled tank! I have a bunch on hold waiting for tanks to cylse. What about lights though wont it cause algae growth really bad?

 

[Ben's Pico Reefing]

I have a bit of algae in mine but minimal. Same day I started with elegance coral when I added water. I do weekly 100 percent water changes and feed food that doesn't foul water up much and still get algae. You will never get rid of algae. But you can try to out compete. You can get some macro algae that is easy to control to put in the tank. Some do better than others. It won't solve but will help along with some form of algae eater. As others pointed out some won't eat algae. Hermits, certain fish like tangs, cowry and astrea snails, are all good choices.

 

[nano reef]

Mollies, and blennies are all good algae eaters for frag tanks. I have actually been moving a couple of my hermits from my display and putting them in my frag tank they pile up on the plugs and after a day or two the algae on them is gone. When they are finished they go back to the display, or if I had one the sump.

I think thats what I am going to use is a molly and a blenny! I read somewhere that mollys cant take the flow though. Is yours ok with flow? I also worry the blenny wont be happy! I do have lots of rubble and a few rocks for mushrooms though. I am also going to get snails and maybe hermits. I might move my conch. He is a cleaning machine and would be perfect because he cant climb on rocks. I have alage or maybe cyano in my display thats only growing on glass and clear acrylic frags racks (wierd) I pick him up and put him on the racks and he clears it by end of day! It stays fine until I do a waterchange then It comes back! I guess its the essential elements in water change!

 

[Ben's Pico Reefing]

Are you using RO/DI water? And when was the last time you tested the water coming out directly?

 

[nano reef]

I have a bit of algae in mine but minimal. Same day I started with elegance coral when I added water. I do weekly 100 percent water changes and feed food that doesn't foul water up much and still get algae. You will never get rid of algae. But you can try to out compete. You can get some macro algae that is easy to control to put in the tank. Some do better than others. It won't solve but will help along with some form of algae eater. As others pointed out some won't eat algae. Hermits, certain fish like tangs, cowry and astrea snails, are all good choices.

is the frag tank cycling or almost cycled yet? I think mine will be ready today finally! Its probably ok now aactually. Yesterday I had 0 amonia a small amount of nitrites and nitrate's. I was stuck with high nitrates and nitrites forever!

I added Dr Tims didint seem to do much, then about 3 weeks later added Fritz turbo start that really brought ammonia down but nothing else then micro bacter start nothing but had it for a while so though may as well use it! Then day b4 yesterday I added Mb7 and that totally did the trick and to think I had that in my arsenal already and could have saved myself 60 bucks on all those others! I was in a huge hurry to get cycled because I have 2 coral orders on hold waiting for me to move my frags over and clear some space!

 

[Ben's Pico Reefing]

is the frag tank cycling or almost cycled yet? I think mine will be ready today finally! Its probably ok now aactually. Yesterday I had 0 amonia a small amount of nitrites and nitrate's. I was stuck with high nitrates and nitrites forever!

I added Dr Tims didint seem to do much, then about 3 weeks later added Fritz turbo start that really brought ammonia down but nothing else then micro bacter start nothing but had it for a while so though may as well use it! Then day b4 yesterday I added Mb7 and that totally did the trick and to think I had that in my arsenal already and could have saved myself 60 bucks on all those others! I was in a huge hurry to get cycled because I have 2 coral orders on hold waiting for me to move my frags over and clear some space!

Mine is actually a reef tank. And 7 gallons. Never tested the tank and didn't need to. Started day one. Had slight cloudy for a week or 2 but no issues. If you added bottle bacteria especially if it's fritz 9000 you are good to add. "Cycling" is the establishment of bacteria. As long as you don't overload a tank you may never see any ammonia or nitrite. Corals produce very little nutrients and will not cause a spike. Most coral skeleton and plugs carry more bacteria than waste they produce. In fact corals is considered one of the best ways also to "cycle" a tank because you will not see the typical signs.

 

[nano reef]

Are you using RO/DI water? And when was the last time you tested the water coming out directly?

yes, I am . I have a meter thats hooked on it and test it every time. Which is a lot lately! I just changed out the filters and resin too about a month ago.

I just bought some All for reef and was going to change my dosing to that and I got to thinking about how those acrylic frag plugs and glass get that algea and film so I decide to wait. Iheard so many people say how the essential elements in it fuel the growth of corals so I am pretty sure thats why.

Just like dinos are fuled from water changes. It maybe cyano but dosnt react when I use cyano treatments. So now I am dosing bacteria as well but just today I read to much bacteria dosing can cause alage! I am baffled as to what it is! I dont think its dinos because its not snotty and stringy or anything and no reason why I should have dinos.

I really think it might be cyano because it first started on some zoas that I bought that came in on new plugs and within a week they were solid red(plugs). But dosnt make sense why the cyano treatments dosnt work! I feellike once the coraline grows onit it will go away. Its starting o on some ares but cant figure out why its on the glass either! What a mess! I want to move these over to my frag tank but not with that stuff on the zoa racks! Peroxide takes it away but always comes back!