Tetraselmis for Nuisance Algae?

[argiBK]

Hey All! One of the next projects in my tank is to completely eliminate nuisance algae in my tank which has some spots of Valonia and short turf algae.

I don't have an infestation of epic proportions, but enough to make the bubble algae noticeable and make me rethink where I'd want to place new frags. I've tried the various extracting methods (cutting, scrubbing, siphoning) and emerald crabs to limited success. I want to stop short of adding a Foxface which would quickly grow too large for my tank, or dosing Vibrant which would require me to stop my Chaeto reactor. Also, with Vibrant I'm not sure I'd be fully equipped or want to dose Nitrate/Phosphate to keep nutrients up at this point as I have them at ideal levels (NO3 @ 0.3, PO4 @ 0.05), though I understand that the algae is helping to keep Nitrate and Phosphate under control.

I came across this thread and the following comment:

You want to beat nuisance algae, dose Tetraselmis microalgae phytoplankton. It competes and starves out nuisance algae. You stay in this hobby long enough, you will eventually figure this out.

No other details were provided, but I was wondering if anyone had any experience and perspective on using Tetraselmis to control and outcompete the undesirables. Where do you get your phyto? Assuming this is done to eliminate the algae, how much do you dose and for what length of time? I'd definitely dose permanently considering the other benefits to the tank as well.

Any insight would be greatly welcome, thanks!!

 

[Doctorgori]

i’d bet mercer of Montana carries it... You could try growing it in the sump. Sounds goofy but your DT will look brownish for a while.
More than once I’ve added phyto that hadn’t peaked and therefore had some unused Guiliard in it. Green tanks usually don’t last 48-72 hrs....so maybe?

Live Marine Phytoplankton, Tetraselmis, 8oz. Bottle
by Mercer Of Montana, LLC
Learn more:Amazon Link

 

[Reef Nutrition]

Hey All! One of the next projects in my tank is to completely eliminate nuisance algae in my tank which has some spots of Valonia and short turf algae.

I don't have an infestation of epic proportions, but enough to make the bubble algae noticeable and make me rethink where I'd want to place new frags. I've tried the various extracting methods (cutting, scrubbing, siphoning) and emerald crabs to limited success. I want to stop short of adding a Foxface which would quickly grow too large for my tank, or dosing Vibrant which would require me to stop my Chaeto reactor. Also, with Vibrant I'm not sure I'd be fully equipped or want to dose Nitrate/Phosphate to keep nutrients up at this point as I have them at ideal levels (NO3 @ 0.3, PO4 @ 0.05), though I understand that the algae is helping to keep Nitrate and Phosphate under control.

I came across this thread and the following comment:



No other details were provided, but I was wondering if anyone had any experience and perspective on using Tetraselmis to control and outcompete the undesirables. Where do you get your phyto? Assuming this is done to eliminate the algae, how much do you dose and for what length of time? I'd definitely dose permanently considering the other benefits to the tank as well.

Any insight would be greatly welcome, thanks!!

From what we've heard, it doesn't matter which species you use. We sell a 6 species blend that hobbyists and stores claim outcompetes nuisance algae and lowers ammonia, nitrate, nitrite and phosphates. Phyto-Feast Live is the algae blend that we sell: https://reefnutrition.com/products/phytofeastlive Instead of growing the algae yourself to see if it works, you could try a bottle of our microalgae. Might be worth looking into.

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to reach out.

Best,
Chad

 

[afboundguy]

I will echo what @Reef Nutrition says as I don't think it matters what kind of phyto strand you use as I've used nanno and tetra and each time I consistently dose the tank with phtyo I notice it takes 2-3 times longer before I have to scrape the glass in the tank... The biggest problem for me is keeping up and doing it consistently

I will say @Doctorgori I've never had that issue of the tank turning brown but I only dose the phyto from when I split my culture after 7-10 days that has been in my fridge...

 

[ZoWhat]

@ARGiBK

I'm Skimjim that gave that original quote about Tetraselmis Phyto.

Yes!!!! Ive been brewing tetraselmis in two 5gal jugs in my basement for the last 6mos using Mercer of Montana product.

I have a 180g DT plus a 100g sump.

I dose nightly 1hr before lights out about 1/2 gallon of fully live, fully active Tetraselmis from one of the two jugs you see above.

I pour 1/2 gal DIRECTLY into the DT in front of a PH....after turning OFF the Skimmer. Skimmer stays off while i let my PHs push the phyto around the DT for 2hrs!

Of course the darker brew of the two is where im pulling the 1/2 gal from...while the lighter green is brewing and will be ready the following week.

I rotate back n forth bywn the two jugs.

After 6mos of dosing, all nuisance algae is gone bc my 1/2 gal dose each night consumes/outcompetes the nuisance gobbling up NO3/PO4.

Now... those considering this should start off sloooow with much lower amounts and work up to a large dose. Like start at 6ozs, then to 12ozs, 24, 32 then 64ozs. But its all based on your total water VOLUME! You mightbe perfectly fine at 22ozs each night for lesser total water volumes.

You'll know if you are OVERDOSING tetraselmis if your glass algae is too hazy every single day from the tetraselmis algae build up on the glass. SWEETSPOT is cleaning the glass every 3 days

The DT water is cloudy overnight !BUT! by morning the water is clear bc the tetraselmis is consumed by all the zooplankton creatures overnight.

Its dang near a perfect closed-loop ecosystem bc I RARELY do waterchanges. The 1/2 gal phyto is about 1.020 new salt mix thats a week old when I started the brewing process.

So when dosing 1/2 gal phyto my system is also being recharged with major/minor elements from the week old salt mix to make the phyto....at 1/2g per day.

* Nuisance algae gone
* Corals love the phyto
* Fish loooove the fattened-up zooplankton population
* I get away from waterchanges by only doing a 25% one every three months.

Like I said.... it took me 15yrs to lean in and trust dosing phyto (tetraselmis) but I'm now a "life'er" bc of all the natural benefits I'm seeing using tetraselmis as my natural husbandry substance


.

 

[argiBK]

Thanks @skimjim, this explanation is what I was looking for! Great timing too as I just started my own Nanno and Tetra culture today (ordered from Mercer as well). I definitely need to scale production to match your dosing schedule and amount.

I'm only running 80 gallons myself, which per your dosing scales down to .22 gal or 832 ml/day, but will work up slowly to an amount that I'm comfortable with and see what progress can be made. Also continuing to scrape and siphon valonia that pops up on a weekly basis.

 

[ZoWhat]

Thanks @skimjim, this explanation is what I was looking for! Great timing too as I just started my own Nanno and Tetra culture today (ordered from Mercer as well). I definitely need to scale production to match your dosing schedule and amount.

I'm only running 80 gallons myself, which per your dosing scales down to .22 gal or 832 ml/day, but will work up slowly to an amount that I'm comfortable with and see what progress can be made. Also continuing to scrape and siphon valonia that pops up on a weekly basis.

Glad to help....

The sweetspot is for your glass to have tetraselmis algae haze on the glass for cleaning twice a week.

Oddly enough... there wont be much algae build up on the LR but tetraselmis will haze your glass.

Your coral and fish will love the benefits. Your zooplankton copepod will explode and your fish will be naturally fed by all those great creature bugs!

.

 

[Doctorgori]

I will say @Doctorgori I've never had that issue of the tank turning brown but I only dose the phyto from when I split my culture after 7-10 days that has been in my fridge...

You'll know if you are OVERDOSING tetraselmis if your glass algae is too hazy every single day from the tetraselmis algae build up on the glass. SWEETSPOT is cleaning the glass every 3 days

The DT water is cloudy overnight !BUT! by morning the water is clear bc the tetraselmis is consumed by all the zooplankton creatures overnight.

 

[Doctorgori]

Sorry for the double post, weird..
Anyway, from the above post, my concern was with the green tank. i I didn’t know phyto could coat the glass. I figured it was normal glass algae from the excess ferts.

Also it dawned on me that how fast it clears is dependent on how fast its consumed. I never thought about that and waited for it to just clear up.

Thanks, I might try this too. I grow lots of phyto anyway.

 

[PaulG]

From what we've heard, it doesn't matter which species you use. We sell a 6 species blend that hobbyists and stores claim outcompetes nuisance algae and lowers ammonia, nitrate, nitrite and phosphates. Phyto-Feast Live is the algae blend that we sell: https://reefnutrition.com/products/phytofeastlive Instead of growing the algae yourself to see if it works, you could try a bottle of our microalgae. Might be worth looking into.

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to reach out.

Best,
Chad

Hi Chad - thank you for the info. What would be dosing for Phytofeastlive that you would recommend to out compete GHA? My tank is 5 years old running Triton Method and is super GHA friendly

 

[Reef Nutrition]

Hi Chad - thank you for the info. What would be dosing for Phytofeastlive that you would recommend to out compete GHA? My tank is 5 years old running Triton Method and is super GHA friendly

Our lowest recommended dose is 1 TSP per 100 gallons per day. If you have corals, they will benefit from the phytoplankton feedings, as well as any zooplankton and other filter-feeders. Thanks for asking!

Chad

 

[iFunnny]

hi sorry dredging this up with what might be a rather dumb question,

Im dosing my own cultured tetraselmis myself, but im wondering what the impact of it on nutrient levels are if any? since its a live product, unless they perish from lack of food or other means, it wont pollute the tank right?

 

[damsels are not mean]

Why would dosing short lived algae (plus fertilizer left in the bottle) starve out established algae? And assuming it does, why wouldn't it starve out corals?

 

[Yanir34]

@ARGiBK

I'm Skimjim that gave that original quote about Tetraselmis Phyto.

Yes!!!! Ive been brewing tetraselmis in two 5gal jugs in my basement for the last 6mos using Mercer of Montana product.

I have a 180g DT plus a 100g sump.

I dose nightly 1hr before lights out about 1/2 gallon of fully live, fully active Tetraselmis from one of the two jugs you see above.

I pour 1/2 gal DIRECTLY into the DT in front of a PH....after turning OFF the Skimmer. Skimmer stays off while i let my PHs push the phyto around the DT for 2hrs!

Of course the darker brew of the two is where im pulling the 1/2 gal from...while the lighter green is brewing and will be ready the following week.

I rotate back n forth bywn the two jugs.

After 6mos of dosing, all nuisance algae is gone bc my 1/2 gal dose each night consumes/outcompetes the nuisance gobbling up NO3/PO4.

Now... those considering this should start off sloooow with much lower amounts and work up to a large dose. Like start at 6ozs, then to 12ozs, 24, 32 then 64ozs. But its all based on your total water VOLUME! You mightbe perfectly fine at 22ozs each night for lesser total water volumes.

You'll know if you are OVERDOSING tetraselmis if your glass algae is too hazy every single day from the tetraselmis algae build up on the glass. SWEETSPOT is cleaning the glass every 3 days

The DT water is cloudy overnight !BUT! by morning the water is clear bc the tetraselmis is consumed by all the zooplankton creatures overnight.

Its dang near a perfect closed-loop ecosystem bc I RARELY do waterchanges. The 1/2 gal phyto is about 1.020 new salt mix thats a week old when I started the brewing process.

So when dosing 1/2 gal phyto my system is also being recharged with major/minor elements from the week old salt mix to make the phyto....at 1/2g per day.

* Nuisance algae gone
* Corals love the phyto
* Fish loooove the fattened-up zooplankton population
* I get away from waterchanges by only doing a 25% one every three months.

Like I said.... it took me 15yrs to lean in and trust dosing phyto (tetraselmis) but I'm now a "life'er" bc of all the natural benefits I'm seeing using tetraselmis as my natural husbandry substance


.

Hey ,I have few questions about growing tetra :
1. what is the temperature that you grow tetra in it ?
2. how many hours per day of lighting ?
3. what salinity level requirered to grow tetra ?

 

[The_Paradox]

Hey ,I have few questions about growing tetra :
1. what is the temperature that you grow tetra in it ?
2. how many hours per day of lighting ?
3. what salinity level requirered to grow tetra ?

It’s one of the easier phytos to grow. Room temperature between 68-80F is fine with better results on the lower end. Lighting depends on the emitter but most agree 14-18h per day. Salinity is not critical but seems to do best for me between 1.020 and 1.022. Just remember to remove whatever amount of water from tank before you dose otherwise tank salinity will creep up.

 

[Yanir34]

It’s one of the easier phytos to grow. Room temperature between 68-80F is fine with better results on the lower end. Lighting depends on the emitter but most agree 14-18h per day. Salinity is not critical but seems to do best for me between 1.020 and 1.022. Just remember to remove whatever amount of water from tank before you dose otherwise tank salinity will creep up.

is it true that tetra phyto compete with nuisance algaes

 

[The_Paradox]

is it true that tetra phyto compete with nuisance algaes

On some level but would not rely on it for nutrition control.