Uh oh it's Nuisance Algae Man! How often does he terrorize you?

[Memisis]

Why it gotta me a man?

I can think of plenty of parallels between nuisance algaes and the wife or the kids

For one, a good round of cleaning and vacuuming will put it at ease for a period of time.... Know what I mean ladies???
Nuisance algae make a huge mess and never cleans up after themselves.... Kids, clean up your mess...

 

[zoaprince]

10 month old tank and only had algae issue when cycling. I actually think it's a bad thing that I haven't had any algae issue since then. Not enough nutrients? idk, you tell me.

 

[charlesk]

As above, I don't have algae problems, the right cuc and fish works for me.

Can you tell me what you use for a cuc, thank you

 

[najer]

Can you tell me what you use for a cuc, thank you

5 tuxedo urchins lots of snails and hermit crabs, mithrax crabs, peppermint and cleaner shrimps, really the list goes on, judge what you can sustain.

 

[smacbride]

I have a piece of fake coral that I just let the algae grow on. I keep all of my other rockwork pretty clean and just let this go inside my tank. It's easy to pull out and cull when it gets out of hand.

 

[ScubaFish802]

Today let's talk about the arch enemy and evil nemesis of all reef aquarium hobbyists, Nuisance Algae Man!

We all get algae from time to time but for some of you (me) it may seem like "Algae Man" is terrorizing you all the time! But is this normal? Is this something to be expected in this hobby? Let's poll the audience and see how often they have to fight algae issues in their saltwater reef aquarium!

1. How often do you have some type of algae issue?

2. What types of algae seem to be the most problem for you?

3. How long do you think it's possible to go without an algae problem?


PS. Maybe I should make this into a shirt! HA!

Make this a sticker in the Partner Member Pack and you've got me

 

[AquariumSpecialty]

Occasionally we have algae pop up in a tank but we don't have that many issues. Typically we get in under control with Vibrant if our armies of tangs don't wipe it out. Also this product is good but we haven't used it in-house.

 

[Raj]

I have so much GHA and Aptasia that I am ready to take out all the rock, cook it and start over unless someone can help me find a solution to get rid of it all.

Get like 3 - 5 Peppermint Shrimps for the Aptasia. Might take them a month but they will do the job. My only hesitation there is that once the Aptasia supply runs out, you may need to find them another tank to live in or adjust your feeding to keep them alive.

As far as the hair algae - I've fought them in multiple tanks and did it the hard way - manually pull them out, lower nutrients, start growing algae in my refugium, etc. All of that worked fine, till one day I decided to "cheat" and use a chemical product called "STOP" hair algae. Within a week all the hair algae was gone. That was some time ago, I'm sure even better products exist today. The chemical additives worked so well it almost felt like cheating

 

[Bleigh]

I think everyone has algae. However some people keep up with it more with manual removal or cuc. I personally use algae turf scrubber to limit mine. Grow it somewhere other than your dt is my thought on it. I feed way too much so I will always have it but it doesn’t bother me because tank maintenance isn’t a chore for me it’s my me time.

Agreed. I do not have algae "issues". I have a great CUC and am on top of maintenance all the time. If i didn't have those two things, I'd imagine my algae would become problematic. Right now, it just seems like the right amount to keep the CUC fed.

 

[ReefGeezer]

1. How often do you have some type of algae issue?
I have something brewing constantly. It's never out of hand, but enough to demand my attention.
2. What types of algae seem to be the most problem for you?
My tank seems to cycle through outbreaks of hair algae, regular old red Cyano, and some sort of tan fuzzy Cyano.
3. How long do you think it's possible to go without an algae problem?
I really think tanks will have some algae issues until the substrate is covered by biomass and grazers are sufficient to keep what does pop up at bay. After that, with proper maintenance & husbandry, algae can be kept away indefinitely. But since I'm not good at the maintenance/husbandry thing, my reality is not for long!

 

[Reeferbo619]

I have so much GHA and Aptasia that I am ready to take out all the rock, cook it and start over unless someone can help me find a solution to get rid of it all.

omg bro I would hate those aiptasia.. any preventative recommendations? Personally I'd take out rock by rock and scrape that algae off into a bucket

 

[Bleigh]

I have so much GHA and Aptasia that I am ready to take out all the rock, cook it and start over unless someone can help me find a solution to get rid of it all.

Berhgia nudibranchs. I buy a few 1-2 times a year and they knock the numbers down to a manageable level. They're expensive. But way cheaper than starting over. I have also had terrible luck with every kind of "predator" of aiptasia. They always like my acans, favias, and blastos too. The nudi's ONLY eat aiptasia.

 

[Calm Blue Ocean]

My 3 month old 50g is having a hardcore case of the uglies right now. As expected, it's been a whole new learning process with all it's own issues.

First we had diatoms. Or I should say, we're still having diatoms. Best in show? Mexican Turbo. That snail eats diatoms better than anything else. Everywhere he goes he leaves pristine rock behind. Amazing snail! Runner up is the Tiger Sand Conch. If only he was a better climber he'd give the Turbo a run for his money, but he's doing a great job on the sand.

Now I also have hair algae. Like tall prairie grass flowing into the horizon. Even the hermit crabs are little walking hairy monsters. Best in show? Blue Tuxedo Urchin. The algae is still growing faster than he can eat it so I've had to help him out but does he ever eat it. And what he can't eat he wears as a hat! Always fashionable. If I didn't know that eventually the hair algae will pass I'd absolutely get another urchin.

But this is the thing. I know that once things balance out in the tank the algae will pass. My nano has rock and corals that are over a year old and I maybe clean the glass once a week. In the past that rock saw bryopsis, cyano, bubble algae, hair algae, diatoms, the works. There are many battles to be fought but one day the 50g will get there. The right CUC will make the journey easier.

 

[GrapevineReefs]

I am fortunate enough to do fish tank stuff full time I’m In my fish room multiple times daily. The only time I have issues with algae is in the first months of a tank getting settled in. the only time I see algae issues is when I step outside of my normal routine of feeding, maintenance, or if I try something new in regards to feeding or nutrients.

 

[lapin]

I have a hair, bubble and some cyano. It does not bother me. Algae grows in the ocean so why should some not grow in our tanks?

 

[Eagle_Steve]

The only algae in my tanks is the algae in the fuges. Too many herbivores and a small clean up crew. Even the nanos all have a lawnmower blenny. Between that a good husbandry, never really been an issue.

Now that I said that, something is gonna crash lol.

 

[pbenjbear2]

I usually have an issue in the summer time due to it being warmer and just never enough cuc. My display is good with only a few issues here and there. The frag tank that’s connected to the display is a different beast and is still in its newer stage of life. But with that making sure the Frags are clean and making sure things are stable is what my concern is. I’m fighting a phosphate issue right now but it’s going down slowly.

How are you addressing your phosphate issue? We have had an increase in algae and we think it is related to a recent phosphate increase?

 

[pbenjbear2]

My 3 month old 50g is having a hardcore case of the uglies right now. As expected, it's been a whole new learning process with all it's own issues.

First we had diatoms. Or I should say, we're still having diatoms. Best in show? Mexican Turbo. That snail eats diatoms better than anything else. Everywhere he goes he leaves pristine rock behind. Amazing snail! Runner up is the Tiger Sand Conch. If only he was a better climber he'd give the Turbo a run for his money, but he's doing a great job on the sand.

Now I also have hair algae. Like tall prairie grass flowing into the horizon. Even the hermit crabs are little walking hairy monsters. Best in show? Blue Tuxedo Urchin. The algae is still growing faster than he can eat it so I've had to help him out but does he ever eat it. And what he can't eat he wears as a hat! Always fashionable. If I didn't know that eventually the hair algae will pass I'd absolutely get another urchin.

But this is the thing. I know that once things balance out in the tank the algae will pass. My nano has rock and corals that are over a year old and I maybe clean the glass once a week. In the past that rock saw bryopsis, cyano, bubble algae, hair algae, diatoms, the works. There are many battles to be fought but one day the 50g will get there. The right CUC will make the journey easier.

So how much of a CUC do you have in your tank? We have a 40 gal with 2 urchins, 2 emerald crabs, 1 blue leg hermit, newly added halloween hermits, easy 10 nassarius snails and a yellow tang that loves to pick - but with all this the algae still exists.

 

[Maritimer]

220 gallon display with nitrites off the charts. The only corals are mushrooms and majanos - which was not my original intent.

Algae on the glass could be scraped every few days, should be scraped once a week - and if I don't scrape it in three weeks, it gets _very_ hard, tough, and challenging to remove. For a time, it was a thick, dense, flowing carpet of hair algae - it is no longer, because I've had (for months now) a tang trio; purple, yellow, and Indian Ocean squaretail. Additionally, there are several Astraea snails, a scattering of hermits, and two tuxedo urchins, so the rocks _appear_ clean - I'm aware that that's an illusion.

Sand, for a very long time, has been growing some kind of algae; cyano, brown, green. There is a tiger sand conch in the tank, but he can't keep up with the 220 gallon footprint. An edible and a tiger-tail sea-cucumber also try valiantly, but aren't capable of keeping the sand clean. Have recently added a bella sandgoby (did anyone else ever notice that they're almost exactly the same color as Talbot's damselfish?!), and within one week, the sand is white and an awful lot of the sediment contained within it is in the filter socks.

Working on increasing water changes and considering dosing vodka. ... Silly question ... Has anyone ever tried dosing vodka via their ATO?

~B.

 

[Rp8]

E-V-E-R-Y-D-A-Y!...OMG! Turf algae is a real pain!