Featured Questions below.

www.garf.org/reefjanitors.html

What types of algae control do you use in your coral tanks?

Like many others, I use a combination of snails and small hermit crabs. There is one animal I use that is fantastic for hair algae control; the Sailfin Tang.

I used to have quite a hair algae problem, and while the snails of various types along with the hermits did their share of algae control, the Sailfin Tang by far did the most to eradicate hair algae from my tank.

( Natural Algae control Click HERE )M

m Question.............My name is Marc Balsalobre and I'm a 23 year old college student at the University Of Cincinnati and have taken up the expensive hobby of a reef tank. My setup consists of the following: 55 gallon tank wet dry with 10 gallon sump Rio 2100 pump for wet dry return Marine Tech. Concepts Pro 4500-S Skimmer 2-VHO 110 watt, 1 actinic, 1 super actinic set approximately 5 inches off the water two power heads, 1 behind the rocks at the bottom middle of the tank, the other at the top on the opposite end of the intake box for the w/d. A Kent Bare Bones TFC 10 g.p.d. RO filter for top off and water changes Ever since I've taken this up I've had little luck achieving the kind of luck and beauty I've seen with tanks at Pet stores and on the Internet. The tank as described above has been running in it's current form for about a year now except for the RO unit which was purchased about four months ago. Before that a cheaper water filter was used. I have all soft corals many of which have died. Namely two finger corals which were in the tank for a year and a beautiful umbrella coral which I had for a year and was doing fine but slowly died over the course of a few months. I have many mushroom corals but non expand or open much and never have grown overly big. They are budding new ones and spreading however. The main problem, however, is somehow I introduced this horrid bubble algae that has taken the entire tank over. It looks like green grapes of all sizes and literally has covered everything. My maintenance of the tank is minimal. I do a water change about every 3 or 4 months of about ten gallons and don't add additives to the water anymore because I didn't see any improvements before when I did. There are 3 very small fish in the tank, 2 damsels and a clown and they get fed every other day with frozen brine shrimp. Do you have any suggestions as to what I should do or change to be more successful with my tank and do you have a solution to this bubble algae. I just cleaned the entire tank and did a water change for the last time to rid most of the algae out. But I know it will be back!! Thanks for your time,   Marc. Answer......... Snails and hermit crabs are good algae control, but the best algae control is accomplished by maintaining good water quality. By keeping consistent feeding regiments and keeping filter media changed and clean algae growth should not become overwhelming. I  use a protein skimmer also, by removing protein before it becomes ammonia this reduces the amount of fertilizer for the algae to grow out of control. Algae at a moderate level is healthy for a marine tank. Blennies and tangs are also good algae grazing animals. Turbo snails are excellent  algae grazers, they are helpful when you have an over profusion of algae.Good lighting is also an important factor I recommend the Coralife 50/50 (50% actinic bulb). Remember brine shrimp are like feeding your fish pizza, you should be using a quality flake food like Andre' special blend to really give them the essential diet they need.. Andre's Special Blend is a special formula which contains all the necessary nutrients, vitamins and minerals your fish need to be healthy and vibrant. The one thing that strikes me the most about your situation is the long period of time between water changes. Corals are very sensitive too high gas levels and the excessive growth of your bubble algae indicate to me that your gas levels have gone high. Yes corals require nutrients in the water but to much is detrimental. The algae respond to high levels of nitrates and the corals are often invaded by blankets of out of control algae growth. When you mentioned your last water change it sounds like you may have torn the tank down completely, this also can add to the problem by destroying any nitrifying bacteria that have already been cultured. Try doing more frequent water changes and see if your corals start to show signs of recovery. also do use some kind of nutrient additive as they do help it is just not clearly visible especially if the conditions of the water will not allow the corals to prosper in the first place. Good water + nutrients and trace elements= healthy coral. Good Luck "The Aquarium Doctor" Question...........Thanks for all the helpful information on both the Club's pages and the Aquarium Doctor. I've read it all and copied much of the text to a Word file for easy searches. Three weeks ago, I replaced a 55 gallon plexi tank and thought I did a pretty good job keeping the tropical water quality and undergravel sludge intact. It was able to keep 40% of the water and had the gravel out of the old tank and into the new tank with water moving through the undergravel filter in about 1.5 hours Still, the algae took over almost immediately. I've done one 20% water change (routine) and plan on changing the charcoal bag in the overhang filter to deal with any ammonia problems. The lighting is a standard cool white 36" and have ordered a replacement GE aquarium and gro bulb. I suspect the problem isn't the ammonia but the nitrates. The good news is no fish loss. Is it time to get a nitrate test and a better (more expensive) floro bulb like the 50/50. You mentioned "strong and new lighting (change fluorescent bulbs every 10 months)" but without any indication of what was meant by strong. The cool white bulb was new to this tank and is left on only during the day, about 8 hours. What do you think? The nitrates or the lighting? Thanks and keep up the great work.    Jeff Locke Jeff.... I think it is a combination of both. High levels of nitrates in conjunction with high levels of ultra-violet wave lengths can create a lot of algae growth in a short amount of time. Remember algae itself is not a bad thing, it is an abundance of algae that indicates to me at one time there were excessive organic nutrients in the aquarium. Much of these nutrients may already be metabolized down to nitrates, so therefore several small water changes in a row should start to reverse the conditions that lead to your algae bloom. While in the regiment of changing your water you may want to cut back your light levels for awhile. a 50/50 bulb would have positive effects only after your nitrifying bacteria are metabolizing the wastes instead of your algae population. You will know this is happening when your algae ceases to grow back at its previous rate. Algae control is sometimes a frustrating job of the aquarium. Several scrapings or brushing of the glass may need to be done, but by doing this on a regular basis it will not grow back as quickly. If the algae begins to make the water green use carbon in your filter system and change it on a three day basis until the algae is gone. "The Aquarium Doctor" Opinions expressed are based on personal experiences and knowledge that gained through books and practical application.   55 years of experience.

M Question...........Hello, my name is Michael Buszuwski and I have been an owner of a 30 gallon fresh water aquarium for roughly a year now. The tank is heavily planted with live plants, most of which are Amazon Swords, and I have between 15-20 community fish (danio, mollies, neon tetras, hatchet). I am using an aquaclear 200 filter with all three filter inserts, and a normal airpump. Three months ago a mollie gave birth to some babies, 2 of which I was able to save and isolate in a "breeder tank" in which they still reside. About that time though an outbreak of a kind of "plant eating" fuzzy black algae has started to form on all the plants. The algae seems to attach to the plants at their edges, and resembles little black hairs . I have since added some new plants, done several water changes, and have "vacuumed" the gravel many times in an attempt to slow or stop the proliferation of the algae; all to no avail. At this point I am unsure exactly what the "black stuff" is, why it is proliferating, and how to get rid of it, and perusing the web for an answer I came across your web-page, so I am hoping you can help me. Sincerely,   Michael Answer..........Michael.... Your algae problem could have something to do with your lighting. If you light bulb is very old it may not be illuminating like it did when it was new. the wavelength it is putting off may be promoting this algae growth. I have seen this algae and it can be scraped off the plants very gently. Also turn off the light a little more than you may have been turning it off in the past. Continue doing the hydrocleaning like you have been, this is a good practice. Nutrient levels may have gone high in your tank to lead up to this black algae. Don't panic this problem can be reversed. If some of the leaves of your swordplants should go completely black, remove these leaves gently at the base of the leaf. Swordplants are very resilient plants and should be able to make the recovery. "The Aquarium Doctor" Question.........My 10 gallon tank turned green 2-3 days after I changed the water and the rocks. My pet shop said drain it down to about 2 inches and put in fresh water. I did and within 2-3 days it happened again. What is it that's turning my water so cloudy green and how do I stop it? Thank You, Barbara Answer..........Barbara....What you are experiencing is a green algae bloom. These are free floating algae. many are what are known as eugleanas or diatoms. These algae often grow in response to high gas levels. One thing you did not mention is how old your aquarium is. If your aquarium is fairly new you may need to give it time to cycle. Apparently there is more organic material in the tank then it can decompose with its natural bacteria bed thus the algae blooms. Excess organic material is most often created by overfeeding or plants or fish dying off and not being removed immediately. Too large a water change may be very detrimental for your tank because it does not allow the bacteria to become established in a strong manner. Start populating your tank slowly and do small 25% water changes once a week until the water starts to clear. The algae itself is not bad for the fish, but the conditions that led to the green algae can be very harmful. Let me know how your tank progresses. "The Aquarium Doctor" Question......I have a question regarding excessive algae growth... My reef tank is covered with brown, red , as well as green algae..... and is taking it over. My levels are good, except ph is a little high. 8.6 ish. I did a h2o change and have algae again. ever since I added more light.....???? I have a 55g with one light a 80w twin strip with blue &full. Another hood 40w with two 2 ft bulbs. white spectrum> 120w total light? I have done some reading and keep a close eye on the tank. I don't have a skimmer, but only about 35lbs of rock. help????? Thank You, Lisa Answer.......... The brown algae usually grows in response to rising levels of Ammonia and Nitrites. These gases will be present at some time in order to complete the natural process of waste reduction. When more of these gases are simplified to Nitrates is when a majority of your green algae appear. . If you want to help decrease the green algae get a few turbo snails, also algae blennies, tangs or the red hermit crabs will graze on the green algae. Good lighting is also an important factor I recommend the Coralife 50/50 (50% actinic bulb). Snails and hermit crabs are good algae control, but the best algae control is accomplished by maintaining good water quality. By keeping consistent feeding regiments and keeping filter media changed and clean algae growth should not become overwhelming. I also use a protein skimmer, by removing protein before it becomes ammonia this reduces the amount of fertilizer for the algae to grow out of control. Algae at a moderate level is healthy for a marine tank. Blennies and tangs are also good algae grazing animals. ( Natural Algae control Click HERE ) "The Aquarium Doctor" Question....... I am going to add some turbo snails to my aquarium in the future (2) but I suspect they will not be able to handle the buildup. I do a 20% water change about every 3 weeks. I clean the foam cartridge in my BioLife every week. I also add 1 teaspoon of ProClear (it kills nitrate) every 2 weeks. I am cutting down on the proclear. Tonight's readings of my aquarium are: Temperature:74 F pH: 8.3 Specific Gravity: 1.023 Ammonia: 0.5 Is there anything wrong with my readings? I know about the salt, I am gradually dropping it to 1.021 because that is easy to maintain rather than 1.022. How many turbo snails should I add? I appreciate any advice you can give me. Thanks for your help, JIM Answer.........    Jim!!!! Hi , I am concerned about the placement of your protein skimmer. Protein accumulates as an oil slick at the surface, so your intake for your skimmer should be close to the surface. This might also explain your ammonia reading, as extracting the protein efficiently cuts down on the amount of protein converted to ammonia. You mentioned you had some chemical that is supposed to eliminate Nitrates. You used the word kill (nitrates are not alive, they are a by product of the metabolism of nitrobacters strains of bacteria). I am not a big believer in any product that says it will eliminate nitrates as it is the most difficult of the gases to reduce. Denitra filters seem to work the best to eliminate high levels of nitrates. There are several denitrifiers on the market these days, but I am not familiar with them. The best way to eliminate or minimize Nitrates is to culture a healthy green algae population and perform partial water changes on a regular basis. It sounds like you are already doing this. Turbo snails are good algae grazers, but I think they only are helpful when you have an over profusion of algae otherwise a tank totally lacking algae may not have a means of reducing nitrates as efficiently as it could. Hope these ideas are useful to you and write back to tell us how your aquarium is doing. "The Aquarium Doctor" Question...........Dear Aquarium Doctor, what exactly does the plecostomus(?) eat? Are they algae eaters, or bottom feeders, or both? Scott Rinehart Answer........Scott....Plecostomus are primarily an algae eating fish. Although they will eat other things besides algae alone. They will suck flakes off the bottom at times or work a piece of larger food like krill. Also plecostomus can make quick work of certain plants like swordplants and many other finer plants. I have however kept plecostomus in planted tanks and they never even took interest in anything but algae. "The Aquarium Doctor"

Received from the diver himself

Dale Barger, member

Gulfview Marine     Live Rock ,    We have four classes of Live Rock...   Gorgonians & Sponges,    based on availability...  Gulf Sand , Taken next to natural reefs... Inverts, Crabs & Snails, etc...great algae janitors

Gulfview Wholesale Marine specializes in Aquaculture, Live Rock, Gulf Sand, Gargonian, Coral, Sponges, Snails, and Crabs. Since 1988, Gulfview has been a live rock harvester and established a solid reputation for the quality to which they are committed. We strive for quality... not quantity. Gulfview is one of the few aquaculturalists permitted by the government to harvest rock specifically grown for the marine aquarium in the Gulf of Mexico. Members will receive a 10% discount off their purchase.