My algae tank - New thread

[Anonymous]

I have tried the blenny.

I thought about trying a tuxedo urchin.

Mexican turbos are not astrea- correct?
_________________
BMW Z3

 

[Anonymous]

Right, they are Turbin snails.

IMO Urchins are the masters of algae consumption.

 

[MitchMc]

I have tried the blenny.

I thought about trying a tuxedo urchin.

Mexican turbos are not astrea- correct?

I have an idea, collect some (well lots) of your slime alge and go down to yours favorite LFS at feeding time. Talk to the manager explain you situation and then see if he/she will let you feed the slime to a couple of
the tanks . See who (fish types) eats it then buy them :!:

then you will know you have a lawnmower :lol:

I would love to say this was my idea bit found it in the Koral mag

 

[reefnut1]

There's a guy on RC that is selling some algae eating snails. He swears they have cleaned up his tank. Very reasonable. He is on the selling forum. Might better check with him before he sells out. Got pics showing them eating the algae. Good Luck!

 

[Phil D]

The best tanks with the best equipment and all the tests at 0 may sometimes get H.A and it's no use to try to figure out why, you'll end up in cuckoo-land.
Just treat the problem by first scrubbing your rocks with a very hard brush and in FRESH water for a few minutes. This will not kill any coralline algae on the rocks or any creatures in the rocks, and do not worry if your water goes turbid for a while, a cyclone on the G.B.R will do this 1000 times more than you ever can do, and the reef survives this very well every year.
Once your rocks is clean add a few dozen turbo snails but no crabs if you want to keep your snails alive, and for a permanent solution buy a few thousand brisstle worms from specialised suppliers, and you will solve your problem for ever. It's very simple, when you do what you have to do!!! Stop talking, and start working.

 

[GSchiemer]

The best tanks with the best equipment and all the tests at 0 may sometimes get H.A and it's no use to try to figure out why, you'll end up in cuckoo-land.
Just treat the problem by first scrubbing your rocks with a very hard brush and in FRESH water for a few minutes. This will not kill any coralline algae on the rocks or any creatures in the rocks, and do not worry if your water goes turbid for a while, a cyclone on the G.B.R will do this 1000 times more than you ever can do, and the reef survives this very well every year.
Once your rocks is clean add a few dozen turbo snails but no crabs if you want to keep your snails alive, and for a permanent solution buy a few thousand brisstle worms from specialised suppliers, and you will solve your problem for ever. It's very simple, when you do what you have to do!!! Stop talking, and start working.

I don't agree with a lot of this advice.

First, I can assure you that "scrubbing your rocks with a very hard brush and in FRESH water for a few minutes" WILL KILL EVERYTHING on and in the rocks and they will have to be re-cycled. Some coralline algae is so sensitive that it will die if exposed to air for a few minutes! "Cyclones" may cause some mechanical damage to a reef but freshwater will kill everything down to the bacteria.

Bristle worms are detritivores or carnivores but certainly NOT herbivores and will do NOTHING to aide in the removal of hair algae.

Greg

 

[Phil D]

Another "advanced" aquarist distributing nonsense.
What I have said before I have done and experienced dozens of times, in my own tanks and in hundreds of tanks I serviced. Coralline can stay in fresh water for an HOUR without dying, and if you do not believe it, just do it, and then you will see for yourself, and yes it will die much faster if dry.
As for bacteria they can go from fresh to saltwater and vice versa and for periods of months, and I have done this for 10 years and every month on seafood tanks I was servicing without any problems. Living things with almost no biomass will not suffer from salinity shocks, as the fresh water has no time to penetrate them.
And the bristle worms here down under must be a special species because they really keep those rocks clean as I do not have anything else in the tanks that could otherwqise do it.
When I was farming soft corals in Cairns I had seventeen large boxes with high nitrates and phosphates with 21000 polyps and millions of bristle worms and absolutely no hairy algae in any of the boxes which on top were in straight sunlight.
Please Greg, stop dreaming and get some real practical experience on a few hundred tanks before giving "advanced" advise on things you have not done. What I tell you may not be in the "books", but it is reality!

 

[Anonymous]

Phil D

:welcome:

We welcome you to share your opinions, but kindly ask you to not use aggressive language and personal slights. Besides possibly violating the User Agreement, such language minimizes your points and experiences - and they both sound interesting.

Thanks for understanding!

 

[Anonymous]

I have seen herbivourous Bristleworm. I believe there are quire a few. I think saying the Bristleworms will eat your algae would be mistaken. It you can find some species that eat hair algae that's great and I say go for it but the diet varies wildly by genus.

I'm hesitant to respond to the freshwater. In my experience it will ruin the rock. I don't think it will kill all bacteria but it will definately put a dent in the animals in the rock which I believe are crucial for proper filtration.

 

[Anonymous]

I've just kind of skimmed this thread, but the first picture looks like dinoflagellates to me.

 

[Phil D]

Sorry Righty, I really apologise if I have used agressive language even if I can't see where, but I will not just sit there and watch somebody calling me a liar without actually using the word while he obviously does not know what he is talking about, and if the truth hurts, too bad.
My observations are based on real hands-on practical experience over many years on many tanks with as many different filter systems, and I learned most my experience by trial and error, and I do not need to be a scientist to see when something works or doesn't, even if many times I do not know the scientific explanation for what I observe and conclude.
Most reef hobbyists just want a nice reeftank whithout too many headaches, and for them practical tips that will give good results are more important than "advanced" discussions that go nowhere, because poor Rob seem to be none the wiser after 7 pages and 129 replies to his question.
When I see this kind of discussion going on forever, I sometimes give my opinion and others are free to use and try, or keep doing it the hard way. Everybody can make their own choice, as for me I will always choose the easier way if there is one!

 

[GSchiemer]

Coralline can stay in fresh water for an HOUR without dying, and... As for bacteria they can go from fresh to saltwater and vice versa and for periods of months,...

You must have some very special bacteria down under that defy known science.

How about the fish and corals? Can they also stay in freshwater for months without dying or is it just the microscopic life that survives such harsh conditions? :lol:

 

[Phil D]

No Greg, those bacteria are also sold in the U.S as start-up, some in liquid form, some in dry powder form and if I am not mistaken most brands will mention that they can be used in both fresh or salt water, so I really do not understand your concept of known science. I remember one American brand even having a patent for their stuff.
For coralline algae the longest test I have done was on a protein skimmer that was covered with it, dipped it in fresh water for 24 hours, and still about 3-5% of coralline algae survived this.
And again, sorry to dissapoint you, we indeed have several species of fish wich can survive in fresh and seawater, the most famous one being the Baramundi fish, lives his live in rivers but go to sea for spawning. Juveniles of this species can be switched from fresh to sea-water and vice versa in about one hour. Others are the mullet and the archer fish. In the US all eels will spawn in the Atlantic Ocean but live their life in riversand lakes, and this is very well known and documented science !!!!!!!!

 

[Anonymous]

Most reef hobbyists just want a nice reeftank whithout too many headaches, and for them practical tips that will give good results are more important than "advanced" discussions that go nowhere,

Phil D, just a friendly heads up........................
This is all General Reef Discussion if you want Advanced Discussion you must venture [cough cough*elsewhere*cough cough] to a very different bb. Which btw, RDO is nothing like. 8)

 

[Anonymous]

No Greg, those bacteria are also sold in the U.S as start-up, some in liquid form, some in dry powder form and if I am not mistaken most brands will mention that they can be used in both fresh or salt water, so I really do not understand your concept of known science. I remember one American brand even having a patent for their stuff.

Any idea how freshwater effects the bacteria that are actually in our tanks - a opposed to what is in the bottle.

For coralline algae the longest test I have done was on a protein skimmer that was covered with it, dipped it in fresh water for 24 hours, and still about 3-5% of coralline algae survived this.

3-5% seems pretty dismal. What have you seen with shorter dips?

And again, sorry to dissapoint you, we indeed have several species of fish wich can survive in fresh and seawater, the most famous one being the Baramundi fish, lives his live in rivers but go to sea for spawning. Juveniles of this species can be switched from fresh to sea-water and vice versa in about one hour. Others are the mullet and the archer fish. In the US all eels will spawn in the Atlantic Ocean but live their life in riversand lakes, and this is very well known and documented science !!!!!!!!

True, but I don't believe that those attributes are shared with the fish and corals we keep in our tanks.

 

[Phil D]

Bacteria in reef or marine tanks are not affected at all by sudden fresh-water dips , short or longterm, and I have had the proof of this dozens of time. 100% of our Coralline algae will survive one hour dips, but other creatures in the rocks should not be exposed more than 1- 2 minutes, if they are supposed to stay alive..
Our reef fish will indeed not survive any length of time in freshwater and I never said they would. I was only saying that some of the fish we keep in tanks can, and here down under our Baramundi is an icon, and we are very sorry if our bacteria don't die when they should or our bristelworms don't know they are not supposed to eat hairy algae.
Remember we live upside down and do not like to do everything by the book, we do it by hook and by crook!

 

[ChrisRD]

I really apologise if I have used agressive language even if I can't see where

I think responding to another poster with: "Another "advanced" aquarist distributing nonsense.", or, "Please Greg, stop dreaming and get some real practical experience on a few hundred tanks before giving "advanced" advise on things you have not done" is probably not the best way to promote civil discussion. :wink: I'm interested, as I'm sure others are, to hear about your experiences/opinions, but please try to keep it civil.

but I will not just sit there and watch somebody calling me a liar without actually using the word while he obviously does not know what he is talking about, and if the truth hurts, too bad.

I don't see where Greg called you a liar. Personally, I think you're overreacting to someone that's simply disagreeing with your opinion. This format can be a difficult form of communication and sometimes a short or direct response can come across with "attitude" even though it's not intended that way.

My observations are based on real hands-on practical experience over many years on many tanks with as many different filter systems, and I learned most my experience by trial and error, and I do not need to be a scientist to see when something works or doesn't

Keep in mind that there are many here with lots of experience around the hobby/industry. Greg is a well known and respected author/speaker in the reefkeeping hobby here in the US and certainly knows what he's talking about. If you can, get your hands on a copy of the book "Ultimate Marine Aquariums" by Mike Paletta, turn to pages 36-39 and you'll see one of Greg's tanks - a beautiful 500 gallon reef that's about 16 years old.

Most reef hobbyists just want a nice reeftank whithout too many headaches, and for them practical tips that will give good results are more important than "advanced" discussions that go nowhere.

Many hobbyists have those headache-free setups because of ideas/knowledge shared in these discussions.

 

[ChrisRD]

Hey, BTW Righty, nice hair style you picked-up in Tonga... ...octolocks!:lol:

 

[Ben1]

Come one guys keep this 7 page thread on track, its not about exposing coralline to fresh water it is about helping Rob.

Mine dies if it hits freshwater everytime even for less then a few minutes., Maybe the aussies tap there water with some salt :lol:

I still think I would recure the rock in the dark in saltwater and add a ozonator on a controller.

 

[Phil D]

That's exactly what I was trying to do, giving Rob an easy, economical, instant and practical safe solution that works, but that does not seem to be the right way, and some time in the future maybe we will hear Robs despair again when his controller on his ozonator will have "caught a virus" and really "cooked" everything. (Murphy's law) Only Rob can decide which way he wants to go.
Good luck on you Rob, I think you'r gone need it.
BTW we have beer on tap here, not water. Over and out!