Any sweet SPS tanks out there WITH algae?

[foshizzle]

A while back I added some fish and increased feedings with great results. I've noticed that as my colors have continued to improve I've also started growing algae where there was none before.

I know a lot people see algae growth as a sign of problems in an SPS system, but I'd like to see some thriving SPS tanks WITH algae...

(please detail your herbivore crew as well)

[King-Kong]

There's an important thing to remember; even on the reef, there is a lot of macro algae growth.

And even in successful SPS tanks, there is a lot of algae growth. The thing is, you have to be sure to maintain a high grazing level.

That's why a lot of SPS guys go with lots of tangs and other fish which will graze.

I have about 15 Astrea snails in my tank who do wonders with brown films and a purple tang (and a recently added 2" hippo tang). I do have a red turf algae which grows, but you'd think it was a corraline algae because my purple tang is constantly grazing on it, so it never gets a chance to get any kind of distance away from the rock.

[foshizzle]

well said...

[jay24k]

I only get hair algae on my overflows which is normal. I do have 4 tangs in my tank so they do pick quite a bit also. I'm a BIG believer in snails though. I generally have around 60 to 80 snails at any time of the astreas and about 10 mexican turbos. Also a few conchs and ceriths and nassarius. I only keep about 10 red legs though.

[trueblackpercula]

how many of these tank have sand? Nit trying to bash i was looking into adding sand to my BB tank.
Michael

[zuzecawi]

I keep a nice small growth of algae in my tank. I like it, I get strange macros going sometimes, and when the blenny grazes them to nothing I add more gracilaria. I think the copepod population has skyrocketed since I quit keeping such a sterile tank, and since my mandarin dragonet is my favorite fish, that's a good thing! My sps are all doing well, putting on good growth and gorgeous colors. But I do weekly water changes to keep the algal growth from getting out of control. I have for algae critters:
Lawnmower/Jeweled Blenny
several conchs,
several redlegs and blue legs hermits
more nassarius than I remember (I added 100, maybe half are still alive after hermit wars)
a giant mexican turbo that I'd love to catch someday,
a few astreas
several stomatellas
several bumblebees
several nerites
several neriths
several limpets
the ubiquitious asterinas stars.

[Shawnts106]

I have a bit of hair algae that grows in my overflow, near the spill over... but thats about it

Right now I have a species of Cynobacteria called Phormidium that is gone wild, strangly enough I have researched it and found that it only grows in nutrient poor systems that are brightly lit... GO FIGURE! rrrrrrr

The only things good at eatting it are Tricolor Hermits.

[my2girls]

Foshizzle- great thread topic. I always find it hard to get good color without algae. To be honest, I would rather have mediocre color and no algae. As I get more experienced, I find myself looking at the tank and trying to find faults with it, rather than enjoying the corals. It seems like it's almost not acceptable to have any algae in the tank at all.

[Gary Majchrzak]

corallines are alga....
but I think you mean only greens or browns (?)

[foshizzle]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9319195#post9319195 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by King-Kong
There's an important thing to remember; even on the reef, there is a lot of macro algae growth.

And even in successful SPS tanks, there is a lot of algae growth. The thing is, you have to be sure to maintain a high grazing level.

That's why a lot of SPS guys go with lots of tangs and other fish which will graze.



So where are the benefits coming from?

Are the higher levels of dissolved nutrients in the water nourishing the coral?
OR
Are the corals benefiting more indirectly from feeding on herbivore poo and microfauna?

[dvanacker]

My bubble aglae has really picked up lately.....but so has my SPS colors. I have been feeding more as well.....seems like a hard balancing act. I was thinking tonight, why are we always so concerned about the smallest algae's?? It's like you've failed if you can have a 100% algae free tank.

[gasman059]

how many of these tank have sand? Nit trying to bash i was looking into adding sand to my BB tank.
stay d course mr barebottom u'll get there lol:smokin:

[OnlyCrimson]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9319942#post9319942 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dvanacker
My bubble aglae has really picked up lately.....but so has my SPS colors. I have been feeding more as well.....seems like a hard balancing act. I was thinking tonight, why are we always so concerned about the smallest algae's?? It's like you've failed if you can have a 100% algae free tank.


Good way of looking at it. Everything in this world is balanced. Just need to find that balance.

[reefgeek84]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9319195#post9319195 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by King-Kong
There's an important thing to remember; even on the reef, there is a lot of macro algae growth.

And even in successful SPS tanks, there is a lot of algae growth. The thing is, you have to be sure to maintain a high grazing level.

That's why a lot of SPS guys go with lots of tangs and other fish which will graze.

I have about 15 Astrea snails in my tank who do wonders with brown films and a purple tang (and a recently added 2" hippo tang). I do have a red turf algae which grows, but you'd think it was a corraline algae because my purple tang is constantly grazing on it, so it never gets a chance to get any kind of distance away from the rock.

This is very true...people always seem to judge a tank based on algae...You could have the best looking corals and if there is algae people comment on it.

Algae is on the reef all over the place, or else alot of species would not be around.

My girlfriend just tonight commented, that she really likes my marbles in my tank...marbles aka bubble algae, she says they are beautiful...so really it just depends on who you talk to...

[twon8]

i grow chaeto out my ...

i have algea in my tank, mostly red filemtous that my powder brown and lmb take car of. i also recently noticed some kind of green algae growing.

normally anywhere the pods can get to gets cleaned of algae

[murphreef]

i keep cheato and caulerpa in my sump which grows crazy but i have some hair algae in there too on some of the LR rubble.... i also have some brown diatoms on my shallow sand bed.... not a lot but still enough to be noticed... i have a large bloom of halimeda on a rock that some how developed from a hitchicker and now is growing relatively fast...

my 2 yellow tangs and large lawn mower blenny take care of pickin the rocks clean from other forms of algaes.... i have a bubble algae here and there too but they kinda look cool....

i feed my fish pretty heavily and all my sps corals look awesome... i dont have too much of a clean up crew maybe about 20 hermits and 6 medium astrea snails in my 180G tank and thats it.... oh wait i do have a large4" abalone that came in years ago as a hitchicker about the size of a penny hes out every night munching so he probably does a really good job on the algaes

[jeffbrig]

I don't know if I'm ready to throw the "sweet" label on it (yet), but I have a growing collection of SPS and I do have a macroalgae (Dictyota dichotoma) that does pretty well in my tank.

You can see patches on top of the rocks in this picture:
http://home.comcast.net/~jbrigman/pics/green_tenuis_2_9_07.jpg

For whatever reason, my 4 tangs (achilles, PBT, yellow, purple) don't eat it it, nor any of my snails. Another experienced reefkeeper told me he has seen Moorish Idols eat it, but I'm not ready to push my luck with those.

It grows in easily removed clumps, which I pull every once in a while, but I have never really tried to eradicate it. It's actually VERY good at helping to attach frag plugs. I figure it's a form of easy nutrient export when pruned.

Other algae growth is pretty limited in the tank. No bubble algae, no hair algae anywhere. I keep a small ball of chaeto in the sump, but it's pretty slow growing, and I rarely wipe down the sides (usually when coralline dots start forming every few weeks).

[Vanquish]

I have lots of red nuisance algae... but last I tasted, my water's salty! :D

[jeffbrig]

Very punny :D

[Lunchbucket]

i have tried running very very sterile and my bryopsis still grew and my sps were very light and stopped growing a little i think. i upped my feedings a LOT and added about 2 more fish in my 58gal. since then my SPS have picked up in colors. i added a fuge w/ some cheato w/ a strong bulbs and it has grown well and the bryopsis has slowed a lot. it isn't anchored in the rock as well either. so not sure if it is dieing off but i can only hope.

those who do run a fuge w/ cheato do you run reverse cycle or 24/7??

i do have some cyano that grows on some shaded spots of my rock too :(

Lunchbucket

[toothman]

I will second the lawn mower blenny, I have one in a large tank and have almost 0 algae and feed my tank daily. Yes the blenny's stomach is always buldging with food. The blenny is really interesting also with its rolling eyes and moving head.

[trueblackpercula]

Lunchbucket
bryopsis still grew
I am starting to get this as well is there anything that eats it?
Michael

[King-Kong]

I had it and threw a lot of lettuce nudibranchs at it. They would only eat the top leafy parts, leaving the green stems behind (went through about 6 lettuce nudis).

Finally, I heard about doliatus and virgatus rabbitfish. Grabbed one, and man did that guy rock! Ate up my bryopsis like it was candy, and TAUGHT my purple tang (who hadnt been touching it) to eat it. Bryopsis all gone.

[Brock Fluharty]

I've had lettuce nudibranch's, and they are cool looking, but they seem very delicate, and smaller than you'd think.

[foshizzle]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9321700#post9321700 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Lunchbucket

those who do run a fuge w/ cheato do you run reverse cycle or 24/7??
Lunchbucket

reverse. chaeto grows better with a dark period unlike caulerpa

A sea hare is the best algae eater I have seen. Eats everything (except for this red hair stuff?) and drops large pellets that can easily be siphoned off, but my lawnmower may be my favorite fish

[reefdood]

I have some weird macro that pops up around the tank, but it's sparce, short, kinda cool and not bad looking at all. Good places for my Rainfordi to pick and eat. I have no har algae, cyano, or bryopsis, nor have I even experienced those on this tank.

Cooking rock and sand for a year = no algae cycle for me. :)

[reefgeek84]

I got a foxface to eat bryopsis, did an awesome job. Lettuce nudis do ok and my seahare does alright as well, but the best thing I have are the astera snails!! If you really watch them, they take clean the algae down to fresh rock, I really think they are the best cleaners in the tank.

[poknsnok]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9320837#post9320837 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jeffbrig
I don't know if I'm ready to throw the "sweet" label on it (yet), but I have a growing collection of SPS and I do have a macroalgae (Dictyota dichotoma) that does pretty well in my tank.

You can see patches on top of the rocks in this picture:
http://home.comcast.net/~jbrigman/pics/green_tenuis_2_9_07.jpg

For whatever reason, my 4 tangs (achilles, PBT, yellow, purple) don't eat it it, nor any of my snails. Another experienced reefkeeper told me he has seen Moorish Idols eat it, but I'm not ready to push my luck with those.

It grows in easily removed clumps, which I pull every once in a while, but I have never really tried to eradicate it. It's actually VERY good at helping to attach frag plugs. I figure it's a form of easy nutrient export when pruned.

Other algae growth is pretty limited in the tank. No bubble algae, no hair algae anywhere. I keep a small ball of chaeto in the sump, but it's pretty slow growing, and I rarely wipe down the sides (usually when coralline dots start forming every few weeks).

My Naso tang took care of my dictyota problem. Dictyota isnt a result of nutrient issues. it likes good water quality... I hate the stuff

[supervdl]

can we see some more pics of tanks with SPS & Macro?

[reefdood]

old old pics...1999-2000-2001???
http://members.cox.net/apicone/tank/pic10.JPG

http://members.cox.net/apicone/tank/MVC-002F.JPG

http://members.cox.net/apicone/tank/1MVC-004F.JPG

http://members.cox.net/apicone/tank/002

[foshizzle]

Dood,
Any problems with that twinspot wrasse?

[reefgeek84]

I have Blue Planet: Seas of Life recorded on my DVR, I was just watching the Coral Seas one and they were talking about how the top section of the reef has a layer of algae...so for anyone who says that tanks should have no algae or think it is a bad thing, needs to take a dive on a reef and take a close look...Like I said, algae is stable for many animals in the ocean, there is a reason why it is there...

[Gary Majchrzak]

I believe it's somewhere around 80% of a wild reef's biomass is composed of algae.

[Green Thumb]

Good thread!! Im glad to see people talking about this. Ive also spent some time on reefs, LOTS AND LOTS OF ALGEA!!!!!

Ive always let quite a bit of algea grow in my tanks. The last few tanks I set up, I had a fuge with cheato growing right from the start. Im sure it has helped me avoid outbreaks of other algeas in my tanks. This was a good way to keep everything under control, in return I dont spend too much time worrying about 2 or 3 little patches of hair algea I have in my display, I actualy leave them there purposely hoping that my tang will eat some and that pods will thrive in it.

One more thing, looking at a tank that has some algea in it is cool because it gives you aninteresting contrast in colours, looking at alot of tanks out there, alot of what ou see is blue and purple, love those colours, but put a nice GREEN patch of halimeda beside that blue stag, and it just makes the blue stag look even BLUER!!



I dont want macros to take over and smother corals of course, but the reality is, they do live in harmony together out in nature and it seems my tanks do better with algea present.

[nava405]

i gotta post this one.. is crazy, and i still can't believe all his SPS still alive and colorful
http://p25.fish.to/upload/JPG25/P1010042-1.JPG
http://p25.fish.to/upload/JPG25/15_1816.JPG
http://p25.fish.to/upload/JPG25/P1010122-1.JPG
http://p25.fish.to/upload/JPG25/P1010108-1.JPG
http://p25.fish.to/upload/JPG25/15_1816_21.JPG

[jackson6745]

Looks like he ordered a box of corals and threw them in his algae filled tank. For the most part, SPS tanks with a lot of algae have high PO4 and tanks with high PO4 have a lot of brown corals.

[jocoxVT]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9387173#post9387173 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jackson6745
Looks like he ordered a box of corals and threw them in his algae filled tank. For the most part, SPS tanks with a lot of algae have high PO4 and tanks with high PO4 have a lot of brown corals.

Or theoretically couldnt it act as an in-tank fuge and therefore suck the PO4 out of the water faster then it can affect the coral.

[jackson6745]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9388215#post9388215 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jocoxVT
Or theoretically couldnt it act as an in-tank fuge and therefore suck the PO4 out of the water faster then it can affect the coral.

Ask yourself why it is growing in the first place :)

Chicken before the egg?:D

[supervdl]

and it's going to grow over the sps eventually

[reefgeek84]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9388215#post9388215 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jocoxVT
Or theoretically couldnt it act as an in-tank fuge and therefore suck the PO4 out of the water faster then it can affect the coral.

This is true...same reason people put cheato in their sump...People who have algae in their tank test po4 and it comes up zero, that is because it is in the algae.

Although that tank is to the extreme and I would not want that much...

[Jasonincuritiba]

anyone have an SPS tank with high nitrates?

[jackson6745]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9388768#post9388768 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Jasonincuritiba
anyone have an SPS tank with high nitrates?


me:)

[Tomoko Schum]

Did anyone noticed that the algae receded as the person added more corals to the tank? Corals (or their zoothanxellae) can compete with algae to some extent.

Tomoko

[reefdood]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9332281#post9332281 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by foshizzle
Dood,
Any problems with that twinspot wrasse?

Yes, in fact I had to trap him(big PITA) and remove him. He was a bastid child of the devil. Beautiful as a juvi, terrorist as he got older.

[Gary Majchrzak]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9389989#post9389989 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Tomoko Schum
Did anyone noticed that the algae receded as the person added more corals to the tank? Corals (or their zoothanxellae) can compete with algae to some extent.

Tomoko
Corals can compete with algae- and some corals are better than others at competing with algae. There are other factors involved too: environmental conditions and predation.
Nobody should come to the conclusion that adding more corals to an algae infested aquarium will make the algae recede. It's not that simple.

[reefgeek84]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9390658#post9390658 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Gary Majchrzak
Corals can compete with algae- and some corals are better than others at competing with algae. There are other factors involved too: environmental conditions and predation.
Nobody should come to the conclusion that adding more corals to an algae infested aquarium will make the algae recede. It's not that simple.

You beat me to it...this is very true...

[Green Thumb]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9390658#post9390658 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Gary Majchrzak
Corals can compete with algae- and some corals are better than others at competing with algae. There are other factors involved too: environmental conditions and predation.
Nobody should come to the conclusion that adding more corals to an algae infested aquarium will make the algae recede. It's not that simple.


Good points. Nobody should conclude that putting corals in an algea infested tank wil rid them of algea. But nonetheless Tomoko brings a very interesting observation, the algea IS receiding in the pictures posted by nava.

Corals along with the right predation and environemental conditions WILL outcompete algea!!!!!

I knew that:cool:

Thats why on my current set up, I didnt cook my rock. I chose rocks that were VERY well covered in coraline, Im positive that the more coraline I have right from the start with the right environmental conditions, I am immediately taking care of alot of nutrients and competing with any other type of algea. So my tank never went through a stage of looking like those pictures posted by nava:)

So indeed, adding a bunch of corals in a tank ridden with algea will HELP make algea recede providing as Gary said that proper environemental conditions are met. :)

[fishcraze2002]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9324008#post9324008 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by poknsnok
My Naso tang took care of my dictyota problem. Dictyota isnt a result of nutrient issues. it likes good water quality... I hate the stuff

which type of naso tang you have - the blond naso or the regular type? I have some of that algea in my tank now and looking for the right fish to clean these algea off.
Anyone else has good experience w/ the naso tang eating the dictyota algea? my yellow, purple and blue all don't eat that algea!!!:mad2:

[dvanacker]

Yes....I did. My tank was covered in dictyoto....my yellow tang did not touch it. Got a regular naso and it distroyed the problem in about a month or two. This was a small naso too....he went to town....I thought his stomach was going explode.

[RCS]

That's too funny...my 65 looked liked that first pic about 6 weeks ago, and now looks like the last pic. I waited until most of the hair algae was already in steady decline before putting in many corals though, so I don't know how much of an impact they would have made, as it's more likely the tank getting balanced out.

I let my "plague" algaes grow to the point where they stop, and then yank out as much as I can. All the nutrients tend to be bound up in them and I've never had a recurrance.

[Serioussnaps]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9319421#post9319421 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by trueblackpercula
how many of these tank have sand? Nit trying to bash i was looking into adding sand to my BB tank.
Michael

Hell hath frozen over. Of all of us BB'ers, would never have thought you to do such a thing!

BTW, I am considering a remote DSB.:smokin:

[Serioussnaps]

Anyone notice that some algaes grow in areas where the flow is the most turbulent(on the rock)?

It does in my tank which is contrary to everything I have read?

My foxface wont touch bryopsis. Also, i had a valonia problem which stemmed from using rock from an old nutrient rich, softie tank. My coralline has grown on top of all the valonia and it kills them due to lack of light...they just fall off and get siphoned out. I never thought it would go away, but it is!

[Green Thumb]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9409210#post9409210 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Serioussnaps
Hell hath frozen over. Of all of us BB'ers, would never have thought you to do such a thing!

BTW, I am considering a remote DSB.:smokin:

Wouldnt go without my remote DSB, nor my fuge for that matter.

[fishcraze2002]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9406503#post9406503 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dvanacker
Yes....I did. My tank was covered in dictyoto....my yellow tang did not touch it. Got a regular naso and it distroyed the problem in about a month or two. This was a small naso too....he went to town....I thought his stomach was going explode.

Thanks for the info!

[reefgeek84]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9409295#post9409295 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Serioussnaps
Anyone notice that some algaes grow in areas where the flow is the most turbulent(on the rock)?

It does in my tank which is contrary to everything I have read?

My foxface wont touch bryopsis. Also, i had a valonia problem which stemmed from using rock from an old nutrient rich, softie tank. My coralline has grown on top of all the valonia and it kills them due to lack of light...they just fall off and get siphoned out. I never thought it would go away, but it is!

I have noticed this as well...

[SEAFLOWERS]

I have a little at the top of my overflow that I just pinch off during waterchanges. I also just broke down my tank a few weeks ago and got rid of the bubble algae that had to have come in on a coral that I didn't spot. I also have the most curious purple/maroon macro algae that grows on the glass walls but not really on the rocks.

[zuzecawi]

You know, I had a visitor last night from Hawai'i and she really made my day. She looked over at my aquarium and clapped her hands and said "IT's perfect, it looks just like the real ocean in Hawai'i, I grew up swimming there." I asked her, "Even with the algae?" And she said "Oh yes, it looks just like it. The real ocean is just like that, you've done a wonderful job. How long did it take to grow?"
SO of course, my black little heart swelled to three times its normal size and we talked for an hour or so about the reefs off of Hawai'i. I thought it was pretty interesting, she said to her a lot of the aquariums people have look fake, because they don't have rock or algae in them. I showed her some pictures in the Ultimate Marine Aquariums book, and she said they were too crowded, too many kinds of different corals together and they didn't look right. She went on about how only having a few kinds of coral really spread out made my tank look more real.

It made me step back (AGAIN) and reassess once more my thoughts on a reef aquarium. I think it's true, so many people get so uptight with the whole algae thing that they forget what the real reef looks like. I have recently bought not just aquarium books, but a bunch of diving and marine biology texts, so that I can get a better idea of what I want to attain with the 135. I know that a lot of reefers are moving away from having a lot of liverock, in the hopes of building a living reefscape, but I'm wondering if maybe people aren't going too far in either direction, either way too much rock (like my 58 which has 200+lbs of rock vs the 135 with 240lbs of rock) or too little rock. Part of the attraction of a reef tank to me is the small things in the rock, and to me, the algae is part of that. Even the nuisancy looking stuff holds many cool little critters.

[dvanacker]

It's ok if it doesnt look like a real reef.......

as long as it looks better...!!! ;) J/K

I get what you are saying.

[reefgeek84]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9417343#post9417343 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by zuzecawi
You know, I had a visitor last night from Hawai'i and she really made my day. She looked over at my aquarium and clapped her hands and said "IT's perfect, it looks just like the real ocean in Hawai'i, I grew up swimming there." I asked her, "Even with the algae?" And she said "Oh yes, it looks just like it. The real ocean is just like that, you've done a wonderful job. How long did it take to grow?"
SO of course, my black little heart swelled to three times its normal size and we talked for an hour or so about the reefs off of Hawai'i. I thought it was pretty interesting, she said to her a lot of the aquariums people have look fake, because they don't have rock or algae in them. I showed her some pictures in the Ultimate Marine Aquariums book, and she said they were too crowded, too many kinds of different corals together and they didn't look right. She went on about how only having a few kinds of coral really spread out made my tank look more real.

It made me step back (AGAIN) and reassess once more my thoughts on a reef aquarium. I think it's true, so many people get so uptight with the whole algae thing that they forget what the real reef looks like. I have recently bought not just aquarium books, but a bunch of diving and marine biology texts, so that I can get a better idea of what I want to attain with the 135. I know that a lot of reefers are moving away from having a lot of liverock, in the hopes of building a living reefscape, but I'm wondering if maybe people aren't going too far in either direction, either way too much rock (like my 58 which has 200+lbs of rock vs the 135 with 240lbs of rock) or too little rock. Part of the attraction of a reef tank to me is the small things in the rock, and to me, the algae is part of that. Even the nuisancy looking stuff holds many cool little critters.

That is awesome...makes me feel better about my algae problem...

[OnlyCrimson]

My tank is full of macro algae and i love it! Except for the damn bubble algae. 2 emerald crabs don't touch it. I've got about 6 blue legs, 2 peppermint shrimp, 5 astreas and 2 turbos in there as well.