algae in marine tank
Mike D.
and it keeps growing this brown diatom algae. I got two turbo snails, and
they both died , one in 24 hours, and the other after a week in the tank.
The fish are doing just fine though, and the tank passes(easily) all the
standard water quality tests. The pH is 8.0-8.2 and there is four
damselfish, two percula clowns and a sailfin tang. I was told tangs are
'workhorse' algae eaters, but hi fat bastard only wants o eat whatever is
easiest an fastest to fill his belly. he is a beautiful specimen though,
although he is a juvenile. I say again, sailfin tang is easily the most
attractive fish in my tank. You could watch him swim for twenty minutes
straight without getting bored. But as for eating algae, I saw him mouthing
at a thermometer once or twice, but mainly he just prefers to beg for
flakes, or brine shrimp. My question is, wtf are the turbo snails dying so
easily, and should I perhaps try again with some kind of snails? Are there
any other invertebrates that are good at either cleaning the floor of the
tank or eating algae? I saw some bright red marine crayfish, and some hermit
crabs in the fish store, but I am not sure if they would be a safe addition
to my tank. Also, I was actually told by the fish store proprietor that
salt water tanks should not really be cleaned, at least not the way you
would clean a fresh water tank. he said I shouldn't be changing water any
more than once per month, an I shouldn't even touch the filters any more
often than once every six months. So, I end up cleaning algae off the glass
with a washcloth. I love the fish , but the tank just looks dirty with all
that crud growing on everything. I saw a few reef tanks at the store, and
those tanks actually have algae an inch thick growing on the tubes of the
filter system. Mike.
Elaine T
setups and should pass if the water you are using for your salt mix
isn't high in silicates. Also test your tap water for copper if you're
using it to make your salt mix. Even a trace can kill invertebrates.
You don't mention what your filtration is, but typically wet/dry filters
take a couple of months to cycle well enough for inverts if you don't
have a lot of live rock and sand. You should also be running a protein
skimmer.
--
Elaine T __
http://eethomp.com/fish.html <'__><
rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com
Ray Martini
months. I got a brownish algae on the sand bed. It took a few weeks but
eventually it burned off. SW tanks can take up to a year to truly be
"established".
Tangs are herbivores but not necessarily algae eaters. My Yellow Tang eats
any food you put in there. He loves his veggie clip and loves to eat frozen
brine and other prepared foods. However he never touches algae.
Try something like a Lawnmower Blenny. But keep in mind that once the algae
is gone your Blenny may starve to death. If you get lucky you may find a LMB
that will eat prepared foods and veggies. Urchins are also huge algae eaters
and I think (think) they're reef safe. Elaine may be able to shed more light
on that.
"Elaine T" <eetmai...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:GPJie.1063$kj7...@newssvr21.news.prodigy.com...
Elaine T
> I had added about 10 lbs of live sand after the tank was setup for a few
> months. I got a brownish algae on the sand bed. It took a few weeks but
> eventually it burned off. SW tanks can take up to a year to truly be
> "established".
>
> Tangs are herbivores but not necessarily algae eaters. My Yellow Tang eats
> any food you put in there. He loves his veggie clip and loves to eat frozen
> brine and other prepared foods. However he never touches algae.
>
> Try something like a Lawnmower Blenny. But keep in mind that once the algae
> is gone your Blenny may starve to death. If you get lucky you may find a LMB
> that will eat prepared foods and veggies. Urchins are also huge algae eaters
> and I think (think) they're reef safe. Elaine may be able to shed more light
> on that.
<snip>
Back when I was keeping a reef, urchins were considered a rather
destructive form of reef lawnmower. That was 10 years ago, and I don't
know whether reef-safe species have been found since. If it's fish
only, they're very useful but I doubt an urchin would live if snails
don't. Tiny hermit crabs are good scavengers, as are serpent stars if
they have cover. OP still needs work out that water quality issue that
killed the snails before adding inverts that are even more sensitive.
Here's a page with some info on urchins.
Agreed that tangs don't eat diatoms. My brother's yellow tang would eat
clumps of thready green algae and macroalgae and a sailfin should too if
it's a little hungry. If he's always got the veggie clip option, then
why should he work. ;-)