What is the best fish for eliminating algae?

[brose]

Hi, I've had my 24 gallon aquapod established for about 8 months now. I've got 2 true percs, a damsel, a strawberry psuedo, and up until a few days ago, I used to have a bicolor blenny. Well, my blenny just died for some really weird reason. He was totally healthy and eating fine the day before. I also have four zoa colonies. Anyway, algae has been a problem for a long time now. I've tried to eliminate it by water changes. I change about 45 -50% per week and it doesn't help. My cleanup crew of hermits and snails doesn't help. The blenny made a little difference. I was wondering what fish out there will fit fine in my 24 and eliminate algae the best? A lawnmower blenny? Algae blenny? court jester?

I went to petco a few days ago and this aquarium "expert" talked me into getting a tang for the algae. It looks a little like a naso, but it doesn't have all of its colors and the "expert" told me it was another species of tang. He couldn't tell me what kind. He said it was a smaller species that would do fine in my 24 gallon for years. Well, after getting home and looking up some things, I realized that as usual, he lied. I think it is a juv blonde naso tang. Anyway, I'm sure I'm gonna hear it, but I know I can't keep this tang in here. So if anyone knows of a good trading website community in texas, please let me know. Well, my main question is what fish will help? Here's some pictures:

Here's the tang

Thanks

 

[reefman23]

Well, as far as the tang goes, try reefcentral.com. http://www.marshreef.com/ is probably your best bet though.

As far as the algae goes, you really need to find the source of the problem before you can do anything.

What water source are you using for your saltwater and topoff water? Have you tested for phosphates?

You may need to start all over with that rock by "cooking" it. That is really the only way to remove any phosphates that are locked in it. You also may want to consider changing out the lamps soon, assuming they are PCs. When they age, the spectrum begins to shift and this wont help your fight against algae.

Are you running any chemical media? If so, when was the last time you replaced it?

What are the rest of your parameters?

I have heard about using mollies to rid tanks of algae, but there are much better means of temporarily removing phosphates like a phosban reactor etc.


Jesse

 

[Trogdor]

if phosphates are the issue and you have a mechanical filter with replaceable media then you can substitute some of the carbon for phosphate remover. I have done that in the past and it works rather well. It beats spending a ton of money on a phosban reactor if it's a temporary problem.

Edit: phosban reactor isn't too expensive...but it will still run ya about $35

 

[reefman23]

I still think the source of the phosphates must be found before you go using any sort of media... if it is indeed the phosphates that are the problem. Chemical medias can sometime be a "band-aid" that covers up the true problem.

Jesse

 

[Trogdor]

true

 

[brose]

Thanks for the replies. As for water used, I bought a brand new RO/DI unit a few months ago that I've been using. I use ReefCrystals sea salt. I've tested all of my other parameters (pH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, salinity, and calcium). They are all normal and in good condition. Unfortunately, I've never tested for phosphates before. I don't have a test kit. I'll actually order one now online so I can see if that's the case. As for the lights, the tank is only about 8 months old with PC lights. Would they need changing out so soon? I also use Chemi-pure and just changed that out about two months ago. The only mechanical filter that comes with the aquapod are the two large sponges that line the back compartment where water comes in. Well, I really hope I don't have to "cook" off my LR. It's just started growing some nice coralline on it. Plus all of my zoas are attached to the rocks. Well, I'm ordering the phosphate test kit I guess. I'll let you know my levels as soon as I get it. Thanks again.

 

[reefman23]

With the chemipure... I know that the manufacturer says that it last like 6 months or whatever but this just isnt true. Chemipure is mostly carbon which doesnt last more than 2-4 weeks thus that stuff should be changed every 4 weeks or so. I have also read some pretty good scientific studies that show that the ionic resins in those sort of chemical medias are almost inactive in saltwater... just what I have read. I know many many people use that stuff but personally i would just suggest a good quality carbon... the best bang for your buck being Marineland's Black Diamond. If you live near a Petsmart, they sell a "store brand" Black diamond made by HBH called Aqua Pure Activated Carbon. Is is granular and NOT pelleted. You dont want pelleted carbon.

Hope all of this helps and let us know the phosphate reading when you get the test kit.

Jesse

 

[reefman23]

Something else I forgot... how often and how much are you feeding the fish?

Jesse

 

[brose]

Yeah, I've read alot here and everywhere else about algae being the cause of overfeeding. I am careful about not doing that. When I feed the small pellets, which is the only thing most of my fish want to eat, I make sure no more than a few even touch the bottom without being eaten. As for the flakes, it's only a very small pinch, but the damsel is the only one who really likes the flakes. I've tried frozen, but I don't much anymore because nobody touches it. Do you think it would help if I cleaned my sponges every couple of days instead of every week with the water changes? Also does the black diamond come in its own little bag like chemi-pure because I have no compartment in the tank to just leave carbon in. Thanks

 

[reefman23]

Sounds like you have the feeding thing down.

The black diamond doesnt come in bags but you can get media bags in various sizes and they are pretty cheap.

Cleaning the sponges would help a little bit but if your nitrates/nitrites are at normal levels than the sponges arent a likely source of anything.

Jesse

 

[Tony]

I had a similar problem with a couple of rocks and I got a Yellow Tang. He didnt do anything for a few days but then he started to nip at the algae and before you know it it was gone.....the only thing is hell go after several types of plants as well.. I keep celerpa in my tanks to keep the Nitrates down. he eats that too. Good thing i have two tanks to help keep it alive.
Maybe you could try a yellow tank. get a small one since they need a lot of space to swim.
Tony

 

[reefman23]

I would never advise adding a fish or anything else to aid in algae removal. That is strictly a temporary fix and is not fair to put an animal in a tank that is far too small for it. once the tang rids the tank of algae, then what? then you romove it and the algae most likey grows back because the original source was not fixed.

Jesse

 

[brose]

Yeah the naso tang I have is actually doing a noticable improvement on the algae. I know I can't keep him in there too much longer though. He's already too big for it and doesn't have much space to swim around since he swims around constantly, unlike all of my other fish. He's also kind of taken my chromis' territory spot. So I'll have to get rid of him within the next couple weeks for sure.
Jesse, so the phosphate test hasn't arrived yet, but if it is phosphates, what is a permanent solution? I hear a lot of bad temporary solutions but what's a good permanent one? The black diamond sounds temporary too. There's gotta be something easier than "cooking" my LR too, huh?

 

[Anonymous]

hmmmm... your at a bad point right now. your in deep enough where cooking seems like a over kill task yet early enough where you could still do it. two basic options after you GET RID of the tang:
1) take everything out (except the sand) - water and all, the rock and corals need to be toothbrushed off in a bucket removing as much algae as you can in the old salt water and do a 100% water change matching params as close as possible, then place the rock and corals back in the tank - you may have to do this every weekend for a month or so - it will clear up (the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, ect. can be 50% water changes)
2) cook the rock in total darkness for a month but leave any corals in the tank under the light and clean them off as neccessary (as described above) till your live rock is algae free and ready to be returned to the tank. your tank will look like crap during the process but in the long run it may be best. the longer you cook it and the better you treat it (temp/flow) the better. give the bacteria time to eat up any phosphates in the rock and swishing/water changes during cooking removes a lot of detritus that will fuel future algae blooms

either way you decide, add 1 turbo - they are the best algae remover available by a long shot - but won't eat long stuff, your have to manually remove that till it gets ahead of the game. and run carbon and phophate remover on the tank 24/7

 

[brose]

Well, sad day. No need to worry about the tang. He died last night just after I did a normal water change. Somehow he also took the blue damsel and the strawberry psuedo with him. So now I still have my 2 clowns and clown goby. Fortunately, they appear to be fine. This is so weird. I've had them all in there together for almost 8 months. Everyone's been alive and fine for that long until the tang came along. I never had a quarantine tank, which I will get now, but I did a nice, slow acclimation. My guess is some kind of disease he brought with him.
As for cooking the rock in total darkness, is that a good idea with the fish I still have in there? Also how would I cook the rocks in darkness and keep the zoas under light if the zoas are attached to the rocks?

Well thanks again.

 

[Anonymous]

sorry for your lose - the tang may have brought ich in with it (they are known to do that) or it just could be that one more addition broke the balance of your system and it crashed - either way that was too large a fish bioload anyway
big rocks that have zoas on you can cut them off and superglue them to a small piece of rock or plug and then keep it in the tank under the lights - if they are on small rocks just leave them in the tank individually cleaning each piece as needed. the fish will be fine - there should be enough bacteria in the system with a couple small rocks and sand to support a small bioload
cook the big rocks using the 2 five gallon pail method. a heater and a powerhead is all you need and it may even be done at room temp if need be. scrub them off and swish them good and move from one bucket to the other with new salt water in it each weekend till they are completely clean. when you return them to the system there may still be a small diatom bloom - but it will go fast and the hair algae won't come back if you have a few small snails and 1 turbo

 

[brose]

Well, i don't really know where to go from here. the phosphate test kit arrived. The test showed zero phosphates. However, the color of the zero on the kit was alot closer to the freshwater's zero than the saltwater's zero. So what would that mean, if the algae's not coming from phosphates? To be honest, I've never really scrubbed off my LR with a toothbrush or anything else for that matter. I was worried it would hurt the zoas. Would it? If not, how long can zoas live well out of water and how much scrubbing could they withstand? Any ideas? Should I try actually scrubbing the rocks or should I go ahead with the rock cooking? johnanddawn, thanks for the turbo suggestion. I'm gonna order one with next paycheck I think.

 

[Trogdor]

Chances are that you won't show any phosphates because the algae is consuming it all.

Here's what I would do. Test any water going into your tank. If it reads 0 then I wouldn't do anything. Let the algae starve itself. Limit your feeding as much as possible and reduce lighting to only essential lighting to keep the corals healthy. Make sure that your bioload isn't heavy and run some carbon media. The algae will eventually consume all of the food source, or atleast enough of it for it to start receding.

 

[brose]

and what do you think about scrubbing off rocks with zoas on them? should i not scrub them at all? thanks

 

[Trogdor]

Here's what I would do. Fill up 2 buckets 2-3 gallons each, depending on your rock's size. Match your tank's temp and salinity. Put the rock to scrub in the first bucket and scrub the algae off while trying to avoid the zoas as much as possible. Pull the algae off around the zoas with your fingers. In the second bucket rinse the rock and repeat scrubbing in first bucket until you are happy then repeat the rinsing. This shouldn't affect the zoas much, if any.