getting rid of algae
Jul 20th 2008adminNano Cube Aquariums
Casey K asked:
I have a 12 gallon nano cube with 4 hermit crabs and 4 snails but they just arent taking care of the algae. The algae thats a problem is like long and stringy what can I get to eat the algae?
It is a saltwater tank, and how can you clean it off the sand.
Nano Reef Gear
I have a 12 gallon nano cube with 4 hermit crabs and 4 snails but they just arent taking care of the algae. The algae thats a problem is like long and stringy what can I get to eat the algae?
It is a saltwater tank, and how can you clean it off the sand.
Nano Reef Gear
Christopher C on 24 Jul 2008 at 2:20 am #
What you simply need to do is clean the tank yourself its easy and fasr
Michael G on 25 Jul 2008 at 5:57 am #
take out those snails and get one chiness algae eater
when its all gone take the eater out
mars41928 on 28 Jul 2008 at 3:48 pm #
snails hardly do anything to algae especially string algae the one you are talking about. i would suggest cleaning the tank a bit more often, you don’t want to overstock your tank. if it is in direct sunlight move it out of sunlight. if it is not near sunlight and has a light on the top reduce the wattage and or leave the let off longer.
P.S. Chinese algae eaters don’t really eat algae!! they eat fish! and grow huge no matter what size ur tank is.
James S on 28 Jul 2008 at 8:45 pm #
Algae thrives on nitrate buildup. nitrate comes from over feeding. Do some major water changes and clean your tank.
cc_woman on 31 Jul 2008 at 8:43 pm #
Read this site, very helpful info on algae in the marine tank. You can try cutting down on the lighting, maybe it is too strong for the tank you have, cut down on extra nutrients like nitrates, phosphates/silica, and maybe there are too many decaying organic compounds. Either way this is an excellent site for salt water questions.
Edit: It can be more difficult to remove it from the sand. I would suggest using your fingers in the sand and mix it around. But the best thing is to cut down on any excess nutrients that are causing the algae to grow in the first place. It will then cause the algae on the sand not to grow.
kenny on 02 Aug 2008 at 5:00 pm #
JUST SCRAP IT OFF OR WIPE IT OFF THATS WHAT I DO.
Stef D on 05 Aug 2008 at 8:19 am #
Hair algae is a common headache for marine aquarists but it can be brought under control. The first step is to start using a source of RO/DI water so you can limit the amount of phosphate and nitrate entering into your tank (primary food source for algaes) or barring that, find a good source of macro algae that can compete with the microalgaes for those nutrients (a lot of people have success using chaetomorpha). There are a few biological controls you could use (hermits in sufficient numbers, some nudibrances, etc), but the best way is to starve it out by limiting it’s nutrient source. If you don’t have any light hungry inverts in your tank you could also limit the photo period of your lights to curb it’s growth a bit while you bring the nutrients under control.