Why do I have bubble & hair algae?

[Novicereefer]

Hey,

My nitrate test reads less than 5 ppm (API) and my phosphate reads 0.08 (Hanna). Corals are fine. Everything is fine in terms of fish health (5 clowns in a 40 breeder and 10 gallon sump using about 5 gallons worth of space in it. 3 chambers -1st chamber - media, heater, filter floss, 2nd chamber - Refugium (chaeto is about a soft ball size) then more floss between ruge section and return pump section). I recently added a Torch coral from Petco that didn't do well after I dipped and scrubbed the base. 2 more clowns also came from that same store that day. Then I started noticing bubble algae. I didn't add the water into my tank. Numbers are low. Am I missing something? As stated- all animals are fine (Acros are brown though) but it looks ugly. Do I need to do a big water change to syphon it out?


Worth noting - before I added a fuge a couple weeks ago, I use Brightwell Phosphate E to lower things from 0.3 to 0.02 over the course of a week or so. Just tested today and it's 0.08 with pretty heavy feeding. I don't want to go back to that because it's very strong and I want it to be as natural as possible. I read the only way is to manually remove the bubble and hair algae. Is that true?

 

[tzabor10]

Algae and corals live in the same habitat. It’s normal to have this. Try using CUC or fish to get rid of it

 

[Novicereefer]

Algae and corals live in the same habitat. It’s normal to have this. Try using CUC or fish to get rid of it

Didn't think of that. I have a bunch of snails. Didn't think to add a fish for the job since my tank is relatively small. Maybe a small tang and some emerald crabs you think?

 

[JoJosReef]

Didn't think of that. I have a bunch of snails. Didn't think to add a fish for the job since my tank is relatively small. Maybe a small tang and some emerald crabs you think?

Tangs don't work well in a 40. For hair algae manual removal and turbo snails work well. Tuxedo urchin if you don't mind things getting moved about.

For bubble algae your best bet is a pitho crab, but I'm not sure how happy it will be in a barebottom. They prefer to bury themselves when not foraging. Emerald crabs are an option but riskier than pithos since they can and maybe even often switch from cleaning bubble algae to eating corals.

 

[Novicereefer]

Hmm I

Tangs don't work well in a 40. For hair algae manual removal and turbo snails work well. Tuxedo urchin if you don't mind things getting moved about.

For bubble algae your best bet is a pitho crab, but I'm not sure how happy it will be in a barebottom. They prefer to bury themselves when not foraging. Emerald crabs are an option but riskier than pithos since they can and maybe even often switch from cleaning bubble algae to eating corals.

hmm I see. I threw some big turbos in there about a week ago. They are ALWAYS eating, but they are HUGE! I'll see if I can find some small ones to add. Not big fans of Urchins for the reasons you said. I would really love a small tang but as you see there's not a lot of swimming space. During my next water change I'll really try to get out as much as possible and add some more turbos in there. Thanks!

 

[PharmrJohn]

How old is your tank?

 

[Novicereefer]

The system is about 2yrs old. This specific tank is about a month old (upgrade from a 36 bow front. Went to a 40 breeder and added sump for increased water volume) but 2 of the rocks and filter media are from the previous system

 

[PharmrJohn]

Also, how do you manage lighting? Does your tank have direct sunlight shining on it? In addition, algae feed on Nitrates and Phosphate. Your numbers may seem low, but that would be because the algae is utilizing it. I would look for the source. It could be overfeeding. Or the lack of a skimmer?

 

[Novicereefer]

Also, how do you manage lighting? Does your tank have direct sunlight shining on it? In addition, algae feed on Nitrates and Phosphate. Your numbers may seem low, but that would be because the algae is utilizing it. I would look for the source. It could be overfeeding. Or the lack of a skimmer?

The tank is next to a window but the shades are always closed and because of the neighboring buildings, sun doesn't really make it's way in. It could be from over feeding. I thought running a fuge with lots of chaeto would allow me some grace and not have these issues. I'll do a big water change, syphon as much as possible, add more snails and don't fully depend on my fuge to handle the excess food. Don't have space for a skimmer.

Thanks!

 

[Novicereefer]

Also, how do you manage lighting? Does your tank have direct sunlight shining on it? In addition, algae feed on Nitrates and Phosphate. Your numbers may seem low, but that would be because the algae is utilizing it. I would look for the source. It could be overfeeding. Or the lack of a skimmer?

I was running 3 lights at 60ish % (2 ai prime 16hd and an xr15). I took down the xr15 and turned the 2 primes to 100% and seeing how that goes

 

[killer2001]

Pulling out baseball size clumps of bubble algae is just another one of my nutrient export routines.

 

[PharmrJohn]

Take a look at the Tunze Comline DOC Skimmer. It's small and fits right in the back corner of your tank. When I get my 40G Breeder going in my room, I'm getting this. It's a few bills, but IMO, well worth it. I think it would go a long way in solving some of the issues you're having. Also, look into a feeding ring. It allows the food to hydrate and drop down with a little more targeting. Helps with getting rid of the immediate food dispersal. Less food hidden in your tank, rotting, equals less excess nutrients for unwanted guests.

 

[Novicereefer]

Take a look at the Tunze Comline DOC Skimmer. It's small and fits right in the back corner of your tank. When I get my 40G Breeder going in my room, I'm getting this. It's a few bills, but IMO, well worth it. I think it would go a long way in solving some of the issues you're having. Also, look into a feeding ring. It allows the food to hydrate and drop down with a little more targeting. Helps with getting rid of the immediate food dispersal. Less food hidden in your tank, rotting, equals less excess nutrients for unwanted guests.

I can look into that! Thanks

 

[Timfish]

ALgae and corals are competing with each other for nutrients and space and there's some pretty sophisticated chewmical and biological warfare going on between the two. WHenever there are disruptions to the equilibrium of a system that disturbs corals, it's typical for nuisance algae to get the upper hand and proliferate. short spine and long spine urchins are excellent controls as they notonly eat algae but scour the base or "holdfasts" off the rock which mostother herbivores leave behind. For manual removal steel straws work well with water changes to scraping and removing algae from a system. The combination of teh two is what was used to fix this reef in Hawaii

For a better understanding on the antagonistic roles of corals and algae on reefs here's a couple links:

"Coral Reefs in the Microbial Seas " This video compliments Rohwer's book of the same title (Paper back is ~$20, Kindle is ~$10), both deal with the conflicting roles of the different types of DOC (carbon dosing) in reef ecosystems and how it can alter coral microbiomes. While there is overlap bewteen his book and the video both have information not covered by the other and together give a broader view of the complex relationships found in reef ecosystems



And here's some other you may enjoy:

Changing Seas - Mysterious Microbes


Microbial view of Coral Decline


Nitrogen cycling in hte coral holobiont


BActeria and Sponges


Maintenance of Coral Reef Health (refferences at the end)


Optical Feedback Loop in Colorful Coral Bleaching


DNA Sequencing and the Reef Tank Microbiome


Richard Ross What's up with phosphate"

 

[Novicereefer]

Wow! Thanks for the info!