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melev

Trying to fix an algae problem

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13 Comments
by
melev
, 05-26-2010 at 12:09 AM (2839 Views)
In one of my favorite corals, in the past month a real problem arose. The SPS coral growing on the overflow directly above the Toadstool Leather, a number of brown patches appeared within the branches which soon followed with algae growth. Ugh!!

Here's the coral back in December.



I tried scraping away the bad spots, and have been picking away the algae with forceps. It wasn't very effective, but I had to do something about it. Each pinch with the forceps was then released in a small bowl of water to avoid spreading it elsewhere.

I've never seen this type of thing occur in my SPS in the past, so I've been unsure what to do about it. Nitrates remain low in the tank, but phosphates had risen, and risen again after the spawning event earlier this month. Using Phosphate Control (which is being renamed Phosphate RX currently by Blue Life USA), I brought the PO4 level down and the algae quickly turned brown. This ugly fuzzy stuff had to go.

With the tips near the surface of the water, no fish can swim above to nibble it away. No snail will travel across SPS willingly nor successfully. So I asked the LFS owner what he'd suggest, and he proffered that I put some hermits in the coral. I'd prefer to put some of those 'bandit' acro crabs in, but you can't get them easily. I bought six red-legged hermits from him, acclimated them to the tank, plucked off more algae and then placed each hermit in the coral near the area I wanted them to work on. I just checked the tank with a flashlight and see 5 of them still in the coral.

If they fall out, they can't get back up to the A. formosa without some help by me. That, or I'll just buy a few more and keep adding hungry new ones until the coral is nice and clean again.

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Tags: formosa, hermits
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Comments

  1. dread240's Avatar
    I'm sure you've probably tried something similar... but that gsp mat that I had with the dead center had quite a bit of algae on it which I think is what did it in. I used one of the syringes from my various kits and blew some of it off, which was really easy once the algae was for the most part dead.

    I was just able to be extremely precise with where I wanted to put the jet by holding it in the typical doctor stickin you with a needle fashion
  2. Hat39406's Avatar
    Since I've had my lights off for those three days to control the green algae that was forming all over my rock, now I have that red/ brown algae all on my substate. It creeps on my liverock and covers my different colored sponges. What do you think I can do about this now? Melev, sounds like the same algae. I wonder, my PH is low also, wonder if thY has anything to do with the algae?
  3. Tumbleweed's Avatar
    Marc how are would it be for you to remove the coral to clean it? What about placing another powerhead near it and have it blow directly on the coral to try and blow off the dead algae?
  4. UkSweeney's Avatar
    "With the tips near the surface of the water, no fish can swim above to nibble it away"


    Maybe its time for a bigger tank ?
  5. melev's Avatar
    I may take a picture of it today, but to be frank, I'm a little disgusted by its look and didn't really care to document it. I have used a powerhead to move some water through it, but I almost have to use one with some tubing just to wash it down like a small fire hose. That I have not done.

    I checked on it a few times last night, and those 5 hermits were still on there, picking away.

    There's no easy way to remove it, as it grew onto the overflow and I hope and pray it never falls off.

    Bigger tank?! No, not at this time.
  6. melev's Avatar
    Here are some updated pictures. I feel a little better about the situation.







  7. Alaska_Phil's Avatar
    Marc, this is a wild shot, but is that one of the acro species that's normally exposed at low tide in the wild? Like this If so I'm wondering if you could drop the tank level for a couple hours, exposing the algae and possibly weaking, or killing it that way?
  8. melev's Avatar
    It is an Acropora formosa, and it has always been exposed for 15 to 30 minutes every night when I feed my reef. It never had this problem until the past few weeks. It was a rich peacock blue but now it is marred. I hope it will heal up. Obviously these hermits aren't going to stay in this colony, but perhaps I keep buying new hungry ones from the LFS and place them on it, I'll get it cleaned up to where the coral will go back to its former beauty.
  9. Alaska_Phil's Avatar
    If you buy more hemits, could you rotate these to the sump and let them get hungry again?
  10. melev's Avatar
    Not a bad idea at all.
  11. Alaska_Phil's Avatar
    Any updates Marc? How is it looking?
  12. Hat39406's Avatar
    Yeah, is it any better are spreading? I came back home a little bit ago and the cyano was having a party in my tank! It came off the rock and substate with a flick of my fingers. Then I did a quick 3 gallon water change and finally I cleaned the cup and riser tube on the protein skimmer. Oh yeah, cleaned the glass with the mag-cleaner. I was worried about my tank the entire time I was on vacation.
  13. melev's Avatar
    I'll have to check tomorrow, the lights are out. I still have some algae there, but it is less. I need to make the time tomorrow to pick off some more, and probably get a few more hermits to place in the colony again.