Best kind of algae grazer for nano?

asylumdown · #1 06-16-2011, 03:35 AM

Is there any sort of a fish or snail that's a universal macro-algae eater that would be appropriate for a 20 gallon nano? My nano is currently home to a dwarf pygmy angel fish and a tail spot blenny, and while I barely feed at all (like one tiny pinch of crushed algae flakes a day), have a skimmer, and a hang on the back refugium with a rapidly growing ball of chaeto, there's this kind of macro algae that is just over-running my tank. I'm including a pic here. I took this right after spending an hour removing two weeks worth of growth, which when I started was so long and thick you couldn't see anything in the whole tank but the algae. When it grows out it develops an almost fuzzy like look to the tips of the plant, and is a gross greyish colour. It's on every rock that gets light. My nitrates and phosphates keep testing zero, which I assume is because they're being instantly consumed, but I have no idea where enough juice to grow that much plant is coming from.

Any ideas would be happily considered.

bkelly · #2 06-16-2011, 03:42 AM

this has been a battle for my nano too, same thing, doing tons of water changes and added some snails, also lowered tank temp with a fan, also changed bulbs, still fighting it but better, wanted to follow your thread, perhaps a smaller lawnmore blenny?

asylumdown · #3 06-16-2011, 03:48 AM

I used to have a lawnmower blenny in this tank until it got too large and I moved it to my 90. It wouldn't touch the stuff, only went after film algae. I think this stuff was too course for it.

bkelly · #4 06-16-2011, 03:53 AM

i threw a small tuxedo urchin in mine , will remove once done., i just keep harvesting it and turkey basting my rocks before cleaning also added Rowaphos to the overflow and vacuming up all derbis. plus feeding less.
LMK how it goes. My tank is 22 gal. lots of the macro came in with the LR.
brent

asylumdown · #5 06-16-2011, 04:33 AM

Thanks, I'll try and find an urchin. I'm sure I can find a new home for it once it's too big/done.

This rock definitely had some serious macro algae on it when I got. At first it was actually pretty enough that I didn't put corals in for the first several months, some really nice mixes of blue, red, and yellow macros that looked better than anything I could have tried to replicate. Then over the course of months this other nasty grey-green branching crap took over, it started as one compact mound that changed growth habits under my lights and now that's all that's left. It's only been in the past couple of months that it's gotten so crazy that it's outcompeting everything else. It will even anchor and start growing anywhere in a zoa colony that there is exposed rock. So frustrating.

fishytime · #6 06-16-2011, 04:39 AM

whatcha feeding?.....you could try carefully raising your mg.......and perhaps reducing your photo period......

asylumdown · #7 06-16-2011, 07:52 PM

I'm feeding ocean nutrition formula 2 flakes every day. Crushed so that it fits in the blenny's mouth, no more than a tiny pinch. Every week or so I'll also toss in 5-10 of the new life spectrum pellets (the smallest size) for the angel and clean up crew. Once a month I'll cut up half a raw scallop and feed most of it to my rock flower anemone and hand feed the rest of it to my snails.

I don't ever test the alk, calcium or magnesium levels in this tank because there's only soft corals in in. I'll start and see what it shows.

coolhandgoose · #8 06-16-2011, 08:03 PM

Do you know what kind of algae that is for sure?

From the picture it kind of looks like dino's, which is brown stringy and usually gets bubbles on it.
The best way to get rid of them is a total blackout for about a week.

asylumdown · #9 06-16-2011, 08:45 PM

definitely not dino, it's coarse and firm. I should have taken the pic before I cleaned the tank lol. It's got a solid foot that anchors it to the rock and as it grows it branches. It's like a grey green colour, and when it's fully 'mature' the tips get lighter in colour and really fuzzy looking. It also get really, really bushy. I think it's in the brown algae family.

asylumdown · #10 06-19-2011, 02:37 AM

Picked up a tuxedo urchin from Ocean City today. I wasn't 100% confident that they would go after my specific kind of algae. It's been in there for about 4.5 hours now and here's what it's done:

It's carved a clean white path in the rock that it's passed over. I have to say I'm very pleased. It's too early to tell if this is the answer to my problem, and I'm sure I'm going to have to learn to live with it re-arranging my frags (it's already tried to use a hermit crab as camouflage), but I'll keep updating as I go.