Tom Heo - May 4,1997

Tom Heo is the Webmaster of Reef - a - Lotta a top Reefkeeping Site on the Internet.

Okay, welcome to my talk tonight. Thanks for stopping by tonight. You'll have to forgive me for any typos or anything, as this is off the top of my head. Sorry.

Tonight, I'll be talking about every reefer's nightmare...waking up in the morning and finding Delbeek in bed with you with a rose next to him and smile on his face! Okay, just kidding. It's going to be on microalgae. I guess that after the talk, I'm supposed to stick around and field some questions, so I'll stick arond for as long as i can.

I guess I'll start with the algae that seems to show up first in our reef tanks, and that are the dreaded diatoms. They don't really seem to hurt anything in the tank in most cases, but they are ugly, and to the beginner, can cause ulcers or wet panties. They will usually show up after about a month after the tank has been setup, and stick around for about 4 months or so, and it is very very common to have them in the tank. It would be more uncommon NOT to have them show up. Just a part of life. They are characterized by a brown, powdery look to them, and will usually show up on the glass. They are easily removed when you pass your hand over them and get a little current going to them,and so this is another tell-tale sign. I guess the thing that beginners will ask is "how do I get rid of them"? Well, they do go away after a while, so they shouldn't cause you too many nights of lost sleep. They luckily are one of the algaes that Astrea tecta snails will eat, so that is a little bit of comfort. The bad thing is, and I guess this is what bothers so many people about them, is that they cover up the glass (and sometimes the rocks) and make the tank not be able to be viewed and enjoyed. So, who to get rid of them? Actually it's pretty easy. We must first look at what can be controlled in our tanks and whatthey rely on to survive. For diatoms, it is easy, and this "something" are silicates. Silicates are found in our salt mixes to act as a dessicant, but also because they are needed for the fewreefers who are daring enough to try sponges. After a while, they sort of get diluted out, but of course, there is that stress thing, where we want to get rid of them. So, the first thing that we should do is to check out the silicate levels in our source water. R/O units don't get rid of silicates very well, and in fact, it's pretty sad how much they actually do get out.DI units are much better at getting them out, so if you've got the money, it would be a good idea to get a combo. R/O-DI unit to filter your tap water. Another thing to do is to get a bunchof snails. Astreas are excellent for getting rid of diatoms. They will eat them, but of course then you get the psychedelic patterns that form on the glass, but hey, they eat. You should shoot for about 1-3 snails per tank volume. Also, when you wipe down the diatoms off of your glass, try and siphon out as much as you can. Their cell-walls (gives them rigidity...kind of what Pam Anderson does to men) are comprised of silicates (kind of like Pam Anderson's...). So, it is a good idea to get as much out of the tank as you can.

Okay, so enough about diatoms. I'm assuming that most of you here are beyond those stages (let me know afterwards if you want some more info.) Let's move on to other algaes that may cause us more problems. Like, for instance, hair algae.

Hair algae seems to give people a bunch of headaches because it chokes out things likecoralline (stuff that we want). It's primary cause is a high amount of phosphates in the tank.Phosphates are in all of our tanks from the breakdown of nutrients, food, etc., that are found in our tanks. We've got some friends on our side to get rid of them also. Astreas, again, will usually munch on them. Hermit crabs are good too (don't belive the hype about various hermits leaving snails alone, blue-legs are just fine). To control phosphates in the tank, you should also dose with kalkwasser. This will help to ppt. out the excess PO4 in your tank, but you guys should be using the kalk. anways. Hair algae usually is a huge pain in the ass to get out, so you just have to stick with it. This hobby isn't easy, and so you need to stay focussed and keep at it. If it gets really bad on your rocks, etc., then you are going to have to usually take the rock out and scrub it down with a toothbrush or something to get rid of as much of it as you can. You'll be able to recognize it since it is usually long and stringy, and looks like green hair. If you've got it, don't panic. I hear so many people quit their tanks when they see it. Don't lose that $1000 that you've put into the tank, and just walk away from it! Keep at it. It won't happen overnight, but here is what you should do to get rid of the stuff. Hermits and snails, shoot for about 1-3 per gallon of each as I said. ; Actually, for the hermits, more like 1 per gallon should be good...they're good sifters, though, and help in other ways (besidesjust pure enjoyment from wathching them play football with themselves).; Another thing to do is to check out your skimmer. It should first of all be big enough for the tank, and secondly, it should be pulling out a really dry foam.; This will help to get out some things before they can break down and cause problems. Also cut down on overfeeding. You should only feed about twice a week. Kalkwasser will help too. You should dose that stuff every other night, and mix it fresh every other time (actually, every time would be better).

Now, I think that now comes the part where it seems like a lot of people have misconceptions about what to do about, and taht is the cyanobacteria. First, make sure you've got the skimmer for it. Make the checks for the skimmer and make sure it's working okay like I said before.Cyano will show up in the tank as red to maroom sheets that cover everything in the tank. They are filamentous (if you look at them closely), and are a pain to get rid of, just likeevery other bad thing that can happen in our tanks. If it is an est. tank, check the lights.They will usually show you when to change the lights (though you really should stay ona good schedule of changing bulbs anyways). If you have old bulbs, with heavy lighting in the red range, cyano will usually show up.; 6-8 mo. for fl. bulbs, 12 mo. for most MH bulbs, and PC's, it's still kind of up in the air. I hear so many differnt opinions on PC's. Next, check out your nitrates. Make sure that you try and keep them under about 10 ppm. Cyano feed off of nitrogen gas, so that could be a source for your problems. I don't recommend the use of antibiotics, as I've said on many posts in Aqualink, etc. It's not that they don't work, 'cause they do, but you're not really solving the problem. You just mask it for the time-being.Also, since cyano is a bacteria, they have extremely high rates of mutation, and it is verylikely that you will have differnt, funky cyano later on. It could be in a month, it could be in 5 years, but you will get them. Extremely high rates of recombo. in the DNA of cyano. causes them to mutate at alarming rate. So, how to get rid of them? Well, if you've checked everythingelse out, then it is the same thing as with diatoms. Just siphon out as much as you can.Invest in a turkey baster. This is one of the most important things that a reefer can have (besides a fat wallet). The turkey baster is important, and what I do it blast the stuff off the rocks. This will usually get them into the water column, and you can either suck them out, or hope that they go into the skimmer. Don't leave it there, or else it'll just end up in another part of the tank.; Just make sure that you get about as much as you can...they aren't fun to get rid of, but not impossible. Another thing that I've found out as I've been into the hobby for a while is that addtives really don't work. It seems like when I add something to the tank, it just causes problems (like cyano and dinos). I've come to the conclusion that the "less is more motto" really holds true for most things in this hobby. Don't get crazy with all of these things that they say you need. It seems like water changes and having a properly setup tank are the ways to go. Just try not to put too much into the tank.

Okay, I guess the last thing that I'll talk about, since me fingers are getting tired, aredinoflaggelates. These things, oh man, i hope that you guys don't have a run-in with them!They are usually long and stringy, and trap bubbles at their tips. They will cover everything in the tank, and what they cover it's seems as if they kill. To get rid of them, well there really doens't seem to be one thing that will get rid of them. I hear so many different things that people have tried, but been unseccessful with. My friend even tried to take out all of this rocks from his 150 and do a 50% water change, and they still didn't go away! What has worked for me is to do the following. It may not be possible for most people, but it seems like this is the most popular way to get rid of them.

#1. shut the lights for 24 hours.

#2. siphon out as much of the dead and living stuff as you can.

#3. dose kalk. for a week straight to drive the pH up to about 8.6, and try and keep itthere (that's the hard part).

#4. keep siphoning out as much of the dead stuff as you can.

Just expect to lose at least 1 coral, and a bunch of snails if you see the stuff. Act quickly, and you should be able to get rid of them sooner. Well, as I'm getting tired and have run out of things to say, I guess I can take questions and I'll try and answer them?

Q: What's the easiest way to maintain a high pH?

The safest way is to use kalk. You should have a pH monitor. It's a good $100 investment.

Q: Do you know a good way to spot the difference between cyano (like my green stuff) and dino?

Hmm, good question. If it is filamentous, you can say that it is most likely cyano.

Q: Any info on Bubble algae, Valonia sp.?

For bubble algae, you have to pick the stuff out w/o popping the bubbles. Don't let any of the stuff stay in the tank, or you'll never get rid of them...this is how I've gotten rid ofmine.

Q: on cyano, any fish or hermits that like it?

No. There is nothing taht I've heard of that will eat the stuff.

Q: Question on cyano: New bulbs; cyano disappears when lights are off, butreappears when lights are on. Could I have gotten defective bulbs?

can you please elaborate on the part about them being there and going away when thelights are on and off? You mean withing a matter of minutes?

Q:How about some of the macroalgae sp. like Caulerpa or Halimeda. Anyrecommendations on keeping them, especially Halimeda, or do you not like them in a reef tank?

I've read that things like I think Halimeda will put off toxins, but in any case, I've knowna lot of people grow the stuff, and then have their corals speared by them. I think that it is definite no-no for SPS tanks to have that much macroalgae in there with them. Also, the stuff grows like mad. You've also got to realize that they compete for the same nutrients as the "good stuff" in the tank.

Q: How do you "siphon" the algae from the glass while you are removing it with magnet glasscleaners? Any Tips here?

Get an algae pad, and then wipe as much as you can off the glass. As you are wiping(the glass), siphon out the water as you wipe. This should get out a good portion of the algae in the tank, and will help to get rid of them quicker.p>Q: What are other reef-safe (fish, crabs, etc) which eat hair algae?

Oh, good question. There are fish that will eat the hair algae too. Tangs are popular, but my stance on tangs is that they should be kept in tanks larger than about 150 or 120 g or so.They are free-swimmers, and so I think that they are truly happy in larger tanks. There are lawnmower blennies that are pretty good at eating the hairy stuff, but they usually pick on other things too from what I've heard. They'll pick at corals and stuff.

* EricEE thanks Tom for coming and speaking to us tonight.

Okay, that's it. Well, thanks for having me and letting me speak here. I've gota page that I guess y'all should know about, since they told me to plug it.