my uncles SW tank, reddish algae- help here :)

[DOLORES]

Hello there! I'm New to this section as you can see, im basically here to learn and changue a little bit my uncle's tank , because it's kinda boring looking, he has the typical wall with corals and rocks and all, but they are not alive. I think it's a 29 US Gallon, wich for what i read it tends to be small at the end, that tank usually was a tropical freshwater tank, thats why its size, they all died when the hurracaine Isabel came .
There is a big amount of reddish algae that its bad for the fishies (all over the tank ) and he told me he was going to put some medication in it to get rid of it , so basically last night I went to his house with my mom, and i saw it worse than the last time we saw him, about 1 month? , and the fishies were swimmin like this /\/\/\/\/\ , know what imean? in the tank he has, a Clownfish (wich they school right?) he had two clowfishes, but i couldnt find the other one anywhere, and he obviously had told me so. besides the clowfish he has a Black and White percula clownfish, a Lyretail Wrasse (wow i just read they are agressive God im going to kill him!, but as far as i kno nothin had happen with the clowfish, i think....i stare them about 30 minutes and all he was doing was going out and if i was out there he'd hide again, if i wasnt there he'd stay out ) and a Coral Beauty Angelfish .

What i want to know is if I can put more fishes in there , if so what kind? maybe more clowfishes would do good right?, i want to put some invertebrates/fishes so they kinda take control over the algae and he hasnt have to put his hand in the tank to get rid of it, cuz that causes stress in the fishes , doesnt it?
another thing i want to know is about live corals , cand they be add in the tank? what kind?


and what to do with the agressive one that he has? in our lps, it was with some other that are peaceful and semmi-agressive, i read they were agressive just now in liveaquaria.com , they put that bettas were peaceful,wich is wrong, so maybe this is wrong information??


thank you very much!!!!!!!!!!!!! for your time and patience and advices


edited 2 : the tank i think he did it on october 03, (hurracaine Isabel in september 03), i'll ask him to give me info on his setup and i'll take pictures this weekend so you guys can help me a little biit more

 

[hyrookin]

hey delores, I think you should give some more info on this tank, as your
post is a little confusing. the algae could be from the tank being new, when
was it cycled? it could also be cyanobacteria,in which case there is a large
thread in this section that answers that.
.post a new thread with clearer info
and you will get plenty of help.

 

[Navarre]

Agreed, it sounds like Cyanobacteria to me too. If this is the case then its not an algea at all but actually a form of bacteria. Most inverts and fish simply wont touch it.
This usually comes by having a new tank, or high nutrients like phosphates in the water. if this is the case then i recomend a water change, turn the flow in the tank onto the Cyano (as it doesnt like strong flow across it) and add ROWAPHOS to a filter as its extremely good at removing phosphates.
A water change is also a good idea., reduce the phosphates and give the bacteria less to thrive on.

 

[DOLORES]

read first post! tank you very much

 

[DOLORES]

hi?

 

[hyrookin]

hey delores,as far as the stocking goes, he's pretty much stocked, as
two clowns,a wrasse and a coral beauty is about the most for a 29.
clowns have distinctive swimming patterns, so I wouldnt worry too much as
long as he looks healthy.with that selection of fish,theres always going to
be aggression, because each fish needs so much space for territory,and
they wont get it in that tank. I would not recommend any corals until the
cyanobacteria is gone,also what kind of lighting?if just flourescent,no corals.
try to get tank readings(p.h.,nitrates,etc.)and what filtration-equip.on tank

hope this helps!

 

[Underwaterfragglerock]

Hey Delores.

First off, I just love reading your posts! 8) There's just so much personality to them! IT's great!

Ahem! ) Anyways, whatd'ya say we get yer uncle's tank workin? From my humble perspective of doing salts for ten months, I have a few suggestions to your situation. This reply is QUITE legnthy, but I think it is needed! LEt's get to work here...

First things first: That red algae. Let me ask you this: When the hurricane hit, were the coral killed for lack of light becasue the power was lost? If so, you may very well be dealing with red slime algae. Green algae (a "phosphate boom") will occur when you have too much light being exposed to a tank with a lot of.... for lack of better word... "stuff" in it. This happened to yours truly when he used to keep his lights on for 10-11 hours a day (oops!) when I had seven fish, lots of live rock, inverts, etc. THAT took about a month to fix.

On the other hand, red algae will come when there isn't enough light for the tank: like, if a hurricane knocked out the light for a long period of time (especially with the fish and coral). Here is a snip of an article from www.seahorse.org:

Once you realize you have an algae problem, things need sorting out as fast as possible. The problem will not go away as quickly as it arrived, but you can keep it under control.

What are you putting into your tank? Check to see if you can reduce the food you are adding to the tank. Eaten and uneaten food becomes algae food! Check the quality of your food. Are you dumping a frozen cube into the tank? A lot of the cube is 'dirty' water and bits of shrimp that the seahorses will not eat, but immediately becomes a food source for the algae. Rinsing the food will reduce the effluent from fouling the water.

First, start the mechanical removal of as much algae as you can get your hands on. This is the initial major clean up. During this time it will help to add filter floss or filter wool as the first stage in your filter - to capture the pieces of algae dislodged by your clean up, but not removed from the water. Make sure you clean or replace this filter regularly in the first few days. Check the condition of your filter at the same time and clean as needed.

Next, check your water flow. See if there are any 'dead-water' areas, in which algae can get a foothold.

Vacuum the substrate to remove as much detritus as possible. The water removed from the tank should be replaced with new seawater from a source that does not contain phosphates or nitrates, such as reverse osmosis (RO) water. A 20% water change is most beneficial.

If your photoperiod is more than 12 hours, consider lessening it. Replace any bulbs over six months old as the spectrum emitted shifts over time to light emissions that promotes algae growth.

Now attempt to improve the water quality. Adding commercial products to the filter is the first line of attack to improving the water quality quickly

The emediate thing to do is to start doing partial water changes. Out with the old, in with the new. If your uncle dosen't have a syphon, get one. Learn how to use it, and syphon any algae that is on your sand. If you aren't comfortable removing the sand (like if there is alot) then there is a weird process I went through with the green algae: you want to "spread" the algae out enough that it isn't so concentrated that the inverts can't eat it all. But, you don't want to spread it out so much that it is all over the tank (if it isn't already). This is done by using your syphon to just swirl around the sand so to displace the top layer (don't make me get into why you don't want to touch the lower levels of the sand) but not suck it into the syphon and remove it. WATER CHANGES, WATER CHANGES!

So there ARE certain saltwater fish that do eat algae, but why risk adding another fish to a tense situation? Let's examine other options here. Does your uncle have a clean up crew? In other words, he should without a doubt have or invest in some cleaners necessary in any tank in my opinion.

Ok, hermit crabs are great because without a doubt they live off of algae. Blue-legged hermits or Red Scarlet Hermits will do just fine. In a 29 gallon I would normally suggest 4-6 but in that situation go with 6 or 7. My hermits go on sand and on rocks, but if the problem is mainly on the rocks, you can either remove unneccesary rocks or purchase a green emerald crab. Watch out though, because these suckers can get real big! Iv'e seen one huge that takes chucks out of fish.

Also, Turbo snails rock. They eat algae like crazy. Get 5 or 6. Also, bumble bee snails are ok. Oh! Jumbo Mexican Turbo Snails do quick work. Maybe get 2 of those and one or two little turbos.

Red Fire Shrimp are the best thing for red algae in my opinion, although you still need that basic clean up crew mentioned. They eat the stuff like mad. The great thing with that is they are coral- friendly (they won't eat them!).

Which leads me to my next question. Are there a bunch of dead corals in his tank? Are there any alive ones left? If so, make sure whoever does the tank maintanence is extra careful of them. Plus, they need that good light too, and lots of it. Does he have coral lights? He must, right?

And BTW, I think I may have solved that whole dead coral, stressed fish thing for ya: Lyretail Wrasse:
1. NOT reef safe! (eats coral!)
2. Agressive towards other fish, especially with those non-agressive clowns in there!
3. Can grow to 10" and should not be kept in a tank under 70 gallons!!!

So, my simple advise would be to GET THAT WRASSE OUT OF THERE!!! Don't do anything until you have. If you have trouble completing this, that's a whole different topic.

Hold off on purchasing more fish or coral until the tank is stablized. Lots of patience required with salts as you can see. And did you say he has an agressive coral? What kind? Also, did he medicate the tank? If so, with what?

Ok, try not to loose your cool with this crazy salt stuff. It is usually more than most people should have to endure, so just take one thing at a time, and roll with the punches!

 

[Navarre]

Pretty sound advice in Fragglerocks posts throughout. Just a few things i would like to add though.
Red algea ( the slimy stuff) is not an algea, its actually a bacteria and needs no light at all. even in high light areas it will thrive as it has no preference. This bacteria will be feeding off nutrients in the water so as Fraggle has suggested, lots of water changes. Syphoning is good for Cyanobacteria (red algea) as it will remove the nusance stuff and allow other more beneficial algeas to try and out compete the red stuff. Also, try and increase the flow in the tank if possible, Cyano doesnt like a direct flow over it and high flowing tanks dont suit it very much (though it can stil take hold in some cases).
As for the Fireshrimps eathing Cyano.. i have 3 in my tank and i have never seen then go near any (dont have cyano now but i did about a year ago). this doesnt mean they wont eat it of course but there simply is no guarentee with this. Many say that mithrax crabs will eat it but again, hit and miss really. No 2 cretures are exactly the same so i would suggest a more practical approach.

Basically an increase in Algea and cyano means 1 thing, high nutrients. Could be over feeding or some other similar rason for increased nutrients. Are you using tap water? if so then it might be high in phosphates or nitrates so these things need to be checked as well.

As for lighting period, i have 400w Halides over my tank @12 hours per day. The tank also sits right next to a window where the afternoon sun hits it for about 4 hours. I have no algea trouble (just the usual algea growth on the glass that needs wiping every few days). No hair algea, no cyano. Lights are not the reason for algea growth but merely part of the problem. An algea (not cyano) needs 2 things for growth, light AND nutrients. in a low nutrient environemtn you will find algea simply cannot get a foothold in the tank. Try to encourage the growth of macro algeas as this will help to outcmpete the less desirable slime algeas. Halemenia, Haliptilon and lots of other marco algeas look really nice and their presence alone will steal any extra nutrients from the water before it can be utilised by cyano etc.

As for the wrasse, i agree, get it out as it will simply make the situation worse. ait will outgrow the tank and damage your inverts.

You really need to start being ruthless and check the tank for dead corals etc. anyhing that is looking like it wont make it should be got rid of, keep anything thats healthy of course.

If your uncle has soft corals and you say one is aggressive then it might be a Colt coral (sometime known as Pussey coral), if so then keep it well clear of other corals as they can really pack a punch!

Fraggle advice is sound though and shuld you follow this advice you will be well on the road to making a nice tank for everyone to admire.

 

[Underwaterfragglerock]

Thanks for the correction, Navarre. We want to see this done right! How's it goin, DOLORES?

 

[DOLORES]

hey!!!! thank you very very much!!!! now i know almost everything for a 29 ..... besides.......... i asked him how many gallons was it...and he told me 90Gal ..... and so i was like "naaww" so i stared at it for about 3 minutes and...yes it was quite bigger than a 29 i took some photos, wich i'll post tomorrow and another thing, he only has 1 filter, wich is hang on back, but it had some kind of coral inside does anyone know why is it for?...... hehe!! and he had another fishie ...... some kind of triggerfish , also i watched for the temperament of the agressive one, and he is very playful! he is like...at first he was like everytime i would get closer to the tank he would hide...and peek for me , and then he got used to me, and wanted me to look at him it was really funny!, he doesnt harass the other ones! its really weird!

my uncle had already put the medication, wich i dont know how is it called , cuz i dididnt ask him, yet...., there was a party yesterday so i couldnt have the time to ask , i was in the pool with my friends !YAY! and I think its working cuz i saw some red algae gettin off of the rocks and all, and there was more greenish algae than reddish , also, the corals were already dead.... like.... dry .... know what i mean? i hope so , and...... i think thats all for now

still anymore questions/suggestions?


ps: again its a 90 gallon actually

 

[Navarre]

Can you give me the tank measurements in inches or Centimeteres. I iwll tell you the volum of the tank.
I need to know the length, hieght and width of the tank.

Be careful with triggers, most of them are not reef safe and even the ones that are should be one of hte last fish added to a tank as they can do untold damage to a system or fish. I have 2 triggers in my reef tank and both have completely different temperments.. (though both are reef safe)


As for adding medication to a tank. Its very important that you know the name of the medication and what the medication is for, not all medications are reef friendly (and even some of the ones that are can be dangerous at best). WHen i first set my original tank up i had cyano probs and foolishly used a medication to solve the problem. It did work but i lost my Metallic green starpolyps and Dendronapthya. This in turn killed nearly all my fish as the dendro rotted out of sight and i never realised.
If all the corals are dead (dry?) then i would assume fromthis that your unncle had sps corals rather than softies. They are far more dmenading on equipment and needs than softies, what type of lighting have you got oerver the tank? sps really need metal halides to thrive and also a nutrient poor envirnment, the very fact that you have a cyano problem leads me to think that you have the opposite (nutrient rich). I would suggest that you do some water tets so we can see exactly what state the water is in at the moment. Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, Phosphate, Calcium, PH, and temperature.