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A Question About Algae

May 31, 2009

Aquarium AlgaeAlgae could be the aquarist’s friend and at the same time an enemy, it all depends on what type it is. A question arose recently about algae and my immediate reaction was ‘Oh no, not again, algae!’’ In fact it wasn’t so bad.

The question came from a beginner aquarist who openly admitted that she didn’t have much experience. In fact, she had done precisely four routine seawater changes with her new aquarium. The aquarium, a fish only, was not overstocked, if anything it was understocked. She was a little fed up; the excitement of actually seeing some life in the aquarium after all the patient waiting when the system was being put together was being spoilt by the dreaded algae. I was unable to see the aquarium.

Basically she had done seawater changes and after each one she advised ‘red’ algae had gone bananas. That’s what she said; I don’t think it could have been quite as bad as that!

Many aquarists have problems with various types of algae, particularly when inexperienced and when the aquarium is in its early days. I was surprised that it was red algae causing the trouble. Usually it is green hair algae, or so-called slime algae or smear algae (a thin sheet that slowly covers rocks, sand etc). Slime algae can be ‘reddish’, very dark and appear red nearly black. Another type is diatoms that are usually more golden brown in colour.

Red algae can be calcareous and branching or encrusting, or have flexible ‘leaves’. These algae types are often sort after by aquarists as they are decorative. In the red algae family there are over 4000 types. The algae though had been identified as a problem and not decorative so it cleared these types away. So the algae in question had to be a problem type, but what? Green hair algae was obviously not the answer.

When an aquarium is first started up diatoms often appear. They could cover rocks, sand etc. The diatoms rely on silicates in the seawater - if the silicates go so do the diatoms. If they appear then die back, the silicates are used up. If they then re-appear at a routine seawater change, then more silicates have been introduced. The fresh water source could be suspect. Dry sea salt does not usually cause this type of problem.

Smear or slime algae is a bigger problem. It can be quite difficult to erase but this can be achieved. The presence of smear algae suggests excess nutrients in the seawater, even in a new aquarium. Also smear algae does not like strong currents - it often tends to appear in quiet areas of the aquarium, though just to be helpful it can appear in more turbulent areas.

10% of the net system gallonage is the guideline amount for routine seawater changes, until the actual needs of a particular aquarium are known. The changes being done were of this amount.

Possibilities would have to be narrowed down, so the first suggestion was that seawater tests should be done, that is, nitrate and phosphate. A request was made to test both the seawater in the aquarium and the new seawater made up for a routine change. Ideally, in the aquarium nitrate should be as low as 10ppm (parts per million) or less particularly for a reef aquarium, a fish only could be higher but should still have nitrate minimized. Phosphate should not be detected at all hopefully, but at least the level should not be more than 0.03ppm. If it is higher, say 0.10ppm, it is too high. In newly made up seawater there shouldn’t really be any presence of nitrate or phosphate. Nitrate and phosphate are known problem algae nutrients, thus the need for control.

It turned out that nitrate and phosphate were present and ‘a little too high’, levels were not given. The seawater destined for the routine change was also tested - the same for nitrate. Now then!

So on to the next possibility. This follows the clues given - the algae become more apparent after a routine seawater change and nitrate was present in the new seawater. A check was suggested of the freshwater being used.

The information arrived that the nitrate level in the freshwater was ‘high’. Maybe this was tap water, the most likely, or it could be local spring or well water, I don’t know. Nor was the actual level given. However, ‘high’ in this instance meant ‘too much’ and this seemed to be the problem that needed to be dealt with.

Tap water is not necessarily as pure as might be thought. In agricultural areas there could be excessive nitrate levels. There could also be heavy metals, pesticides, phosphate, chlorine, chloramines and so on. The water is made safe for human consumption; there are regulations as to how much of what is permitted.

The suggestion was made that fresh water should no longer be used from that source, and that a reverse osmosis (RO) unit should be obtained. The RO unit is a membrane that only permits pure water to pass, or nearly so. The purity is usually about 95 to 98%. It is important to have a unit that incorporates a carbon filter at the front end; this protects the membrane as chlorine is removed. Chlorine could damage the membrane. A sediment filter is often incorporated before the membrane as well. RO units come in various ‘gallons per day’ sizes, one needs to be picked that is suitable for the size of the routine seawater change. RO units are very reliable and only require the carbon filter etc changing from time to time in accordance with the manufacturer’s directions. They are not particularly expensive either.

It is worth using high quality fresh water obviously for the welfare of the livestock; also dry sea salt is not cheap. Dry sea salt manufacturers produce salt that is free of nitrate and phosphate - why spoil this with poor fresh water?

Much later on it was learned that an RO unit was in use and though nothing had happened for a while, in time the algae (‘slime’ I assume) started to reduce and the aquarium became clear of it.

This seems a good demonstration that the aquarium will reflect what it receives. Feed in algae nutrients and algae could appear. In this case all turned out well.

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My Lovely Algae

May 28, 2009

Algae

Algae to an aquarist often mean trouble. It is one of the continuing ‘don’t wants’ of the aquarium. Hair algae, slime algae, yuk, no thanks! Then there’s the algae that’s purposely grown in a sump to aid filtration, usually Caulerpa.

The algae referred to here is none of the ‘horribles’, or Caulerpa, but the ‘reefy’ encrusting algae that is welcome, by me anyway.

At first when the aquarium started I used to keep all four side glasses clean. A considerable time later I noticed that encrusting algae had taken hold in a back corner. A closer look showed that it seemed decorative and welcome, so the algae’s impending doom with a scraper was averted. One end of the aquarium was not cleaned at all; it was left to its own devices. The glass turned green, the usual stuff, but despite twitching with the urge to clean it off, it was left alone. Over a few weeks it gradually turned dark.

I thought about this for a while, and then increased the alkalinity of the seawater from 2.5 meq/L to 4.0 meq/L. The reason for this action was that it had been anecdotally reported that bad algae grew poorly with higher alkalinity, but encrusting decorative algae does better. Having done this I monitored the corals carefully but nothing untoward occurred.

As time progressed the glass that had been left turned into dark, medium and light green patches. It also developed lots of tiny white pimples on it. It looked great.

Having obtained reassurance by this ‘experiment’, I left the back glass alone and just kept the front and one end glass clean. This was probably going to happen anyway as the corals were larger and getting to some areas of the glass had become difficult. The algae continued to develop and then covered the stated glass panels completely. The aquarium looks really great with this natural decoration in place. The original blue of the back glass can no longer be seen.

The alkalinity level has been maintained at 4.0 meq/L for years and the encrusting algae do seem to appreciate it.

I did note that algae over an area of about 2 square inches had come away from the glass and fallen down; it could be seen on a rock. The glass where it had been was clean. The fallen alga was quite thick, about 1/8 of an inch, so I assumed it had simply lost adhesion, glass is hard and smooth. Sure enough, the clean area was soon being taken over and is now once again covered.

Something else I have noted is that tiny shrimps, similar to the ones that scurry over the rocks and sand at night, take refuge behind some areas of the algae. Close inspection shows that the algae appears to be slightly loose in place - I wonder if the beasties have burrowed their way in or simply taken advantage.

Over time one or two additional patches of encrusting algae have come away and are growing back. Taking a photograph of the algae is difficult as corals tend to get in the way, however I did find one area that is reasonably open and used that. The patches on the left can be seen, in process of re-covering. Original algae can also be seen. Incidentally, the attached ‘leafy’ algae that can also be seen aren’t what I’m talking about, but are also very decorative. It is also very friendly in that if any does grow where it isn’t wanted the whole ‘leaf’ easily comes away for removal.

Algae can be the aquarist’s friend, adding a natural decorative background and increasing the overall attractiveness of the aquarium.

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Algae - Friend Or Foe?

April 28, 2009

Aquarium Algae

Mention the word ‘algae’ to different marine aquarists and the reaction could be mainly one of two, a look of horror perhaps bordering on panic or a smile and a nod. It all depends.

To some aquarists algae is most definitely a foe. These aquarists are, in the main, novices who are gathering experience and have found out the hard way the consequences of over feeding, over stocking, or over lighting. There could even be a combination. One consequence is long hairy green stuff waving in the currents as though it is making fun of the suffering aquarist. Green filamentous algae can spread to such an extent it overgrows the whole aquarium! It seems to be hardy too, as even if the nutrient level is reduced the monstrous stuff seems to survive for quite a while. It takes the nutrients out of the seawater of course which is the only saving grace I can think of. No, there’s one more, which is that it is food for some fish. Nevertheless, it is not required in abundance.

Similarly, slime alga is a problem. This time it is like thin semi-solidified goo on surfaces which is capable of suffocating the life out of anything it covers, again definitely not required. Fortunately it can be siphoned out at routine seawater changes but tends to linger for a while.

So who smiles at algae? It has to be those aquarists who have control of their aquarium conditions. Seawater parameters are as they should be and not permitted to be anything else. Some of these aquarists use algae to combat other algae, which sounds like justice to me! For example, nitrate and phosphate are implicated in the growth of nuisance algae. The same nutrients are necessary to some decorative algae. So, take some decorative algae, such as the Caulerpa macro type, and grow it in reasonable quantity in favourable conditions. If the bad algae is being physically removed and the good algae is taking in nutrients and in favourable conditions, which will lose out? It is likely to be the bad algae. Many use the system and it is definitely helpful.

Have a look at the imported photo with this text. Is that some of the hairy stuff I see?

I’m going off track a little but remaining with algae. Here’s another positive for algae which could develop beyond the intended stated use in a few years. Hope it proves to be of huge benefit!

http://coast2coastam.net/?p=198

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Algae I Didn’t Know Was There!

January 4, 2009

Today (Sunday) is maintenance day when closer attention is given to the aquarium. During the week it is feeding and when needed a manual water top up. Anyway, as said, maintenance.

Maintenance was carried out as usual without any problems. I noticed a coral (a toadstool) was loose and breaking away from its anchor point. So when the partial seawater change had been completed - the last task in the maintenance - I turned my attention to the coral.

It was simple removing it from the rock. The reason it had become loose was because new corals were growing from it and the new ones used the same anchor point. This meant that the seawater currents had more to affect causing more of a strain. I got out a cocktail stick and positioned the coral in a location where it could spread more easily though still in the same area.

As I bent to complete the re-positioning I noted a group of new toadstools that were growing. Great! Then I noticed at the rear of the aquarium on the rockwork some algae commonly called ‘sailor’s eyeballs’. The proper name for these is Ventricaria ventricosa. These are thought to be maybe the largest single-celled organism on the planet. Each cell is filled with carbon monoxide, a toxic gas* - this doesn’t normally cause trouble though. The cells are also filled with a large number of spores. After sufficient growth the cell bursts and these spores are released - not wanted!

I wasn’t alarmed as I have dealt with these little perishers on and off for a long time. They are quite attractive really, but it is the extent they can spread that is the problem. It was when I noticed the spread that immediate action was required; there must have been 100 or more of them growing. I hadn’t noticed them until I had to lean over the aquarium at an unusual angle to fix the coral.

So off I went to get my very sophisticated anti-blob kit - a length of silicone airline fastened to a short length of rigid airline. After emptying the old seawater from the bucket I commenced siphoning. The algae are destroyed one by one by pressing the end of the rigid airline on them until they burst. Any spores are hopefully drawn into the siphon tube by the seawater flow. This destruction process becomes more efficient with practice. I can achieve quite a speed as, as said, I have been having small skirmishes with them for a long time. It took about ten to fifteen minutes and the job was done.

They will be back of course as there isn’t a way that all of them will be removed, there are so many nooks and crannies in a reef aquarium. The majority will have been destroyed though.

The event reminded me to check from time to time areas of the aquarium that are hidden from a normal viewing angle.

What a shame it is a nuisance though. The appearance of the algae is said to be a good sign as it will only prosper in excellent seawater conditions*, that is, seawater lacking in phosphate and nitrate. Also, as stated, it is quite decorative.

Below is a link to enable identification of the algae. The images can be clicked on to enlarge them.

http://www.poppe-images.com/images/search_results.php?category=Algae&species=Ventricaria%20ventricosa

(Reference: Baench Marine Atlas. Helmut Debelius & Hans A. Baensch)

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The Constituents Of Seawater

December 19, 2008

The seas and oceans cover the majority of the planet surface. Within those seas the wild reefs have grown and all of their needs are met, be that calcium or whatever. The life on the wild reef has had a very long time to adapt to the sea, which is considered to be stable.

Some of these life forms end up in the home marine aquarium. With the natural seas being so stable it follows that for success the conditions on the wild reef should be duplicated as near as possible, and conditions provided that successfully permit life to function and be healthy.

Seawater quality is the number one on the list of ‘must haves’ for success so it follows that the seawater used should be as close as possible in make-up to the natural kind. In much earlier days aquarists would obtain some constituents – not all of them by any means – from a chemist and mix up a brew. Livestock existed in this fairly well for a while but trouble usually appeared. Nowadays there are many high quality dry salt mixes available which the manufacturers state equals the natural type. Be that as it may, the appearance of these dry salt mixes has brought the successful maintenance of a marine system within the reach of every aspiring aquarist provided the interest in the hobby is maintained and the requisite maintenance is done.

Seawater is a mix of many things, some of them present in major amounts, others in trace amounts, and more with a very tiny presence. So for the benefit of anyone interested there follows a list of the make-up of seawater. There is clearly no requirement of any kind for an aquarist to know them but as said it may be of interest. It could also be of use for aquarists who wish to maintain natural levels of important parts such as calcium etc.

Major Elements. (All measurements in mg/l)

Chlorine

18880

Sodium

10770

Magnesium

1290

Sulphur

884

Calcium

412.1

Potassium

399

Bromine

67.3

Carbon

28

Nitrogen

15

Strontium

7.9

Boron

4.5

Silicon

2

Fluorine

1.3

Trace Elements. (All measurements in ug/l)

Lithium

180

Rubidium

120

Iodine

60

Phosphorus

60

Molybdenum

10

Zinc

4.9

Argon

4.3

Arsenic

3.7

Uranium

3.2

Vanadium

2.5

Aluminium

2

Barium

2

Iron

2

Nickel

1.7

Titanium

1

Copper

0.5

Cesium

0.4

Chromium

0.3

Antimony

0.24

Manganese

0.2

Krypton

0.2

Selenium

0.2

Neon

0.12

Cadmium

0.1

Wolfram

0.1

Cobalt

0.05

Germanium

0.05

Xenon

0.05

Silver

0.04

Gallium

0.03

Lead

0.03

Zirconium

0.03

Bismuth

0.02

Mercury

0.02

Niobium

0.01

Thallium

0.01

Thorium

0.01

Tin

0.01

Hafnium

0.007

Helium

0.0068

Beryllium

0.0056

Gold

0.004

Rhenium

0.004

Lanthanum

0.003

Neodymium

0.003

Tantalum

0.003

Yttrium

0.0013

Cerium

0.001

Dysprosium

0.0009

Erbium

0.0008

Ytterbium

0.0008

Gadolinium

0.0007

Praseodymium

0.0006

Scandium

0.0006

Holmium

0.0002

Lutetium

0.0002

Thorium

0.0002

Indium

0.0001

Terbium

0.0001

Samarium

0.00005

Europium

0.00001

Radium

0. 00000007

Protactinium

0. 00000005

Radon

0. 000000000006

Constituents with a tiny presence.

Technetium

Ruthenium

Rhodium

Palladium

Osmium

Iridium

Platinum

Astatine

Francium

Actinium

(Reference: ‘Baensch Marine Atlas’. Helmut Debelius & Hans A. Baensch)

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Diatom Algae

November 3, 2008

Algae! Now there’s a word that can raise very mixed emotions in a marine aquarist. Even if the aquarist is a newcomer to the hobby, if plenty has been read in research he or she will be aware of the dangers.

Of course not all algae’s are bad; in fact they could be the aquarist’s friend. There are many forms of decorous algae. Caulerpa is a larger form of algae that is often used by more experienced aquarists to reduce nitrate and phosphate, as it uses the nutrients for its growth which of course means that other nuisance algae cannot. When used this way it is usually kept in the sump under individual lighting.

The algae types that worry aquarists the most are green filamentous and smear algae. Filamentous green algae take the form of very thin strands which are close together and could be up to 8″ (circa 20 cm) long. If unchecked it could cover all the rock and sand. Smear algae, also known as blue-green algae (though it comes in more than one colour variation), properly known as Cyanobacteria, which is often a dark reddish brown appears, as the name suggests, as a thin covering that is really unsightly. If unchecked this thin film could extend over much of the aquarium décor and smother all underneath.

There is another algae type that often causes alarm and it often appears in a newly set-up aquarium, seemingly - from anecdotal reports - particularly where a decorative sand bed (or possibly a deep sand bed) is in use. It is not a definite appearance however; quite a few aquariums never develop it. It could be a nuisance in older aquariums under certain conditions.

This algae is diatoms. Sometimes they are referred to as brown algae, but this is incorrect, brown algae is another type altogether. The algae could also be mistaken as a form of smear algae as the aquarium décor could be covered with a thin layer. Again, smear algae has nothing to do with diatoms.

Diatom algae rely on silicic acid being present in the seawater. If this remains present in any amount it will be extremely difficult to get rid of the diatoms. Tap water could contain the acid in a sufficient amount to support the algae - if it doesn’t it is likely that it will not appear. If there is a sand bed present maybe silicon is present?*

Wandering off-course for a moment, diatoms have a really wonderful cell structure. I have only seen pictures in books. They could be circular, triangular, oval etc and have intricate patterns within the cell that are individual. I don’t know, but I doubt they are singularly unique, but there are many variations. The cells, which are constructed of silicon, don’t degrade and are in fact used in diatomaceous filters. The media is simply made up of these cells.

Anyway, if the aquarist has an invasion of diatom algae then the first thing to do is wait. After a week or two the diatom problem will often die back and cease to exist. The die back usually is not instantaneous but occurs over a period.

If the problem is getting worse, and/or there isn’t any die back, then it is likely that silicic acid is being supplied. I’m not sure of the sand bed bit, but perhaps silicon content within the sand bed is the culprit. If so, then the silicon should exhaust?* Obviously the aquarist should not be tempted to change the sand bed as this could well make matters worse or extend the period when the diatoms are present.

If the aquarist is using tap water then he or she could have the water tested for silicic acid content. If routine seawater changes are being done, as they should be, and the acid is present in the water then fresh supplies are being provided and the diatoms will not go away.

Another way to deal with the tap water is to use reverse osmosis (RO) water. This is tap water that has been filtered through a very fine filter and much of the unwanted content of the water is removed. The purity of the water when leaving a RO filter is generally from 95 to 98%. The use of RO water is recommended whether there is a diatom algae problem or not. RO filters are available to the hobby commercially, are not particularly expensive, and are a good investment.

So, despite the attractive individual cells of diatom algae, the alga is not wanted. Of the nuisance algae types this is probably the easiest to deal with.

(* I have never seen any ‘official’ or science proven reports about the affect of new sand beds in marine aquaria)

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Does Natural Algae Control Actually Work

October 5, 2008

At some stage in practically every aquariums life it will become the end result of an algae outbreak. Quite often these outbreaks simply disappear on their own, however on some occasions they simply will not go away and no matter what the aquarist does they simply return.

It is important to understand in the first instance why algae takes hold and grows in the aquarium.

All algae require an energy source. This energy source could be a particular colour temperature in the light, a nutrient in the water etc.

Therefore the algae outbreak could be due to the lighting not being replaced and the incorrect colour spectrum being transmitted into the aquarium. Some algae like this particular temperature and then grow. The light to the human eye will probably look fine however unless you perform a specialist test you will not know. The best thing to do is ensure that you change the bulbs at the correct time period based upon manufacturer’s recommendations.

The second and probably the most common one is where algae feed upon nutrients in the water. The most common nutrients and nitrate, phosphate and silicates. In this scenario especially for nitrate and phosphate it can be hard to locate. The reason for this is that the algae are taking up the nutrients from the water column and therefore when a test is performed the parameters appear to be ok. As soon as the algae is removed from the aquarium the levels start to increase and the algae takes hold again.

It is a vicious circle unfortunately.

As the saying goes though - prevention is better than cure.

The best prevention is to ensure that the equipment in the aquarium is correctly maintained and replaced if/when required as well as the water parameters being kept at the highest possible standard.

A very useful part of obtaining these parameters is the reduction/removal of nutrients. An excellent way to reduce and/or remove nitrate and phosphates is through the use of natural based control.

This natural based control could be live rock, deep sand beds, mud beds, refugiums, mangroves etc.

Live rock for example is exceptionally powerful at filtering the aquarium and if enough high grade quality is purchased then it can also assist in the reduction/process of nitrates.

It is my opinion that there are two natural based packages which can be used for both filtration and nutrient export.

These are:

  1. Live rock combined with a deep sand bed - This allows for efficient filtration of the aquarium via the live rock and also for nutrient export via the deep sand bed.
  2. Live rock combined with a refugium - This again allows for the efficient filtration of the aquarium via the live rock and also for nutrient export via the refugium where macro algae is grown.

In the refugium example above I personally find it interesting that you can use algae to control algae. The reason this can be performed is that the algae which you are growing in a separate aquarium can be harvested from time to time. The algae removes nutrients from the water and uses this for growth. When the algae is harvested from the aquarium the nutrients are removed as well. As you are not removing all of the algae then the remaining algae feeds upon the nutrients in the water and maintains these parameters at a low level. Because the algae is located in a separate aquarium no or minimal algae outbreaks should occur in the main display aquarium. This is not to say you will never receive any because you might however it severely reduces the possibility.

These are not the only methods which you can use as there are many more. Mangroves for example are very powerful but they are very slow growing and therefore reduce the nutrients at a slower speed.

The aquarist, however should never rely upon these techniques and needs to ensure that the correct care and maintenance is still employed, the fish are not overfed etc.

Simply put in response to the question in the title of this post - yes natural algae filtration does work as long as it is properly implemented and cared for.

Follow nature and keep it simple.

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