If you plan on keeping a saltwater aquarium for any amount of time, whether it is a reef tank or a fish-only with live rock tank (FOWLR), you are likely to experience an outbreak of cyanobacteria and diatoms.  Cyanobacteria or “Cyano” is also referred to as green slime algae (also comes in red and brown).  As it’s name implies, Cyanobacteria covers rocks and sand with a thin slimy film.  And while it is easily removed by siphoning, if the conditions that support it are not improved, then it will quickly return, unless you follow these steps.

Cyanobacteria and diatoms are brought on by the following factors:

• - high phosphate (>.5) and silicate
• - high nitrates (>25ppm)
• - insufficient current/water movement
• - high organics
• - low alkalinity (<3.0 meq/liter or <150ppm)
• - low pH (<8.2)
• - not enough grazers/inverts/sand stirrers (hermits, turbo snails, nassarius snails, seacucumbers)
• - not sufficient coverage of rock with corals (corals and algae do compete, so tip the scales in your favor by stocking to cover 60% of your rock with corals).

Three products that work to treat the symptom (not the cause – see above) are as follows:

Chemiclean

, which will eradicate the cyanobacteria (reef safe – we’ve used it in our service business for years)

Granular Ferric Oxide (removes phosphate and silicates) – we prefer Rowaphos, but there are other brands that work as well too.  This is great for removing phosphate, although a bit expensive.  Remember to focus on lessening the source of input of phosphate into your system (i.e. tapwater and foods).  For tapwater we filter with RODI (target is zero TDS).  As for the foods, we strongly recomment rinsing your frozen foods prior to feeding.  You’d be amazed at the amount of gook (scientific term) that would otherwise go into your tank/system.

• Doxicyclene hyclate – it has been years since I’ve used this for treating RTN (rapid tissue necrosis) in corals, but we also noticed that it was great for temporarily eradicating cyanobacteria.  I say temporary, because this is just treating the symptom and not the cause.  As long as the original cause (see above) is still there, the cyano will likely return.

If your type of saltwater tank is a fish-only with live rock (FOWLR), you are always going to have significantly higher phosphates, nitrates, silicates and organics to deal with than you would in a reef tank – even if you had the same number of fish in a reef tank.  This is because in FOWLR tanks, there are no (or very few) corals, sponges, coraline algae, clams, filter feeders, etc. to help remove nutrients from the water.

So with a FOWLR tank, you will need to be more aggressive with use of carbon, GFO (granular ferric oxide – removes phosphate) and with the removal of detritus.  I strongly recommend “storming the tank” at least twice a month (during normal/ideal conditions), but I would recommend doing it once a month in your current situation.

What I mean by “Storming the tank”, is putting a submersible powerhead pump on a stick/pipe and blast the rock to liberate detritus that has collected in the live rock.  And then having some type of mechanical filtration in use to remove the detritus now that it is suspended in the water column.

To do this you can use a canister filter, D.E. filter (diatomacious earth), or even a small powerfilter (hang-on-the-side).  Or if you don’t have any of these items, you can storm the tank with the powerhead and then siphon it off the surfact of the rock/sand as you do a large water change.  With this method I recommend blasting with the powerhead twice during the water change, allowing it to settle out for siphoning between blasting.

So if you end up with an outbreak of cyanobacteria or diatoms in your reef tank or fish-only tank (FOWLR), consider yourself fortunate that it is just cyanobacteria and diatoms, which are relatively easy to get rid of, and not something more difficult like bryopsis or hair algae.  And remember, you are better off preventing than reacting.

Technorati Tags: chemiclean, cyano, cyanobacteria, diatoms, fish-only tank, FOWLR, green slime algae, phosphate, red slime algae, reef tank, rowaphos, slime algae

In the reef aquarium, it is important to remove as much detritus and organic matter from the system as possible, because the collection of detritus and organic matter is one of the biggest causes of water quality problems and algae problems.  Strong water movement in your display tank is crucial, but nothing can take the place of having the right animal to do the job for you.  In fact, no manual effort can even come close.   You need animals that will get into the sand and rock to kick up the detritus into the water column where it can then be removed by your protein skimmer or mechanical filter.  And the Yellow Headed Sleeper Goby (Valencienna strigata) is one of my favorites.

Yellow Headed Sleeper Goby

Aside from using a hand-held powerhead or turkey baster to blast the detritus out of the rock (a great manual method to be done weekly), few other fish can clean your sand of unwanted detritus and organic matter.

I think that this fish should have been called a SIFTER Goby, rather than SLEEPER goby.  After all, they are constantly busy sifting through the sand.  I call them the steam shovel with gills.  They scoop up a mouthful of sand and then tilt their head up and sift the sand through their gills, where gill rakers act like baleen on a whale to sift out the food (small crustaceans, worms, copepods, and detritus).

And the best part is that as they sift the sand through their gills, they throw the detritus up into the water column where the currents keep it suspended, so that it can get removed by your protein skimmer or filter sock.  And this is how this fish helps control phosphates, by helping to remove detritus, which is usually loaded with phosphate.

Their diet is important to note.  These fish have a high metabolism, what with all the sifting activity they do.  So they do well when offered at least one type of sinking pellet along with several frozen foods.  My favorite sinking pellet is the New Life Spectrum pellets (small – 1 mm diameter).

As for frozen foods, I prefer Piscene Energetics brand of mysis shrimp, and enriched adult brine shrimp by San Francisco Bay Brand.

This fish will easily pair up and stay together, and do well as a pair in most aquariums 50 gallons and larger.  They will lay their eggs on the under side of a rock, which they accomplish by digging out a burrow under live rock. You don’t have to get them as a pair, but they do seem to do better as a pair, plus it is fun to observe them together.

One additional note here about building your live rock structure.  Always be sure to build live rock structure directly on the bottom of the tank and then add the sand after the live rock structure is completed.  This way your live rock structure is not vulnerable to collapse caused by animals that dig out burrows  at the base of the rock.

As for compatibility, the yellow headed sifter goby gets along well with most other fish.  The only likely possibly conflict would be with another species of sand sifting goby, such as the others from the genus Valencienna.  They are available through most local fish stores and online retailers.

Do you have experience with keeping this fish?  We’d love to hear your comments, as it is always helpful for others too.

Regards,

Warren

Technorati Tags: golden headed sleeper goby, phosphate, saltwater, saltwater aquarium, sifter goby, yellow headed sifter goby, yellow headed sleeper goby

I just finished an audio interview (teleseminar) on bryopsis algae control with two friends of mine, who are both owners of their own high-end custom saltwater aquarium design/installation/maintenance businesses. Geoff Sampson (Aquatic Art Technologies) has been in business for over 12 years out of Connecticut, and does work all over the country. Al Leun (Aquatics By Design) has been in business for over 6 years and is now doing large public aquarium installations and consulting worldwide. In fact he just got back from a project in Russia – that’s right – Russia.

We got on the call to share our experience with bryopsis algae control methods that have worked for us, as well as what causes bryopsis algae outbreaks and how to prevent them. Bryopsis algae can be so difficult to deal with once you have it, and this is one way we can help you avoid this nightmarish algae and to get rid of it if you do get it in your system.

Here’s the link to the interview. You can play it here on the blog or you can download it to listen to later on your iPod.

Teleseminar Recording: Bryopsis Algae Control with Geoff & Al

Please post any questions or comments you have below and let us know your experience with bryopsis and what you did to treat it. And remember to share this on twitter and facebook.

Here is a great product, which we have been using with amazing results.

After using Rowaphos (phosphate removal media) on all our tanks, and it is definitely our favorite. If you want to go get it now, here’s the link, and yes it is my affiliate link. When you click on it, you will be taken to www.marinedepot.com, where you can buy Rowaphos. And I will receive a small affiliate commission for referring you. You’ll pay the same price, no matter whether you buy it through my affiliate link or you go straight to Marine Depot.

Here’s the link:
D-D RP-5000 ROWAphos Phosphate Removal Media 5kg Bucket

I like to buy it in the largest size 5kg bucket, as this is the cheapest (per kg). And let’s face it, the stuff ain’t cheap, but man does it work well, and quickly. If you are battling high phosphate levels or you have problematic hair algae growth, you need this product to lower your phosphate levels.

** One point of note – be sure you rinse the media thoroughly before putting it into use. The most effective way to use Rowaphos is in a media reactor or upweller. Our favorite one is by Precision Marine, as it is very well made and extremely durable and easy to use. Most of the media reactors out there are poorly made with thin/brittle materials. I don’t recommend it, but I have dropped the Precision Marine media reactor on the floor and it was unharmed. I don’t mind paying a little more for product if it is made really well.

Here is the link to get the Precision Marine’s upweller media reactor:
Precision Marine SR35P Professional Series Reverse Flow Substrate Reactor

If you’ve used either of these products, I’d love to hear your comments and questions. Just post your comment below and thanks for your putting in your two cents.

Technorati Tags: hair algae, marine depot, phosphate, precision marine, reactor, rowaphos

A while back I posted on a method for bryopsis algae control, that involved using Kent Marine’s product Kent Tech-M. And in that post, I also told you that one of the exhibits in my care was a 900-gallon reef tank with a persistent bryopsis algae problem, and that I was about to use this method to eradicate the bryopsis algae from my tank.

And . . .

Drum roll please. . . . . . . . .

It worked!

Yes, it worked quite well. Before treating the tank with the magnesium supplement (Kent Tech-M), we did the following important steps to prepare:

PREPARATION STEPS
Step 1: performed two 35% water changes to help up the magnesium level to the normal 1,300ppm and to lower the phosphate level;

Step 2: Manually plucked/removed as much bryopsis as possible while the water level was down (during the water change). We did this during both water changes over a period of one week.

Step 3: stormed the tank with a powerhead on a stick to help get as much detritus out of the tank as possible. We have 4 filter socks in the sump that catch it quite efficiently;

Step 4: Replaced the Rowaphos media (a.k.a. ferric oxide) in our chemical filter (Precision Marine SR55P Professional Series Substrate Reactor), which helps to insult and stress out the bryopsis algae.

Step 5: Began dosing kalkwasser (saturated solution of calcium hydroxide and R.O. water), which precipitates out phosphates so that the protein skimmer can remove them. It also elevates the pH to 8.3-8.5, which helps inhibit the growth of unwanted algae such as bryopsis and hair algae. And kalkwasser also helps to elevate alkalinity, which also helps inhibit unwanted algae.

Step 6: Turned off the activated carbon filter. This is just a hunch, but since the active ingredient in Kent Marine’s Tech-M magnesium supplement is not known (that which eradicates the bryopsis), I certainly didn’t want the activated carbon to remove it. Originally, people felt it was the elevated magnesium level that was doing the work, but after multiple methods of raising the magnesium level produced inconsistent results, it was concluded that Kent Marine’s Tech-M product worked the best because of some mystery active ingredient.

Now that the preparation steps were completed we were ready to begin dosing the Kent Tech-M (magnesium supplement). The main instructions are to make sure that you do not raise the magnesium level by more than 100ppm per day.

So I went ahead with dosing the tank to raise the magnesium level by 100ppm per day until the magnesium level was between 1600-1800ppm, and in one week the bryopsis dropped to less than 50% of what it was before dosing. And by two weeks, 99% of the bryopsis was gone from the display tank. I was quite pleasantly surprised.

Overall it took 2 weeks and the Bryopsis is now gone. It is my feeling that the aggressive manual plucking/removal was a critical step to insulting/stressing the bryopsis. And remember we did this just prior to changing out the Rowaphos media (lowered phosphates to zero) and the subsequent dosing of the magnesium supplement.

We will see what time will tell. I have heard of the bryopsis coming back after a successful treatment, so the constant vigilence will continue – as it always does with a truly successful saltwater aquarium.

Please comment and share your experience with hair algae or bryopsis and how you went about it and what happened.

Technorati Tags: bryopsis, bryopsis algae control, chemical filter, chemical media reactor, hair algae, kalkwasser, kent tech-m, magnesium, rowaphos

There are all kinds of algae problems an aquarist can experience in keeping saltwater aquariums, particularly with reef tanks. But none of them can be as nightmarish as Bryopsis.

Unlike most other algae, such as hair algae or cyanobacteria, Bryopsis does not respond to most removal methods. Even a normal algae problem can be extremely frustrating or even lead to someone giving up and shutting down their tank. But that doesn’t have to happen. There is a solution and I’m going to share it with you here in just a moment.

Typically, most algae problems such as hair algae or cyanobacteria, can be solved with a combination of:
- elevated pH
- increased water circulation
- removal of phosphates and nitrates
- removal of detritus, and
- addition of algae grazers (tangs, hermit crabs, snails, emerald crabs, urchins, sea hares, etc.)
- manual removal by humans (i.e. plucking, scrubbing, siphoning, etc.)

But Bryopsis is different, as it does not respond to these methods. Actually, it can often grow even more because of such methods (especially manual removal, which can feed asexual reproduction via fragmentation). And even biological controls such as adding grazing invertebrates and tangs is not only not very effective with Bryopsis, but it can be expensive (them critters ain’t cheap).

I wish I could say it was my idea – far from it. In fact, I have been dealing with a bout of Bryopsis recently in our 950-gallon saltwater reef exhibit at the Ocean Explorium, where I am Curator. And I was researching solutions to my problem when I cam across this solution. Here’s the link.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1113109&perpage=25&pagenumber=1

It explains the whole process in fair detail, with photos of results, showing the Bryopsis dying off and disappearing as a result of the treatment. I’ve also done more research on this method (thank you google) and it has actually been widely used with consistent successful results. And yet, it is a mostly unknown method.

Most people who get cursed with a Bryopsis algae outbreak, work like crazy for long periods of time, getting very frustrated, and still not even make a dent in the problem. Bryopsis algae outbreaks are usually caused by a new addition, where the algae comes in as a hitch hiker on a new coral or piece of live rock, or even a snail shell. So I’m glad I found it and even more glad to share it with you. Please be sure and share it with your friends too.

The method uses increased Magnesium levels for three months (1600ppm compared to the normal 1300ppm), to bring the Bryopsis to its threshold for binding Magnesium. This causes the Magnesium to then perform as an enzyme inhibitor, making the Bryopsis shut down and die off. Once this happens, the grazers in your saltwater aquarium will clean up the remains.

Point of caution: Be sure not to raise the Magnesium level by more than 100ppm per day.

Please post a comment here on the blog to share your feedback, or to tell your story if you are having any problems or frustrations with your saltwater aquarium. We would love to help you out in any way we can.

Technorati Tags: algae, algae removal, bryopsis, bryopsis algae, cyanobacteria, hair algae, magnesium, problem solving, reef tank, saltwater aquarium

Check out this cool video on how they are battling with invasive algal species on Hawaii’s coral reefs.  They call the tool they are using the “super sucker”, which they use to vacuum these invasive species off of the reef.

http://video.nytimes.com/video/2009/02/19/science/1194837960943/vacuuming-the-reef.html

Sincerely,

Warren Gibbons

www.saltwateraquariumsecrets.com

Technorati Tags: algae, Hawaii, invasive algae