Ultimate Nuisance Algae Thread

Thanks, really helpful! Especially with the profiles of each algae.

 

As of 2/1/13 algae scrubber up and running. Well see about the results. In a couple weeks, to make sure the scrubber is establishing, I will black out the display until most algae is removed. I have also been slowly adding turbo snails, pin urchins, blue leg crabs, and scopas tangs. Any input is greatly appreciated.

 

I saw you were running a product..aquamax...something, have you tried GFO or phosguard? the algae scrubber and your plan will probably take care of it long-term though....keep us updates...in the video, it looks like you have many different varieties in there. Hang in there! I know it can be frustrating - on the upside, your livestock for the most part looks healthy!

 

I'm trying to determine how much of what to control algae growth. Looking at the table here it seems like a lot for our Oceanic 30-gal BioCube and 26-lbs of live rock and live sand:
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=420 2791 1766&pcatid=1766
Is it fairly accurate or just a 'rule of thumb' recommendation?

I would like to use macro organisims (snails, inverts, etc.) instead of chemicals to keep things under control but I don't want them to starve, either. What are recommendations or guidelines?

 

I love johns stuff, but I do tend to think his tables are a bit on the high side especially for new tanks. I went with a quarter of what he recommended when I first started out.

 

In my 34g I'm pretty happy with 1 dozen Astrea snails, 1 dozen cerith snails, 4 jumbo nassarius snails, 1 sand conch, and 3 turbo snails. You could use a similar set up for your 30g...