OK, tossed the idea out in my 40B Rebuild thread and I though since my tank has a good bit of algae, it might be a good to give folks as example of how someone who has fought the good fight deals with algae. I am going to try to keep it simple in concept and in terminology (or really not as complex as the THINK Tank). We will reference some of the "experts" but if folks want more, we can reference the "deep" discussions like Invic's Algae thread. In order to win against algae we need some simpleground rules in the "war".
1) It is a war of attrition.
2) It is a war of resources.
3) It is a war of tools and knowledge.
4) Don't panic... ever.
Got it?
Need more? Ok.
First (really last) rule is to never panic. Don't go "OMG ALGAE WHHHHAAAAAAAAA!" Algae happens. It can pop up quickly (overnight really) and make things a mess. However, it is normally not going to cause tank-ending repercussions immediately. If anything, it is an "occupying force". In fact, it often comes in stages with normal tank development. When I saw algae in my tank, I when "huh, ok". So when dealing with algae, deal with in in the "long term" notion. Quick actions really are not needed but rather systematic changes might be. Sometimes, algae is just a natural sign that a tank is progressing and if you keep up with proper husbandry it will disappear.
Ok, moving on to the most important concept "The war against algae is a war of attrition". Seriously. Either you will wear it out, it might wear you out of the hobby, or you will fight to a stalemate and both sides just old there. There is NO magic bullet for beating algae. There is no "quick fix" in a bottle for the long term. Algae pops up overnight but it might be weeks or months (depending) on the final defeat. There are ways to control algae via predation but this just removes the intial issue without addressing the underlying issue. I will talk about predation (algae eaters) later and why they can be a tool to help but not a solution later on.
Next, this is a war of resources. Either you get to the resources or algae gets them. Algae responds to one thing: available resources. Take away the resources and algae does not have a nutrient to stand on. If you let the resources hang around the tank, then algae is diabolical enough to get to them and then try and tilt the playing-field in their advantage... yes, algae is a nutrient cheater and does anything to win. To beat algae, you can't cheat but you can get to the nutrients before they have a chance to cheat. That is the long-term gameplan.
Finally (or thirdly put last), this war is about knowledge and having the correct tools. My plan is not about going out and buying the solution but some folks might need to buy the right tools in order to win the war. You NEED pure water (RO/DI) and some pieces of equipment are useful (siphon and a skimmer for some tanks). However, what is the point of having good tools if you do not know how to wield them? As a result, winning the war needs information. You might need some info from G's RME thread , Invic's Thread, and a few classic Spanky posts,
There is even some real tanks and experiences folks who have the art and knowledge down... with the proper tools. We might not always agree on how those tools are used or even if they can be used universally, but there is value in some of these tanks... and a viewpoint to look at how to keep things working for you. Nate's, Invic's, Rustl3r's
MINION's Build or Paul's Tank
dirty's tank
A lot of folks have fought algae in their tanks, in fact it seems we are always fighting it in some form... even when we plan to keep it in our tanks.
Ok, moving on to MY algae war. Ok, I am rebuilding from a disastrous move... I lost a lot and there was a lot of die-off. As a result, a lot of organics/nutrients made their way back into the rock. So when I rebuild, algae was able to take advantage of my previous issues (told you they were evil cheaters). So what is going on? Well, with new tank (even many tanks that are being rebuilt) there are going to be excess organics as populations shift and respond in the tank to various items. Diatoms respond to silica, and algae responds to nitrogen and phosphate. So when items were no doing well during the move, bacteria responded to the die-off and the waste that bacteria produces is often Grade A fertilizer for algae. So, a few weeks (about 3-4 (after "cycle") of having my tank back up an running, I start seeing algae. Now, it is important to note that my tank will mature faster than a tank that is set up using dry-rock or from scratch. So keep in mind that my time scale is accelerated... makes making an algae thread easier but please note that other system might take longer... but the process is the same.
Here: See the green/brown popping up on the left glass wall? It has not really addressed the rocks yet in large amount to make it easily noticeable but it is there. This is NORMAL... all newer tanks should see some algae response. We often call it the "uglies" and it is just like a teenager getting pimples. It happens, some worse than other but it will clean up as it matures if everything is taken care of properly.
Now, 1.5 weeks later, I have more algae colonizing areas. In particular, it is colonizing areas that did not have a lot of mature coraline algae (ok stuff) growth like this recently dead coral skeleton. Algae is opportunistic. It like to be "first to colonize" and then tries to hold on. So here you see the algae on the "white" new dead skeleton.
Now, the first step to battling the algae is to address the initial wave. Algae will try to get an advantage and as more algae grows, the more it will try and create an environment that helps it "dominate the world". Now, the first step is to attack the invading force and try to drive them back a bit. In this case I am talking about manual removal. Yes, you need to pluck and/or suck algae out of the system. Thin out the numbers. For me it was a little siphoning and plucking. It is a bit time consuming but it helps to try and control the inital wave. It is not a solution but it is part of the winning plan. Here was my "spoils"
Now I am not worried about getting it all but I try and get as much as I can easily.
So, that is the initial step. In the following post, I will start laying out my over-reaching battle plans. So, those veterans of prior algae wars don't jump the gun. Rather, if folks have good ideas about MANUAL ALGAE REMOVAL, please post below. I think Invic suggested some interesting usage of a toothbrush and a hose. (Edit: Invic's method is to use a toothbrush to loosen and remove algae and the have a siphon hole follow along with it). So, keep with the manual algae removal concept for now and stay posted!!!! :thumbup:
1) It is a war of attrition.
2) It is a war of resources.
3) It is a war of tools and knowledge.
4) Don't panic... ever.
Got it?
Need more? Ok.
First (really last) rule is to never panic. Don't go "OMG ALGAE WHHHHAAAAAAAAA!" Algae happens. It can pop up quickly (overnight really) and make things a mess. However, it is normally not going to cause tank-ending repercussions immediately. If anything, it is an "occupying force". In fact, it often comes in stages with normal tank development. When I saw algae in my tank, I when "huh, ok". So when dealing with algae, deal with in in the "long term" notion. Quick actions really are not needed but rather systematic changes might be. Sometimes, algae is just a natural sign that a tank is progressing and if you keep up with proper husbandry it will disappear.
Ok, moving on to the most important concept "The war against algae is a war of attrition". Seriously. Either you will wear it out, it might wear you out of the hobby, or you will fight to a stalemate and both sides just old there. There is NO magic bullet for beating algae. There is no "quick fix" in a bottle for the long term. Algae pops up overnight but it might be weeks or months (depending) on the final defeat. There are ways to control algae via predation but this just removes the intial issue without addressing the underlying issue. I will talk about predation (algae eaters) later and why they can be a tool to help but not a solution later on.
Next, this is a war of resources. Either you get to the resources or algae gets them. Algae responds to one thing: available resources. Take away the resources and algae does not have a nutrient to stand on. If you let the resources hang around the tank, then algae is diabolical enough to get to them and then try and tilt the playing-field in their advantage... yes, algae is a nutrient cheater and does anything to win. To beat algae, you can't cheat but you can get to the nutrients before they have a chance to cheat. That is the long-term gameplan.
Finally (or thirdly put last), this war is about knowledge and having the correct tools. My plan is not about going out and buying the solution but some folks might need to buy the right tools in order to win the war. You NEED pure water (RO/DI) and some pieces of equipment are useful (siphon and a skimmer for some tanks). However, what is the point of having good tools if you do not know how to wield them? As a result, winning the war needs information. You might need some info from G's RME thread , Invic's Thread, and a few classic Spanky posts,
There is even some real tanks and experiences folks who have the art and knowledge down... with the proper tools. We might not always agree on how those tools are used or even if they can be used universally, but there is value in some of these tanks... and a viewpoint to look at how to keep things working for you. Nate's, Invic's, Rustl3r's
MINION's Build or Paul's Tank
dirty's tank
A lot of folks have fought algae in their tanks, in fact it seems we are always fighting it in some form... even when we plan to keep it in our tanks.
Ok, moving on to MY algae war. Ok, I am rebuilding from a disastrous move... I lost a lot and there was a lot of die-off. As a result, a lot of organics/nutrients made their way back into the rock. So when I rebuild, algae was able to take advantage of my previous issues (told you they were evil cheaters). So what is going on? Well, with new tank (even many tanks that are being rebuilt) there are going to be excess organics as populations shift and respond in the tank to various items. Diatoms respond to silica, and algae responds to nitrogen and phosphate. So when items were no doing well during the move, bacteria responded to the die-off and the waste that bacteria produces is often Grade A fertilizer for algae. So, a few weeks (about 3-4 (after "cycle") of having my tank back up an running, I start seeing algae. Now, it is important to note that my tank will mature faster than a tank that is set up using dry-rock or from scratch. So keep in mind that my time scale is accelerated... makes making an algae thread easier but please note that other system might take longer... but the process is the same.
Here: See the green/brown popping up on the left glass wall? It has not really addressed the rocks yet in large amount to make it easily noticeable but it is there. This is NORMAL... all newer tanks should see some algae response. We often call it the "uglies" and it is just like a teenager getting pimples. It happens, some worse than other but it will clean up as it matures if everything is taken care of properly.
Now, 1.5 weeks later, I have more algae colonizing areas. In particular, it is colonizing areas that did not have a lot of mature coraline algae (ok stuff) growth like this recently dead coral skeleton. Algae is opportunistic. It like to be "first to colonize" and then tries to hold on. So here you see the algae on the "white" new dead skeleton.
Now, the first step to battling the algae is to address the initial wave. Algae will try to get an advantage and as more algae grows, the more it will try and create an environment that helps it "dominate the world". Now, the first step is to attack the invading force and try to drive them back a bit. In this case I am talking about manual removal. Yes, you need to pluck and/or suck algae out of the system. Thin out the numbers. For me it was a little siphoning and plucking. It is a bit time consuming but it helps to try and control the inital wave. It is not a solution but it is part of the winning plan. Here was my "spoils"
Now I am not worried about getting it all but I try and get as much as I can easily.
So, that is the initial step. In the following post, I will start laying out my over-reaching battle plans. So, those veterans of prior algae wars don't jump the gun. Rather, if folks have good ideas about MANUAL ALGAE REMOVAL, please post below. I think Invic suggested some interesting usage of a toothbrush and a hose. (Edit: Invic's method is to use a toothbrush to loosen and remove algae and the have a siphon hole follow along with it). So, keep with the manual algae removal concept for now and stay posted!!!! :thumbup: