Algae, Algae, Algae - Help

pappa d

Member
hey everyone, havnt been on here in quite some time. my question though is, i have so much algae in my 60g tank. the sand is covered and covered, as well as the bits of san that are on the live rock. it looks like im trying to grow grass in there
. i have a dogface puffer in there with a maroon clown. what can i use to keep this tank clean?!?! i have tried from several local pet stores to get strawberry hermits and they couldnt pull through and i dont have anything to spend $79 on from here so any suggestions? fish, inverts, ANYTHING please. thanks-
 

rykna

Active Member
Well, seahorses love algae!! Switch over to a seahorse tank!!!!! Or buy an urchin. :thinking: My 2 pincushion urchins were the best lawn mowers ever :cheer:
 
S

surfinusa

Guest
Originally Posted by Rykna
hmmmm not sure, let me check.....
yes the puffer would
 

madwabbit

Member
Nah I got ur answer right here. What you need is a Sea Hare- looks like a giant snail with no shell, they cost about 15-20 bucks. I had the same problem...so bad I even tried taking my fixtures out and cleaning by hand. Trust me, Sea Hare. Guy was like a lawn mower. First day I could see a clear path where he went cuz it was all clean again. Only problem is that after they get done doing the job, they usually dont survive very well. Mine died afterwards, and research showed that was normal....but hes a great fix for the tank- and a fix that your puffer wont snatch up as a snack! AFterwards I picked up an algae eating fish to help control it- and my tang plows at it just as fiercely.
Hope this helps! Good luck!
 
N

nemo_66

Guest
couldnt you just get a UV?, but i guess that is on the expensive side huh....
 

pappa d

Member
oh wait i do know what your talking about, the ultraviolet steralizers or whatever, yeah but like you said i am trying to keep it on the cheaper side
 

codemaster

Member
lawnmower blenny is my best friend, he ll clean your tank up in barely 4 days, but make sure you dont just use him for that and dump him, get him algae clips etc.
 

stdreb27

Active Member
Originally Posted by Madwabbit
Nah I got ur answer right here. What you need is a Sea Hare- looks like a giant snail with no shell, they cost about 15-20 bucks. I had the same problem...so bad I even tried taking my fixtures out and cleaning by hand. Trust me, Sea Hare. Guy was like a lawn mower. First day I could see a clear path where he went cuz it was all clean again. Only problem is that after they get done doing the job, they usually dont survive very well. Mine died afterwards, and research showed that was normal....but hes a great fix for the tank- and a fix that your puffer wont snatch up as a snack! AFterwards I picked up an algae eating fish to help control it- and my tang plows at it just as fiercely.
Hope this helps! Good luck!
You dogface would think this is a tasty treat too. Algea is caused by other stuff, buying an algea eater is like eating tylenol when your sprained your wrist. you need to figure out why it is growig in the first place.
 

katiev

Member
You do know why you're getting so much algae? If you decide what is causing the algae, you can get rid of it without buying other creatures or expensive equipment.
What are your tank's parameters? What kind of lighting do you use? Do you use RO water or tap water for water changes?
 

pappa d

Member
ph-8.2
ammonia-0
nitrite-0
nitrate-1
SG-1.023
never had any algae problems before i had this guy and my clean up crew was on top of it, too bad all the nass snails have been treats to him...i thought it was normal to have this algae on your sand if you didnt have a clean up crew.
also i believe i have have 2 10,000 watt lights with 2 atinik (sorry for spelling and generalization) for 8 hours a day
 
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