How To Clean Green Algae On Sandbed?

[extinct 1ne]

What critter will clean the green algae on my sandbed? I can't stand it, every day it comes right back when I manually stir it. My Turbos won't clean it, My Nassarius won't clean it (in fact they don't do anything but stay in one spot under the sand), my Hermit Crabs won't clean it, they sift it a little bit, but mostly hang out on the rocks. My Brittle won't, he lays under a rock and only comes out for food.

 

[shrimpy brains]

First, I would not stir it in. You could get a turkey baster and suck it out. You could get a conch or 2, a sand sifting gobie, or a pistol shrimp. They will all stir your sand bed.
You could add a koralia or other power head to increase circulation to the area.
But most important, you need to figure out why your getting it in the first place. Are your nitrates or phosphates high?? Is there a lack of circulation in that area?? Are you overstocked or overfeeding?? Do you use tapwater, or rodi?? What kind of filtration do you have?? How much live rock?? Etc.

 

[extinct 1ne]

Shrimply Brains - Yeah, I was thinking about a Conch, but I'm afraid it might be like when everyone told me the Nassarius would do a good job on the sand %% . Another thing is that it's only a 55 gallon reef tank. Will a Little Bear Conch be okay?

 

[sjk2840]

I had the same problem, my water params are fine and I use ro water-I was leaving my lights on way to long. I did 2 large water changes 2 weeks apart and used a small fish net and sifted through my sand to get most of the green algae out. It was a pain in the butt, but I'm algae free now. good luck

 

[extinct 1ne]

Well, maybe the problem lies in my lighting schedule?
All lights go on around 8-10 am
Then, around 10 pm, only the Actinics are on
My lights never go off completely, is this a problem?

 

[shrimpy brains]

Most likely! Most people run their lites on an 8 to 10 hour schedule. If you like your tank lit at nite, I would look into some moon lites.
Not sure about adult size of any conches, Maybe someone else can help here.
There are many sand sifting gobies that would help, and IMO they are fun to watch.

 

[sjk2840]

I have the Nove extreme T5 lights on my tank- no actinics- I used to turn my lights on at 7a.m. and leave them on all day till 9 p.m. Within 2 days of a water change I would have green algae on my sand and glass. my tank is in the wall and scraping alge off the sand everyday is not an option, so I asked my LFS for advise and they recommended that I only turn the lights on for a few hours during the day and not all day long. my tank is see thru so my fish get light from my living room and laundry room. My lights go when when I come home from work and i usually turn them off by 8 or 9 p.m. so far so good-no algae problems.

 

[extinct 1ne]

I would, but I planned on getting a Red Mandarin Dragonet, and I know they will fight...

 

[tax lady]

I am by no means an expert, but the only thing i found that would clean my sand is the diamond goby I purchased. Since I got that little bugger, my sand is white again.and remains white...lol...

 

[extinct 1ne]

I know, but I'm going to get a Mandarin Dragonet / Goby. They will most likely fight right?

 

[shrimpy brains]

Well, my tank is a 125g, so that is a little different. I have 2 high fin/babershop gobies and a mandarin dragonette. I don't think they know of the others existence!!

 

[flower]

Originally Posted by Shrimpy Brains
http:///forum/post/3084702

First, I would not stir it in. You could get a turkey baster and suck it out. You could get a conch or 2, a sand sifting gobie, or a pistol shrimp. They will all stir your sand bed.
You could add a koralia or other power head to increase circulation to the area.
But most important, you need to figure out why your getting it in the first place. Are your nitrates or phosphates high?? Is there a lack of circulation in that area?? Are you overstocked or overfeeding?? Do you use tapwater, or rodi?? What kind of filtration do you have?? How much live rock?? Etc.

As long as it isn't cyano, it isn't a sign of something wrong. Algae is normal. A sandsifter goby will keep the tank perfect and no, you can't remove regular algae with a turkey baster...that works for cyano because it is more like a blanket and will come up. Regular algae is as small as each grain of sand..so a turkey baster won't work, but you can stir it up with one.
My goby killed the dragonette. I have a 90g