what kind of micro algea to use??

[luv4jjt]

I have set up some miracle mud in my sump and am going out in a few day's (after it settle's) to get the macro algae for the sump. I was told by our lfs that this would help our levels even out better. Has this worked our for you all?

 

[natclanwy]

I'm not sold on miracle mud, I'm not sure what you are trying to accomplish I assume lowering your nitrates. Generally watching how much you feed your fish and having plenty of flow in your tank will keep your nitrates in check.
I assume you are looking for macro algae since most varieties of micro algae are undesirable. I prefer chaeto over all other varieties because it does not have the tendancy to go sexual and poison your tank, and it consumes nitrates at fairly high rate.

 

[luv4jjt]

Ya the nitrates. I dont know if that is the reason but my dogfaced keeps breaking out with ick. We are getting so frustrated. I want keep my fish healthy but it seems like no mater how hard we try to do things right it keeps ending up with ick. So when the lfs said mud and algea would help we will try anything. He didn't say it would help with the ick but would lower the nitrates and lessen the stress on the puffer. I am sooooooooo confused and stumped on what to do.

 

[natclanwy]

In order to rid your tank of ich you really need to setup a hospital tank move all of your fish to it, and treat them for ich. Then you need to leave your DT empty for at least six weeks, this will kill any remaining parasites in your tank and then move your fish from the hospital tank to your display only if they are healthy and ich free. Its a common misconception that ich is always present in your tank, and your fish cannot get ich if the parasite is not present in the first place.
Also how high are your nitrates? Nitrate levels of 20-40ppm in a fish only tank usually will have no effect on most fish and most are fine even with levels up to 100ppm although this is not optimal.

 

[luv4jjt]

My nitrates go between 20 and 40. The only fish showing any signs of ick is the doggy. I know i would have to treat all the fish though.I have heard that dogs are poor choices for a copper med. If I move all my fish to a qt tank for 6 wks will a 55 gal be enough? And the only filter system i would be able to use is a conister filter that at the moment is being used for my fresh water. I have another one i can use for the fresh water. What about a uv steralizer?

 

[natclanwy]

A 55g will be fine, just monitor your levels and do water changes to offset any increase in ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. The canister will help but isn't needed.
You can use Hypo to treat instead of copper which may be safer for the dogface as long as your reduce the SG over several days.
This being said make sure that you sterilize any equipment you use before using it in the other system otherwise you will just reinfect the systems.
UV sterilizer can kill ich in certain stages of its life cycle but they are not extremely effective at killing the parasite since they are relatively large and they will not completely eliminate the parasite from your system.

 

[jackri]

Nitrates aren't the problem here with ich being a parasite. If you do want macro algae I would go with chaeto as well. Some people say caulerpa but if you have ever met someone trying to get caulerpa out of their tank you'd know better.

 

[luv4jjt]

so chaulerpa is hard to get rid of? They have some kind of purple alge there but it cost more and the lfs said it was a harder to keep alive. So chaeto is the way to go then?