20141103 Green Hair Algae- What do I do???

Green Hair Algae, or GHA as many forums refer to it, is a bonafide nuisance in any marine aquaria. The bad news is, it is always an uphill battle against it. Good news is, unlike cyanobacteria, there are many more creatures who will happily gobble it up.

Green Hair Algae

In case you did not read my voice on cyanobacteria, with the exception that brown slim algae is not algae, just about everything else on the characteristic of cyanobacteria is the same as green hair algae- will thrive with light and dissolved nutrient. The one key difference is that this is an actual algae and will require iron, among other elements to properly grow. So on top of light control, nutrient control, and predator introduction, we can add one more element here: competition.

Unlike cyanobacteria that can disappear completely if you keep light off for an entire day or two, hair algae is an actual plant and can store enough energy to sustain an extended period of darkness, just like your corals would. So the light off trick must be carefully modified here- instead of all out for a day or two, you can attempt to change spectrum/color temperature and also shorten photoperiod.

Reduction of dissolve nutrients will not affect corals so this is a safe approach by limiting how much you feed your fish, inverts, and corals, and maximizing your skimmer.

Predators- Many creatures naturally prey on hair algae- all tangs, most dwarf angelfish (reef caution), all rabbitfish (reef caution), many hermit crabs, snails, urchins, etc.

Lastly- competition. So a hair algae's competition is obviously another algae- but you probably don't want more algae in the tank? a good option is to house some macro algae, here is a place you can find many different varieties with reasonable price: Reef2go- Macroalgae. Keep these macro algae in your established sump or refugium to absorb nutrient and minerals just like hair algae would, but at a much faster rate to out compete the hair algae.

Good luck!

20141029 Reef Tank Update

Real quick update of my reef tank here. I did some change over the weekend- I decided having 2X 150W LED hanging over the 92G corner is a bit too much for the tank. So I removed one of the two light fixtures. moved one to the center and increased the intensity slightly. So far everyone is happy.

20140916 Power Outage and Fishtank

One of fish keeping hobbyist's biggest nightmare- power outrage. What should you do and prepare for expected (known approaching hurricane or winter storm) and unexpected (thunderstorm, fire, flash flood, and other disaster) power outages.

An example of what power outrage can do to an aquarium is New Orlean's Aquarium of the Americas' major disaster after 2005's Hurricane Katrina. Just about everything that was not mammal or reptile perished during the disaster. The lone survivors were the mammals and turtles as they breath from the air.

Living in Wisconsin, the long, brutal winter can often cause power outrage during strong snow storms. And the threat is not only the immediate oxygen deprivation from uncirculated water, but the rapid temperature drop from the elements. For this reason, depends on where you live and what capacity your tank is, it is strongly recommended that you have a backup generator as your tanks' lifeline during times of emergency.

So the question is- how long can things survive without any back up? If the power outrage is temporary and will not last long during a relatively warm, summer day, no need to panic-
well, without flowing water to generate dissolved oxygen, most creatures will begin to display distress within a few hours depends on your bio-load. Imaging a fish can do alright in a bag of water during its transport from store to home (typically anywhere from 30 minutes up to 2 hours + acclimation time). That sac of water is definitely no more than 1/4 gallon. Now multiply that by how many gallons of water you have in your tank, and decided by how many fish/critters you have, you should get a pretty good rough idea of when your "deadline" is. That said, it's definitely not optimal to leave things as is. You can find battery operated pumps in stores or online. Don't be cheap on this, it can save hundreds of dollars in livestock for you.

The bigger problem will present if the outrage is more than a few hours. While the back up battery operated air pumps can last a day or two, your water temperature will begin to decrease overtime, especially if you live in colder climate in winter. This is when you must invest in a backup generator.
Once again, don't be cheap, this can save you hundreds, if not thousands of dollars of livestock. When choosing a back up generator, I would add up the wattage needed for heater and at least one powerhead for the fish tank portion of your household needs. corals and clams can survive a few days without light so light is not your priority for short term outrage.

2014-05-07 Livestock Sportlight- Rock Anemone

So I have not seen many great deals online recently. Instead of writing and sharing any coupons or discounts, I think I'll share something about rock anemone (or flower anemone):
Here is a really beautiful specimen at Pacific East Aquaculture: http://www.pacificeastaquaculture.com

Rock anemone as seen on Pacific East Aquaculture

In my opinion, They are one of the most beautiful, lower-price point (in comparison to other reef critters) marine animals you can find.

I have personally kept a few of them in the past and present. They really are not very demanding at all. Moderate to strong light (if you feed frequently, I think you might even get away with low light).

medium to low water flow (anemones, in general, don't like strong flow). They don't really host clownfish, so you might be disappointed if that's your goal. And they might be aggressive enough to consume small (and very dumb) fish. So if you have small and slow fish such as mandarine, seahorse, etc, please don't bother.

They will take food from you, but not larger chunks. Sometimes they are a bit picky with what they want, so keep trying different things across the menu and eventually when you find what they like, you can then just stick with it. I've seen some beautiful tanks stocked with a bunch of this as a species tank. They come in a wide array of metallic to pastel colors. So I urge you to not settle for an ordinary one, and go out to find a truly colorful one.

Frag time!!

It been a long while since I fragged anything, last week one of the local pet stores in town- Animart in madison, WI was giving away some of their never used fixtures for free. So I took a couple coralife power compact 130w lights to replace what I had on the mantis tank.

For some odd reason the green star polyps just dont do very well in my 92 corner reef while most other sps and lps as well as soft corals are thriving. So before the entire colony comes to non-existence, I decided to frag it and attempt to revive the colony in my mantis tank.

I then also fragged some soft corals, mostly pumping xenia and Kenyan tree, they grow like weed.

Best LED color combo for coral color

What is the best LED lighting combo to make your coral color 'pop'? Well, I visited a friend to pick up some coral for trade, and this was what he had 2:1 ratio on 420nm and the magenta. You be the judge!