- Today on the 5-Minute Saltwater Aquarium Guide,
if you've found yourself
as one of those unfortunate souls
who's constantly fighting algae outbreaks in your tank,
we're gonna give you the tools to stop that forever.
I mean, by the end of this video,
you're gonna have a very clear path
to never deal with it again.
All that's coming up.
(upbeat music)
Hey, I'm Ryan, your host to BRStv
and the 5-Minute Saltwater Aquarium Guide.
This is a clear, simplified, and direct path
to setting up that first successful reef tank.
Today, if you're watching this,
it's probably because you have a reef tank
and it has algae problems you wanna solve.
In the next five minutes,
we're not just gonna share what got you here,
which really doesn't matter at this point,
but how to conquer the situation
and never deal with it again.
So I'm just gonna say it like it is,
80% of the people watching this are here
because they either didn't have a resource
like the five minute guide
when they were starting their tanks up,
or they did watch it but they chose to skip some steps.
Most importantly the part
where an ounce of prevention's worth a pound of cure.
It's okay, we all do it.
I personally defied all kinds of advice
and listened to the wrong advice
as well as learn the hard way for sure.
The only thing that's important now is we learn
from that experience and move forward.
For the other 20% watching this,
followed all the best practices
and still ran into an algae issue,
I'm sorry to say it's just a bit of bad luck.
A new tank is a finicky thing
and a bit of timely luck is a real component
of the secret sauce in that first year.
Again, it's okay because we're going to solve that today.
Step one is above all else,
understand it took you many months
to get to the point you're at.
It's going to take months to get out.
It isn't hard, but the best paths just take time.
I know we all want the tank to look awesome tomorrow,
it's just human nature.
But if we can remove that from the list of options,
would you be okay if the issue is solved in a few months
and you beat it permanently
without other problems taking its place?
In that spirit,
I'm gonna share in a series of steps
how I would approach an algae issue
with progressively aggressive steps.
One of which will certainly work.
The first is high nutrients
and bright lights probably got you here,
but it won't be what gets you out.
It's wise to understand
that high nitrate and phosphate levels often lead
to algae issues in new tanks,
but it's pretty rare that a reefer can eliminate algae
from their systems just by lowering nitrate and phosphate.
Note that if you have tons of algae
but the nitrate is zero,
it's because the nitrate is in the algae,
it already used it to grow.
So testing low nitrate
or phosphate meets both on a test kit
and simply just not seeing the algae growth in the tank.
So while lowering phosphate
and nitrate may not eradicate algae from your system,
it is an important step to making sure it doesn't come back.
So related to that, consider your feeding habits
and approach to filtration for the future.
Again, if you see nitrate or phosphate rising,
just stop feeding so much, it is that simple.
If you can't help it, then up your filtration.
Better skimmer, add a refugium,
increase the water change schedule
until the levels stop rising.
Second is, when possible, manual removal of the algae.
In most cases, I would not scrub it off
because that just tends to spread it more than anything.
But using a siphon and my thumb to pinch it off
and then suck it out of the tank.
Not only was the algae from the tank,
but also all the nitrate and phosphate it contains
is now permanently removed as well.
Almost like an in-tank refugium.
Again, you may have to do this weekly
for a couple of months for the results to show.
Third is a tang gang or addition of fish
that eat algae for a living.
A few fish like this are just the most effective component
of a cleanup crew, end of story,
and can eliminate signs of algae
in a matter of days to weeks.
Some are more aggressive than others
or like different varieties.
So multiple types of algae eaters
or tang gang is the best practice.
So even if you have small tanks like these,
there are tang options.
In a couple years,
they'll probably outgrow the tank
and you will have to swap them out.
But let's be real,
after a couple years of successful reefing,
a vast majority of reefers end up upgrading
to a larger tank.
Even if you don't upgrade to a larger tank,
the goal here with the first tank isn't keep the same fish
as long as possible.
It's an awesome looking tank,
so re-homing them as they get larger is a legit option
that achieves that goal.
If you can't do the tang gang,
there are other livestock options like snails and crabs,
Mexican turbos and sea urchins being some
of the more effective options.
But very rarely complete solutions to an algae outbreak.
So, more a component to an overall approach,
whereas in contrast to that,
more than half the time,
a tang gang can actually wipe out all traces
of algae on their own.
Fourth, if those standard approaches are not working,
it's time to take a still somewhat natural method
but more aggressive approach.
Note, aggressive means there are sometimes
unintended side effects, especially in stress systems.
But these are generally considered safe options.
Starting with bacterial options,
meaning dosing an aggressive type of heterotrophic bacteria
that may actually eat algae.
The most common being Vibrant and MicroBacter Clean.
Vibrant being more aggressive of the two
and the only thing
that I've ever seen completely eradicate bubble algae
from a tank.
These bacterias don't reproduce in seawater,
so they do need to be dosed periodically.
The most important advice I can give here is
it took you months to create this problem,
and again, it's best to take months to get out.
So follow directions on the bottle
and when you see the initial results,
keep doing what you're doing and don't up the game.
This isn't horse power where more is always better,
the right amount is best.
So dose to the instructions
and watch the algae nearly magically disappear
over the next couple of months.
One note is don't be taken totally off guard
if something new replaces it,
particularly if you overdose it in an attempt
to make it go faster.
Dosing more will eliminate algae faster
but rapid changes like that just allow new pests
to take over.
Potentially other algae or bacterial slimes.
So these are very effective solutions,
but follow the directions
and set a couple month expectation
to produce the best results.
Fifth is what I call increasingly aggressive
and less natural options like fluconazole,
the active ingredient in ReefHD's Reef Flux.
Fluconazole is sold to treat fungal infections in fish,
but reefers found they can actually
completely eradicate algae from the tank
by inhibiting some important metabolic functions.
Most notable, reefers use it on one
of the most difficult to beat algaes with Bryopsis,
which at one point was nearly impossible to beat.
Fluconazole is very effective at eliminating Bryopsis
and some other algaes.
There's always some risk to aggressive solutions.
While I have heard of them,
I've never actually seen visual negative effects
by using fluconazole.
I have, however,
seen a reduced uptake of calcium and alkalinity.
Meaning it is likely adding some stress to the system
that can't be seen with the naked eye.
That said, we use it here at BRS all the time
for Bryopsis because it works so well.
The sixth is if nothing else works,
drain the tank down and just kill the patches of algae
with direct application of hydrogen peroxide.
You can get it at a drug store in a spray bottle
and just spray it right on the algae
and let it sit for a few minutes
before filling the tank back up.
Many corals tolerate peroxide,
even directly on their tissue well.
Many reefers even use it as a coral dip,
but at the same time, when spraying it,
I try to keep it off of the corals.
Note that peroxide won't kill the roots
so it will grow back,
but it's a great way to set it back
and it's gonna work best combined
with some of the other more aggressive options.
I can say this with approaching 100% certainty,
the six step escalation will eradicate algae
from your tank.
Hopefully, just with one of the easier first steps,
but now you have a plan.
And paired with good maintenance practices
will keep it outta the tank from here on out.
That leads us to the next challenge,
beating bacterial slimes.
I don't know a single reefer
who hasn't encountered a red slime
or cyano at some point.
But we're gonna show you how to beat it.
Some methods are way easier than beating algae, even.
The entire five minute guide's always available here,
but if you want an easier path than most of us have taken,
the next episode is for you.