Is there a chemical that kills algae, that I can put in to a saltwater tank, to control algae. One of my friends has a 750 gallon tank that has an algae problem on the rocks but he can not put snails or crabs in there. The tank is fish only and will always be that way so there is no need to worry about coral interaction, as long as it does not kill the fish.
algea in a fish only
- Thread starter jaandgc
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Need to reduce the phosphates first and foremost.Use some phosguard or something in a reactor or filter sock.He can try cutting the light cycle in half,and maybe buy a Sea Hare if the first two dont work fast enough for him,I put one in my aggressive Fowlr tank and he was never bothered. Does he check his nitrates and etc... often?
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Ya Chemicals are only a temp fix at most... they seem to cause more problems then they solve.
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There are some huge snails with thick shells, they're called zebra turbos... they're like billiard cues with stripes and they can EAT algae like mad. They are a pain in the arse when it comes to knocking corals down, even the epoxied ones are not safe from these bulldozers, but since its a FOWLR, no worries about that. They're only active at night and I'm fairly certain only the strongest of jawed fish would be able to break its shell.
Copying myself from another thread:
Algae should be reasonably easy to control. Skim heavy, use good macro algae, check your RO/DI, check the lighting (bulbs) for over-usage, cut the lighting cycle, ease up on the nutrients (feeding), bring in the right kind of algae eaters then possibly add GFO, Purigen and/or a UV Sterilizer. Once you get the changes in, do a sweep on the algae getting as much out of the tank as you can. The rest should take care of itself.
Algae should be reasonably easy to control. Skim heavy, use good macro algae, check your RO/DI, check the lighting (bulbs) for over-usage, cut the lighting cycle, ease up on the nutrients (feeding), bring in the right kind of algae eaters then possibly add GFO, Purigen and/or a UV Sterilizer. Once you get the changes in, do a sweep on the algae getting as much out of the tank as you can. The rest should take care of itself.
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No doubt. I only had one and he was a handful and ate like a mule! He was supposed to go to Sal, but he went carpet surfing one night 
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.Thanks guys for the info, but this tank is for displaying fish only, the rock is a fake reef structure (fake reef). no room for a fuge. I will be upgrading his skimmer, but even with this sume algae will form on the rocks. They do not want to put in the snail because they don't want them on the glass taking away from the look. (Not my choise I have 200 coming tomorrow) I know freshwater tanks have algaecides I was just looking to see if saltwater has the same.
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What kind of algae. If it is macro, just add a yellow tang. It worked for me.
Algae Fix made by API should do the trick. From what I understand, they've been testing it for about a decade and they have yet to find a saltwater invertebrate that it harms. The trick is to dose it in the morning/when your lights come on. If you dose it at night, all the die off from the algae will further lower your ph (which naturally lowers during lights off), allowing less dissolved oxygen in your water, which could potentially kill your fish. As long as you dose it when your ph is high, you'll be okay.
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a really heavy duty UV sterilizer may not be a bad idea.
mufret, I didn't know copper kills algae, what type of fish can't handle copper, they have a couple of puffer.
Nishant3789 they already have an 80 wat UV, the water is clear its just the stuff on the rock surface.
Stanfill reef they already have 3 yellow tangs, 1 sailfin, 3 regal tangs, the algae looks more like the stuff that forms on the glass, but with some rusty looking stuff mixed in.
Pnguye3 I thought algae fix was for freshwater tanks
Nishant3789 they already have an 80 wat UV, the water is clear its just the stuff on the rock surface.
Stanfill reef they already have 3 yellow tangs, 1 sailfin, 3 regal tangs, the algae looks more like the stuff that forms on the glass, but with some rusty looking stuff mixed in.
Pnguye3 I thought algae fix was for freshwater tanks
You can still run chaeto in a behind the tank fuge such as CPR or in the overflows if you have them. I would strongly suggest running active carbon, GFO and Purigen in this setup. All of those will help reduce the algae in the tank.
I do not suggest you run copper in the tank at all. Copper will eventually build up in practically any living organism and likely kill it sooner rather than later. Also, you are practically ruining the equipment for future use as copper can take months to fully extricate it from a system. It could be a year or more before any invert or coral could be put in that tank.
I do not suggest you run copper in the tank at all. Copper will eventually build up in practically any living organism and likely kill it sooner rather than later. Also, you are practically ruining the equipment for future use as copper can take months to fully extricate it from a system. It could be a year or more before any invert or coral could be put in that tank.
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I totally agree with Cameron... Yes Copper will work but your a basically going to ruin your system for any corals or inverts in the future. Like I said before, most additives are quick fixes that are going to lead to the same problem unless you correct what is causing the problem. Check your water perams... What is you NO3 and your PO4 levels? Are you running a wet/dry? Does the tank have a DSB? All there are questions that could help with a natural solution!!!
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