John Maloney

right? i was going to use a picture of it that showed it in its usual ugly form, but this one I couldn't pass up.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lobophora sp. (Usually variegata): Scientific Description- Brown semi rigid but slippery macro algae. Often confused with plating coralline, the slippery rubbery feel is a give away if you don't want to use scientific methods to determine the id. Manual Removal - Difficult. Qting the rock in an extended dark cycle is the best way. Good thing it doesn't spread rock to rock too fast. A chisel or a flexible knife like a putty blade works, but you got to get it all, and take some of the rock just to be sure. Clean Up Crew- Emerald Crabs (best bet here), Sea Hares, some Turbos, Chitons, Limpets, Tangs, Urchins, will pick at it, but it is likely to persist, but at least it will be controlled. Why it happened - You didn't quarantine, and you have available nutrients for it. Starving it out - Use a phosban reactor or a macro like chaeto to take down phosphate. If you have a nitrate problem too, you can add more live rock or rubble to the tank, do some more wcs, add macro, add dsb, etc... John's Tip - Under the right lighting it can take on amazing colors. Also, it is not calcified despite its appearance. http://www.com.univ-mrs.fr/IRD/atollpol/ec...ges/lobovah.jpg -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Blue Green Cyano: Description: Forms a slimy mat of green goop for lack of a better term. Usually greenish despite name, but can be darker as it appears in this picture. Removal: This stuff is difficult to get rid of, but can be done if you persevere. Capable of surviving in low to zero light and without nitrates, it only needs phosphates in your tank to feed off of. You can prevent it by utilizing mangroves and macroalgae that will reduce the phosphates in your tank and prevent it from forming. If you have a break out and are trying to deal with an established problem, then you should consider adding a chemical phosphate removal system to kill it. The setup, (you need a phosban reactor and a filter media), may run you up to $75, before tubing and getting your tank setup going. Increase flow to dead spots. Fun Fact: Scientists believe Blue Green Cyano was one of the first life forms on our planet. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dinoflagellates Scientific Description- Light brownish menace. It looks like snot growing up from the rock or sand, with trapped air bubbles in it. Not to be confused with algae that has an air bubble that has landed on it, dinos make them. Not all species of dinos are bad the one pictured is though, and has caused many aquarists to tear down their tanks. Manual Removal - Remove the rock and place it in a large saucepan. Add water enough to cover the rock. Boil the tar out of it. Rinse and repeat with scrubbing in between. Let dry for 3 days in sun. Clean Up Crew- Don't bother. Why it happened - You didn't quarantine, and you have available nutrients for it. Starving it out - Use a phosban reactor or a macro like chaeto to take down phosphate. If you have a nitrate problem too, you can add more live rock or rubble to the tank, do some more wcs, add macro, add dsb, etc... John's Tip - Reduce your phosphates and other nutrients. Iron needs to be controlled. (Everybody forgets about Iron but that can cause problems too.) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Gelidium: Scientific Description: Species in this genus, (and the similar Coelthrix sp. which looks similar but is purple-sort of), cling to the rock, and spread from a runner. The branches do not get tall, and they are often found with hobbyist frags. Manual Removal - Difficult. Macros that have fragile runners and creep along the rock are the hardest to manually remove. Do the best you can. Clean Up Crew- Emerald Crabs, urchins, sea hares, large turbos, shore shrimp. Small emerald crabs would be my first choice if it took hold in a narrow crevice b/c they could reach it. Why it happened - You didn't quarantine, and you have available nutrients for it. Starving it out - Use a phosban reactor or a macro like chaeto to take down phosphate. If you have a nitrate problem too, you can add more live rock or rubble to the tank, do some more wcs, add macro, add dsb, etc... John's Tip - Don't pass on frags with this stuff, don't put one in your tank. This algae has become extremely common on hobbyist traded frags, every time you add a coral or a rock look for it from now on. If you have it just keep at it, it takes a while but it can be beat back, at least you don't have byropsis. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Callithamnion aka Cotton Candy Algae Scientific Description: The pictured specimen is quite good looking, it usually appears as a light pink fuzz. It is not course, and should sway in the current. (Stiff specimens are likely to be other species that look similar). The macro has very fine "branches" that are covered in even finer hairs. The plants are very small. Manual Removal - Easy if it hasn't taken hold in places your fingers won't fit. Clean Up Crew- Emerald Crabs, urchins, sea hares, large turbos, and some of the larger hermits. Why it happened - You didn't quarantine, and you have available nutrients for it. Starving it out - Use a phosban reactor or a macro like chaeto to take down phosphate. If you have a nitrate problem too, you can add more live rock or rubble to the tank, do some more wcs, add macro, add dsb, etc... John's Tip - This algae is not widespread in nature, but can be locally abundant. It seems to be coming in on frags, and most of the people I know with it have received it on a traded frag. You can just pick this one out manually if it hasn't made it way to the crevices of your rockwork. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Red Bubble Algae Scientific Description: This is Red Bubble Algae, one of the Botryocladia species, (probably skottsbergeii or pyriformis) . Some of the Botryocladia species, like Botryocladia occidentalis, are desirable. The main difference between an invasive species of Botryocladia and a desirable one is how it grows. Desirable species grow up from branches, and invasive species creep along the rock just leaving hard to remove bubbles. Some are in between both in risk and branch development. Manual Removal - Don't be clumsy and spread this one. Get em small, cover them with a baster, scrape the baster along the rock, when the bubble comes off release the plunger and suck it up. Discard and repeat. If you have a lot to do, by the time you are done you will be ready to add new mixed water to complete the water change. Be aggressive with your manual removal. Clean Up Crew- Emerald Crabs Why it happened - You didn't quarantine, and you have available nutrients for it. Starving it out - Use a phosban reactor or a macro like chaeto to take down phosphate. If you have a nitrate problem too, you can add more live rock or rubble to the tank, do some more wcs, add macro, add dsb, etc... John's Tip - Juvenile Emeralds are better for the task, the smaller the better. Get one per handful amount of the bubble. (After aggressive manual removal, remember to limit based on tank size etc....that recommendation is only based on the bubble algae - it does not consider the crabs needs do your research, etc....) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- All for now, I will keep getting at it when I get some more picture permissions. Feel free to help me out by sending pics of pest algae. I owe the authors of every photo a credit, I didn't take a single picture. They were all given by the members on this and other hobbyist forums on the internet. I didn't ask the authors for permission to use their name or likeness in this post, only the right to the image so names have been excluded. I would prefer to credit them, and will get around to asking permission.

Okay, so unless you have a nuisance macro algae that is complex and not normal, we hopefully got you covered. We need photos to continue the thread, send them in. The Common Pest Algae. (Diatoms, Hair, Film, and Cyano) Cyano: Slime Style: Powdery Nasty Mess on Sand Style: Scientific Description: Red slimey mess. Can be long and stringy, can be brownish, can be powdery on your glass or rocks. Manual Removal - wipe glass with mag float, etc... Light toothbrush harder corals covered and gorgs, and the rocks. Stir sand and siphon Clean Up Crew- Ceriths, Nerites and Blue Legs Why it happened - too much phosphate, and you probably have a phosphate imbalance. Meaning you probably have less than a 20:1 N:P ratio. Alkalinity may be a factor too. Starving it out - Use a phosban reactor or a macro like chaeto to take down phosphate. If you have a nitrate problem too, you can add more live rock or rubble to the tank, do some more wcs, add macro, add dsb, etc... John's Tip - Increase the flow in your tank to take care of dead spots. Are you using RO/DI? Either way check your source water for phosphates. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hair Algae: Can also appear brownish like this: Scientific Description: A variety of green filamentous algae are lumped together under Green Hair Algae, because identification requires a microscope. Manual Removal - yank it out. If it is growing from the sand sift it out with a net. Clean Up Crew- Blue Legs, bigger hermits, turbos, limpets, chitons Why it happened - too much nutrients, both phosphate and nitrate. Starving it out - Use a phosban reactor or a macro like chaeto to take down phosphate. If you have a nitrate problem too, you can add more live rock or rubble to the tank, do some more wcs, add macro, add dsb, etc... John's Tip - Older light bulbs grow more hair algae as they drift towards the red spectrum. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Diatoms: Scientific Description: Brown Powdery like substance that can cake in extreme cases like the one above. Usually occurs right after a tank finishes its cycle. Manual Removal - wipe glass with mag float, etc... A blast from a turkey baster takes care of rocks. Stir sand and siphon. Clean Up Crew- Ceriths, Nerites and Chitons Why it happened - bio available silica, probably from sand or rock or something plastic your recently added to the tank. Starving it out - Diatoms starve themselves out, just try to keep something eating it in the mean time so it isn't so ugly as it slowly removes the silica from your tank. John's Tip - Pods love diatoms. Left with no predation from fish, and a steady supply of diatoms over a month's time, (you do this by keeping the diatoms under control), you should be able to see rapid pod maturation in your tank. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Byropsis sp. As you can see in distant pictures it looks very similar to hair algae, and the two are often confused. Here is a link to a picture of Byropsis pennata, that is close up: Notice the feather detail on the algae. This is what you are looking for in your tank to confirm or deny identification. If you do have it be prepared for a fight: 1. Try to get on it quickly. If it is only on one rock remove the rock, remove algae, starve of light in a QT. 2. Manual Removal - If that doesn't work or get it all, remove all you can by hand. People will tell you not to do this because it will spread. Let me assure you, left untreated byropsis will spread. Just be careful about it, and if you can pull the rock out to remove it all the better. If takes hold in the sand sift it out with a net. If you don't remove the base of byropsis you are wasting your time. 3. Starve it out - As always if you can get down nutrients nuisance algae has a harder time taking hold, or coming back after manual removal. 4. Repeat steps 2 & 3 aggressively. 5. If that doesn't work try raising your magnesium to very high levels. I don't want to be blamed if this causes losses in your tank, many people have done this with great success and minimal stress, but still....please do your research and don't blame me if something goes wrong. I say QT. Here is a good article: Reef Central Online Community - Finally an easy solution to bryopsis! John's Tip: save your money on CUCs, if it is truly byropsis the normally sold CUC members, (in regular numbers at least), will not finish it off, only pick at it which is what we can do with manual removal in 2 minutes time. Opaque cutouts shaped to cover an area of byropsis can be put between the light source to shade them out. Remember fire and corrosion concerns, tupperware might work, but remember soap, chemical contaminant concerns.... Home Depot bucket lids make good cutouts. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bubble Algae This is green bubble, one or more of the Valonia species: Scientific Description: Almost cool looking, almost. Can have a metallic look to it. Once it takes hold it can grow very fast and dominate a tank in a month. Manual Removal - Don't be clumsy and spread this one. Get em small, cover them with a baster, scrape the baster along the rock, when the Valonia comes off release the plunger and suck it up. Discard and repeat. If you have a lot to do, by the time you are done you will be ready to add new mixed water to complete the water change. Be aggressive with your manual removal. Clean Up Crew- Emerald Crabs Why it happened - You didn't quarantine, and you have available nutrients for it. Starving it out - Use a phosban reactor or a macro like chaeto to take down phosphate. If you have a nitrate problem too, you can add more live rock or rubble to the tank, do some more wcs, add macro, add dsb, etc... John's Tip - Juvenile Emeralds are better for the task, the smaller the better. Get one per handful amount of the bubble. (After aggressive manual removal, remember to limit based on tank size etc....that recommendation is only based on the bubble algae - it does not consider the crabs needs do your research, etc....)

Finally after hundreds of "no sorry we can't get it", we finally got it. Start Grass, and quite a bit. Have always been able to find it nature, just not in drift, (only legal way to get it), but then we found a patch near a sand bar that gets a lot of boat traffic, and have had some mild success finding it in drift. Anyway get your dibs in, $10 a for a 5 inch or so piece. Sorry but we can just rip it out of the ground or it would be next to nothing. We want to make it available to our loyal customers who frequent the forums, and that is why we don't have it on the site just yet. We plan to sell out the first day. Anyway the most popular grass in the hobby is now available to it. Who else did you expect to bring it to you? Here it is: ReefCleaners.org | Clean Up Crews and Macro Algae - Star Grass

its not that much just manually remove. For the rest of the tank fill out the custom crew form, (you got half of the questions already), and I will get that back to you. http://reefcleaners.org/index.php?option=c...0&form_id=1

Voting for the winners goes on throughout the weekend here: http://reefcleaners.org/index.php?option=c...mp;id=1169#1169

that is very true! (Shameless plug alert....) won't be long before another "ugly tank contest", or the second annual "great snail race".

thanks guys, I am going to have a contest update soon,. been rounding up the names from all over the net. will probably have to do 3 round polling/nominating/voting or something.

want to get rid of the caulerpa? What species is it? Picture? How do you feel about crabs?

got even more questions for you. what size are the rest of the fish(how many 3 inches, 6 inches....)....parameters.....any algae....

We need a trade name for Heterosiphona gibbesii, seen here: http://reefcleaners.org/index.php?page=sho...t&Itemid=34 Winner gets a $10 gift certificate to the store and credit for the name. The common names we have come up for some of the species we sell are likely to stick as there is no other reason for this algae to have a common name, and we are the only place to get it. Most of our others ones stick, so start throwing out some names people!

Hi guys listened to the emails and changed the pack to just 15 assorted algae, instead of 5 of each. Mostly to include more reds. We also have a picture of a tank with the some of the algae available in the packages, it can be found here: http://reefcleaners.org/index.php?page=sho...t&Itemid=34

For $50 we are offering a large sampler of our macro algae for those of you who want to try your hand at a macro tank, or are already in the process. The pack will have a random selection of the following: 5 random red algae, full and of the highest quality. (Sorry no pink galaxy or Halymenia right now though). 5 Green algae, let us know if you don't want caulerpa. 5 Brown Algae, including some really bright yellow pieces. All are full size, although we reserve the right to throw in extra frags with it. No one usually argues with that. All will be random. Can't make any requests unfortunately, you are just going to have to trust us on this one. You may tell us no caulerpa though, we won't put anything like chaeto in this one, just the nice decorative algae. Tank sizes 30 gallons and up are best on this one, unless it is pretty bare. Some of the algae in this pack will be species we don't normally sell, but nothing we don't keep in our tank. Everything sold will have a low risk of going sexual as long as you tell us not to send caulerpa, (otherwise you will get some of our nice aquacultured specimens).

Okay so here are the contest rules: You submit a link to a picture here, or on our website to some kind of cool coralline or successful encrusting sponge, or feather duster colony that you got on a rock, etc.... I narrow it down to the top 10 or so, and then the whole of the Internet gets to vote on it at www.reefcleaners.org the weekend after next. Top 3 get $50 gift certificates. If they would like to participate in our rock seeding program, (explained below) I will pay all costs. Why we are doing the contest, ideas we are looking for: We took your advice on the base rock, and have gotten great reviews and it is starting to really move, we appreciate it, and Sallie Mae does too. So we are thinking of taking the next logical step and grow seed for the base rock. We will use smaller rubble fragments to make up the package. 100% aquaculture, and pest free, We are coming up with a list on what to seed the rock with. So far we got: stomatellas dwarf ceriths colonistas mini stars asterinas microfauna from established tank feather dusters purple, pink, and green coralline some corals - or is this a bad idea because it limits other coral selections people can make? Let me know.... maybe some sponges tunicates? not sure on that one possibly some plating coralline spread throughout the mix what would you like to see? Any particular species one of the ones we listed?

Here is the winner of the ugliest tank contest: Not really sure how that tank won the votes. We chose this one: Capsfan and mystique were runners up: Capsfan: Mystique Next year we will be doing the contest again, so neglect your chores, hide the mag float and feed at will.

VOTING HAS STARTED ON THE FINAL FOUR, PICK YOUR WINNER NOW AT: http://reefcleaners.org/index.php?option=c...&id=982#982 (sorry caps) Registration is required to vote, sorry for the hassle but it helps keep the spammers away.

We have our finalists! Some of the ugliest tanks from around the net: http://reefcleaners.org/index.php?option=c...&id=925#925

last day to post pics!

Looks promising. Try to get a full tank shot when you can, it will help you in the contest.

Got an ugly tank that is marred by nuisance algae? We want to see it! Post your pictures here, and we will choose the ugliest tank to us. The "winner" will receive a custom crew from us, (or a refund on a recently purchased custom crew), and be given step by step instructions on how to get their tank clean. Everybody who participates will be given a 25% discount. Show us how bad it can get! Note: By submitting a photo, or a link to a photo, you confirm that you are both the owner of the photo and the tank. By posting the photo, or linking to it you give us the right to use the photo on the site. You have the choice whether to remain anonymous or be credited for the photo. If you wish to be credited for the photo, please place your name on the actual photo itself.

nice setup you got going. I like the gray PVC, I don't know why I never thought of using a color other than white.

A friend of mine has one, it does okay in his 500 gallon, but there is hardly any rock touching the sand at all. They like to swim around the sand and hang out there. They also like to eat snails and hermits, so getting a clean up crew for the tank is hard to do.

Those surgeonfish do get big! We see them all the time diving here in south florida. Nice looking fish though with curious behavior.

Oh the suspense! The roots can be trimmed too. You should be judicious when trimming the roots though. Only trim the roots back to the extent they interfere with the normal functioning of the tank, and never chop off more than half of the size of the plant, discounting the size of the original seed. A little bit at a time is the way to do it. There are some good tips on tree stunting and shaping on the bonsai forums, same exact principles.

Oops forgot to put in my link. We are at www.reefcleaners.org