too much algae?

[dilandau]

i just want to know if there is such a thing as too much algae.
I'm in a bit of a spot where i had complication with my tank and couldn't get it set-up before winter so now i have to wait till spring to get my shrimp or order any additional animals or plants.
so, i have had my 2+ gal tank and 3 moss balls just sitting there for 3 months and algae started to grow but now its taken over. i know that having algae is recommended but i cant imagine what it will be like in 3 more months. the moss balls are doing surprisingly well.
I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to clean it up a bit but before i do, i would like to know if this is healthy or not for the shrimp and how much should i remove.
i originally didn't want snails but i may have to get some when spring comes around just to mow down some of this....

any thoughts?

[Erlina _rusli]

I think its cyanobacterial?
Its not the algae that we want in the tank ?
Anybody, what do u think guys?

[dilandau]

um.... so i have tried to look up pictures of good algae vs cyanobacteria to see what the difference was and i get the same pictures for both.

you guys, am i going to have to empty and clean out my tank?

[Erlina _rusli]

Because your algae looks slimy look... But again just wait for other comments

[MrsT]

I had that algae when I started mine but it's gone now.
You can manually clean the algae, just scoop up using net. You can also clean the ornaments or rocks by rubbing it in a bucket of R.O water then place them back.

Your tank is definitely ready for shrimp, I wonder why you are still waiting?

You see those bubbles in your tank? Those are the indication that the algae keep producing.
You have a deep gravel floor, after the shrimp lives in there in the future, their poops will encourage the growth of some yucky black algae under your gravel. So if you are wondering which snail you should get, you should go with mustafa's snails.

[dilandau]

I had that algae when I started mine but it's gone now.
You can manually clean the algae, just scoop up using net. You can also clean the ornaments or rocks by rubbing it in a bucket of R.O water then place them back.

Your tank is definitely ready for shrimp, I wonder why you are still waiting?

You see those bubbles in your tank? Those are the indication that the algae keep producing.
You have a deep gravel floor, after the shrimp lives in there in the future, their poops will encourage the growth of some yucky black algae under your gravel. So if you are wondering which snail you should get, you should go with mustafa's snails.

mustafa won't mail the shrimp because of the temperature and my location. i live just far enough away for the heat pack to ware off and the cold will kill my shrimp or anything else i order. he also won't send plants because of the same reason so i guess i cant order some of the good algae he has...

i guess i should be grateful? because i have no animals in the tank(other then 3 moss balls) i can just completely gut it out, clean it and start over but i can't tell good algae from bad algae.

i asked my aquarium shop and they said to try algae wafers? used to feed the bottom feeder fish, they can be use to seed algae, supposedly...

[MrsT]

I had that algae when I started mine but it's gone now.
You can manually clean the algae, just scoop up using net. You can also clean the ornaments or rocks by rubbing it in a bucket of R.O water then place them back.

Your tank is definitely ready for shrimp, I wonder why you are still waiting?

You see those bubbles in your tank? Those are the indication that the algae keep producing.
You have a deep gravel floor, after the shrimp lives in there in the future, their poops will encourage the growth of some yucky black algae under your gravel. So if you are wondering which snail you should get, you should go with mustafa's snails.

mustafa won't mail the shrimp because of the temperature and my location. i live just far enough away for the heat pack to ware off and the cold will kill my shrimp or anything else i order. he also won't send plants because of the same reason so i guess i cant order some of the good algae he has...

i guess i should be grateful? because i have no animals in the tank(other then 3 moss balls) i can just completely gut it out, clean it and start over but i can't tell good algae from bad algae.

i asked my aquarium shop and they said to try algae wafers? used to feed the bottom feeder fish, they can be use to seed algae, supposedly...

Sorry to hear that.
Just incase your local aquarium shop have some of the snails in the link below, you can try it though but nerite are not for deep gravel set up, they don't dig into sand. So your option are those that burrows in the sand/gravels.
http://snailsbymail.tripod.com/Brackish ... ackish.htm
Hope this help.

[Mustafa]

i guess i should be grateful? because i have no animals in the tank(other then 3 moss balls) i can just completely gut it out, clean it and start over but i can't tell good algae from bad algae.

i asked my aquarium shop and they said to try algae wafers? used to feed the bottom feeder fish, they can be use to seed algae, supposedly...

Don't start over and DON'T listen to the aquarium shop. "Algae wafers" are usually still mostly fish meal or other animal and grain products...you can't seed a tank with them. They're just going to pollute your water.

Your algae problem probably came from the giant marimo balls you have in there that come with all kinds of gunk and organic waste in them, which causes excessive algae growth (unless you did use an algae wafer to "seed" your tank, which then also caused organic pollution).

Try to just manually remove as much of the algae gunk as possible and leave the rest inside. Get the brackish water snails if you haven't already ordered them. Then don't feed *at all* once you get the snails and shrimp. From the looks of it you may not have to feed (and shouldn't feed) for months or possible over a year. The shrimp and snails will eventually eat up all that algae and your aquarium will look much cleaner. Look up the sticky thread of our member "tooth" all the way at the top of the forum where you can see that he started with a similar problem over 4 years ago...and he still hasn't fed the tank and now has hundreds of shrimp. Just follow my instructions here (what I said above) and everything will be fine.

[ThisGuy]

I tried to seed algae with algae wafers -oops- didn't work had to restart.

[dilandau]

so just to update on what i have done.

but first: for those of you who PM me on different super-shrimp breeders. thank for your help but i will be getting shrimp in spring;
mustafa will not be sending any plants or animals because it is currently winter and no heat pack will withstand the distance i live but as soon as it warms up a bit and the night temp isn't freezing i will be able to have my shrimp sent.
this is my fault, i completely missed the whole "will not ship in winter" bit and i ordered them any way. let that be a lesson, read the damn instruction.

second: i doubt this was caused by my moss balls. i actually didn't buy them for my tank, i got them for my collection of plants in my make-shift terrarium. they were in a closed glass jar for months and no (what may or may not be) algae was seen on them but i did see green scum in other plants that were growing in water so, since the tanks is next to the terrarium, i think its just a case of cross contamination.

and about my tank, it got cleaned.... completely.....after researching more about cyanobacteria, i still was not sure about it being algae or not, i also highly underestimated how much "algae" was in this 8x8x8 tank. as soon as it got disturbed it turned green with particles flying everywhere! chunks were dying off so i guess it just reached max capacity (what with not having anything to eat or control it) and it will be another month and a half approx before my shrimp show up. algae or not, no animals needs THAT much algae.
my moss balls are back in the terrarium in a closed glass jar, to clean them out.

so i have been looking for sails in my area but I'm barely able to find anything that can be found in the supershrimp website and most people i talk to know nothing about opae ula. i found the Chaetomorpha Macroalgae from a shop that keeps corals and reef life, which is actually a very lucky find.
when springs come around, i will have to order a few things from mustafa.

i'm very happy to have this discussion forum, I've learned a ton. thanks guys for your help.

[Mustafa]

Thanks for the update! The Chaetomorpha you bought from the fish store most likely won't grow in your lower salinity tank at all. The one I sell here is a different species from the coarse reef Chaetomorpha. Just an FYI.