Dust algae

[dherrington1]

Does anyone have good suggestions for removing rapidly expanding green dust algae other than just shutting the lights off? I've got it growing all over the calcium rocks from Mustafa and it is starting to appear on the shells I have in the tank. Would adding a UV light cause harm to the beneficial bacteria or shrimp? Currently they're living in a 6.5 gallon tank and are very happy. I just don't like all the green everywhere. I do have a piece of macroalgae that came with the original ecosphere that I quickly rehomed the shrimp from. I keep it trimmed and the shrimp appear to enjoy having it, but if it is a cause of the dust algae I would have to remove it.

[sliphorn]

Do you have snails? They will eat alot of algae. Photos would help too.

[dherrington1]

11 snails in this tank. 10 new with the newest 10 shrimp from Mustafa, plus one big one from the previous tank. This algae is so prolific that they don't make a dent in it. I have watched them crawl across it expecting to see a white stripe of rock, and it is just as green as before they glide across it. I made a mistake in bringing the original calcium rocks from the previous tank but I thought it would be a good idea in order to settle the new water with the old as I went from ~2 gallon up to this one at 6.5 gallon. Substrate was replaced with new, macroalgae, half of the rocks, the barrel thing and a few of the small shells with growth on them were transferred over. All the other shells are new, boiled prior to being installed. This tank has only been in use for ~3 weeks, but the biofilm on the surface is thick enough that it could be walked across, and it has started to film the windows. I don't know if there is anything safe to put in the water to reduce the algae that would not harm the shrimps/snails. I don't want to leave them in the dark all the time, but at this point the only thing I could adjust is the light as I do not feed them. Couple of pictures attached, you can see the macroalgae in two of them, that came from the original Ecosphere and I keep it trimmed. The close up is the algae growth.

*Ex post facto - I pulled all the rocks and I'm going to soak them in a bleach mix in order to see if it kills the active growth on them.

[dherrington1]

12ish hours later, rocks soaking in a large plastic cup with hot water and a little bleach and ZERO algae left on rocks. Soaking with hot water with no bleach now, probably going to redo clean water several times then let air dry for awhile before slowly adding back to aquarium. I'm hoping that this will cut down on the rampant algae growth significantly. Will post updated pictures/status later.

[Vorteil]

Personally I would welcome the algae in there. It adds to the opaes diet. You should not keep a tank perfectly clean unless you feeding your shrimp which in turn will create more algae. It's all part of the cycle. You can't have one without the other. Just my 2 cents

[Mustafa]

Yeah, leave the rocks and algae alone. They are actually good for your tank. They will be a continuous food supply for the shrimp and snails. It means you don't really have to feed until the algae growth starts decreasing...which may take months. You can clean the glass so you can see the shrimp, but other than that leave the tank alone, that's just how Supershrimp tanks are.

[Mf1]

I’ve been creating a new tank for my friend and in the last week have noticed a dark Kelly Green algae growing everywhere. Is this dust algae? I had it near a plant with a grow light so I’ve turned that lamp off but it’s still spreading.

[dherrington1]

The stuff on the bottom looks the same as my tank, those floaters are what I end up scraping off the tank walls. I don't leave the scraped stuff in, I pull it out. There's a macro algea plus the dust algea, so they're not starving.

I rotate the large shells out when they become covered, a bleach soak cleans them right up. I have a good quantity, so fresh ones go in, just soaked ones end up shelved for months before they rotate in.

I've learned I can't beat the algea, I just work to keep it as low as possible. It loves light of any kind, cutting down light time in my tank allows it significantly.

[Vorteil]

Algae is great for the shrimp but egg shells are not needed in there.

[Mustafa]

I’ve been creating a new tank for my friend and in the last week have noticed a dark Kelly Green algae growing everywhere. Is this dust algae? I had it near a plant with a grow light so I’ve turned that lamp off but it’s still spreading.

That actually looks like a certain type of cyanobacteria. The shrimp usually don't eat that stuff much. Those are pretty tough to get rid of. The only for sure method to get rid of them over the long term is to use the brackish water snails. We have those snails in every single tank for a reason.

dherrington1, do you have any snails in your tank? Now that I think about it, you may have some cyanobacteria too.

[dherrington1]

Six very large snails and two visible babies now. The algea in some places has morphed into what looks like hair algea, so I may have both. I've done bleach treatment twice, once for all the rocks and once on the original castle.

Now I'm just letting it grow after I moved the rocks to the front corner and added another hidey hole for everyone. I cut down light to just when I'm home in the office, so the growth on the glass and fixtures has significantly slowed. I figure more snails are on the way as they look well fed. I'm excited as much for the snails as the shrimp!

[Mustafa]

The algea in some places has morphed into what looks like hair algea, so I may have both. I've done bleach treatment twice, once for all the rocks and once on the original castle.

The macroalgae can become thinner and lighter colored under strong light and low nutrient conditions. Then it resembles hair algae. Of course you may have actual hair algae too. I would try to take the thickest looking strands of macroalgae and toss the rest. It should recover and grow normally from those strands.

I figure more snails are on the way as they look well fed. I'm excited as much for the snails as the shrimp!

I find the snails fascinating too! Plus, I think they are a *must* in a shrimp tank in the long run.

[dherrington1]

I’ve been creating a new tank for my friend and in the last week have noticed a dark Kelly Green algae growing everywhere. Is this dust algae? I had it near a plant with a grow light so I’ve turned that lamp off but it’s still spreading.

That actually looks like a certain type of cyanobacteria. The shrimp usually don't eat that stuff much. Those are pretty tough to get rid of. The only for sure method to get rid of them over the long term is to use the brackish water snails. We have those snails in every single tank for a reason.

dherrington1, do you have any snails in your tank? Now that I think about it, you may have some cyanobacteria too.

Mustafa,
Having read your reply I did some more research into the cyanobacteria. I've uploaded a new picture that show the slimy looking stuff on the calcium rocks that I can see. I'm not sure if it has spread to any other spot. Do you think this looks like cyanobacteria instead of algea? Thanks!

[Mustafa]

Hmmm...hard to say from the picture, but it is not the type of cyanobacteria that I am talking about. The type I am talking about is usually a deep darkish green and comes off in sheets when you pull on it. Most other stuff is eaten eventually by the shrimp, even other types of cyanobacteria. The snails, on the other hand, eat everything.

[dherrington1]

I pulled the macro algea out, now they're only getting all the green stuff from the rocks and the algea on the glass and substrate. Snails are doing a fantastic job, I love watching them eat and move around.