green Moss

I have some green hairy type moss/algae growing in my tank. It started
about a year ago and now has grown about a 3" diameter. My tank and
angel fish /snails/hermits wont eat it, anyone have any suggestion as
to how to remove it. Its grown on my live rock and is diffucult to
remove that rock without moving alot of other rocks that are piled on
top of it.

Any suggestions-

THKS/Rick

Pull what you can away by hand then while syphoning(preferrably during
a water change) use a toothbrush to scrub what you can away. You may
have to use tweezers or another similar tool if you have a hard time
removing the algae by hand.... IMO, Briopsis if it's totally
undesirable by the fish. Good luck.
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as far as algae if its hair algae you can get a few more snails and
try increasing your flow. and Lawn Mower blenny works awesome too.
but you will want to get a leg up on it. Just like Repto said remove
as much manually as you can.
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Interesting approach!

Green moss, or any plant for what matters, are perfect nutrient removal life
forms.
I suggest you learn how to use them instead of fearing them.
Cutting back the light is dangerous because your coral needs it, do you know
why?
I took another approach. I did my research on the species I have in my tank
and found a hervibore that feeds on it. It is not an easy task but you will
find an invertebrate that feed on "your" algae. A "trial an error" may
result a little expensive and time consuming but may also work.
You have to find the proper number of the species that will control the
algae on your tank.

Once you start treating your tank as an ecosystem, it will behave like one
thus reducing the unwanted and expensive maintenance.

I have a good book you can refer to, the only problem is that I have a
translation. Here is the citation...
Dawes, Clinton J. 1991. MARINE BOTANY. John Wiley and Sons Inc. 673 pp
(there should be a new edition for this book)

There are many text books you can find in any university. This books will
be specific to plants helping you identify your pest. Knowing the proper
species and finding its life history will be crucial in species selection to
turn your tank into a micro-ecosystem.

A typical aquarist, well, these kids will put their hands inside the tank
breaking the nature of an ecosystem and removing it by hand. That is a
no-no...

Pet Shop books? well, they are good for marine aquarists that can't help it
but to spend a lot of money in their systems. Me? I am a marine biologist,
I go to the university's library. It is free and helps you understand
better your system.

jrs
"kryppy" kryppy@. wrote in message
...
On 11 Oct 2005 20:03:07 -0700, "Rick"
wrote:

I have some green hairy type moss/algae growing in my tank. It started
about a year ago and now has grown about a 3" diameter. My tank and
angel fish /snails/hermits wont eat it, anyone have any suggestion as
to how to remove it. Its grown on my live rock and is diffucult to
remove that rock without moving alot of other rocks that are piled on
top of it.


I had an outbreak start about two months ago. I have seriously cut
back the lights and it is almost gone now.
The funny thing is, anywhere it grew well and is gone now has massive
coralline growth. I suppose it sucked the phosphates out of the rocks.

Removing it manually has proved to be a difficult task I am avoiding.

You seem to be knowledgable, however, with a closed mind reguarding
other aquarists(aka kids), I am disappointed. There are absolutely no
real experts in the subject of Marine Biology. Really, we are all
novice with some having more experience than others. I am well
aquainted with other "marine biologists" that would advise other
methods... please, be careful for there are alot of inquiring persons
looking for answers to their problems. And as far as "pet store
books"... the majority of those quality books are written by those
with an extensive amount of experience with "marine biology". Just my
2 cents... there realy is no one solution.
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I agree with you and apologize for my sarcasm.
Is just that I am tired of reading barbarisms in those books knowing that
their main purpose is to draw blood, I mean money, from aficionados.

A sal****er aquarium is nothing but an enclosed piece of the ocean and if
you treat it otherwise, is not going to behave like such.

I hope you understand that I am trying to be helpful in a way that people
benefit from it.

In the other hand, you have a comercial website in your signature meaning
that you benefit from the mainstream, which I find wrong, way of treating
aquariums.

Who is the regular reader going to belief?
A person with economical interests or the person that has nothing to win or
loose?

Be your own judge!

Yes, there are marine bios that have a price and write those books, I don't!

jrs
"Reptoreef" wrote in message
...
You seem to be knowledgable, however, with a closed mind reguarding
other aquarists(aka kids), I am disappointed. There are absolutely no
real experts in the subject of Marine Biology. Really, we are all
novice with some having more experience than others. I am well
aquainted with other "marine biologists" that would advise other
methods... please, be careful for there are alot of inquiring persons
looking for answers to their problems. And as far as "pet store
books"... the majority of those quality books are written by those
with an extensive amount of experience with "marine biology". Just my
2 cents... there realy is no one solution.
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I have begun converting one of the cheeto tanks into a GHA farm.
That
stuff seems very efficient at removing all bad things in its path.
I wonder what light spectrum will make it grow faster...

For GHA lower kelvin lamps seen to do well for growth... the power
compact floodlamps running @ 2900K seem to grow it well for me,
especially as they age, the seem to be shifting further down and the
hair algae in one of my refuges is taking off like mad. On the plus
side as you mentioned from what I can see it is great for taking up
nutrients, nitrates on that system mormally hovered around 10-20ppm
but over the last couple of months since the GHA started growing
faster they are holding at 0-2ppm. More natural filtration, so long
as it's in the refuge who cares?
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In the other hand, you have a comercial website in your signature meaning
that you benefit from the mainstream, which I find wrong, way of treating
aquariums.



LOL There are a lot of people that call themselves
biologists, and think they understand aquariums, but
becaue they have had limited experience in actualy having
the aquarium setups like many hobbiest, they don't fully
understand how things work, even though they in thier
smugg thinking, think they know it all.

Who are they going to believe, Someone that thinks he
knows everything, or someone who has had lots of actual
experience whith what they ar working with.

Wayne Sallee
Wayne's Pets

Rest assured that we at CaptiveReefing.com make absolutely no profits.
I moderate that board only because I was invited to do so. I too
believe in the ecosystem, but feel there is more than one method.
Honestly, I am a prior LFS owner and just gotta say that it was one
of the hardest jobs ever!!! I really enjoy being able to chitchat and
share my views of captive reefing as well as to learn from others. I
do understand the sarcazm and understand the frustrations, as well.
No hard feelings.

Jason
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We already know who they belief, I was just being sarcastic.
They don't hire aquarists to maintain the aquariums in Seaworld, Miami
Aquarium or any other sea related theme park for a reason!
Also, all over the world aquarium hobbyists are seen as just that. Go to
the Biological Abstracts and count the papers published all over the world
on the topic by hobbyists (don't need but one hand to count and that is to
make a zero)

Yeap, you can keep spending your time and money using the HOBBYISTS
approach, lol....

Biologists, we don't know everything and that has never been our claim. We
know a lot more than a hobbyist, that is a fact Jack, not a guess.

jrs


"Wayne Sallee" wrote in message
hlink.net...


In the other hand, you have a comercial website in your signature meaning
that you benefit from the mainstream, which I find wrong, way of treating
aquariums.


LOL There are a lot of people that call themselves biologists, and think
they understand aquariums, but becaue they have had limited experience in
actualy having the aquarium setups like many hobbiest, they don't fully
understand how things work, even though they in thier smugg thinking,
think they know it all.

Who are they going to believe, Someone that thinks he knows everything, or
someone who has had lots of actual experience whith what they ar working
with.

Wayne Sallee
Wayne's Pets