[awjn]

so my 3 gallon tank has been set up for about 2 and half months now and i have one hermit so far cleaning the tank, but there seems to be a lot of hair like things on the sand, can hair algae grow on the sand? It doesnt look green though so i was wondering what it is if it isnt hair algae then what it would be. Also a lot of brown algae growing on the tank. Is there a snail that i can put in to help both these problems? Or should i not add anymore things to the tank cause its too small? Thanks for your advice

[ry77]

from my expirience hair alge will grow on sand.
is all you have in there a hermit crab? what kind of water are you using?

[awjn]

i have a fake percu clown as well, the water i use is from my LFS

[ry77]

are your levels good? water changes and shortened light cycles might help along with removing the algae yourself

[awjn]

yeah im trying shorter light cycles and i pick them off when i can, but i was wondering if a good nitrate sponge or a mangrove plant would be good solutions as well. Or if there is any type of clean up crew that eat the dam stuff.

[ry77]

im not sure of anything eating it. nitrate sponge might help

[awjn]

its not dangerous to use it in my tank right? what about mangrove plants?

[ry77]

i dont see why it would. i wuold double check with the manufacturer first. a mangrove would help with nitrates if you have the room, it's already a small tank..

[awjn]

would a lettuce nudibranch be safe to put in my tank or would it be too small? i heard they hate hair algae

[rlcline76]

I don't like getting things that will starve without the pesty food we have for them in our tanks. Hair algae is a pain but is controllable. Algae on rocks and glass = good work for a snail. Now, I have had patches of this crap on my sand and nothing will touch it. So I get out my long tweezers and I pull it from the substrate while I am maintaining the tank and I try to reduce phosphates as necessary. Might be what you want to do with a tank as small as yours.

[awjn]

yeah i was thinking about just getting a good nitrate sponge and try to lower my phosphate and nitrate levels, but until i get my test my parameters. Could a 3 gallon even support a lettuce nudibranch just hypothetically if i get too much hair algae or a mangrove plant?

[rlcline76]

Well, Shimek says 10 gallons, but not too many scholars thought of anything smaller than 10 .

I have read that lettuce slugs do not do well in reef tanks and die easily since they have strict diets.

Once it is finished with your tank, do you have someone you could pass it to?

If you do not have corals, I would suggest cutting the lights and forgetting about the nudibranch.

Do you know your exact parameters or what is causing your parameters to be out of whack?

[awjn]

well i am guessing its the phosphate levels due to the fact the tank receives a little bit of sunlight a day, not directly but a little bit, but i wanna make sure with a new test kit first. I was thinking about getting an astria or turbo snail to help my algae in my tank. i know they do not eat hair algae, but i do have algae on my rocks and glass.

[rlcline76]

Turbos eat it, margaritas eat it

[awjn]

o really? thats good news, i guess if algae gets out of hand ill get myself a turbo. Thanks for all the help

[Rainman69]

wow 3 gallons I want to see a pic of that.

[patrick1234]

I have a 3 with 2 turbos and man they do a good job at keeping it clean sand and glass