How to control algae and aiptasia in a 35 liter reef tank

Question

Can I just come out here and appreciate the work that goes into tanks

I’ve been hobbying for 2 years now, the hobby is incredibly time consuming, I have to hold my hands up to applause the people who have hugely successful tanks, any tips to get mine looking good, I have algae and aiptasia in mine, it’s 35l

The pic of the tank is 2 months ago, algea on the rocks has gone a small bit, brown dust on the sand has gone too

LeedsReefer · Answer

I think I’m going to try aiptasia x

Scott · Answer

Small tanks are super tough. I have a big one and a small one and the small one vexes me every day. Hair algae never stops. Got a lazy lawnmower blenny. Ended up going Fowler and turning off the light.

Aiptasia I have had more success with. Just kept buying peppermint shrimp until I found one that survived and decided to eat it. Many many peppermint shrimp, but all it takes is one good one, and aiptasia disappears overnight.

Youri · Answer

When a coral dies, take it out. This will prevent things going south quickly.

Stephen · Answer

👏💭🌊

LeedsReefer · Answer

Dust on the sand has gone naturally, cheers for tips, it’s a small tank so keeping levels the same is difficult

Pierre · Answer

Sand Vacuuming: During your next water change, perform a shallow siphon of the top 1/4 inch of discolored sandbed to pull out the benthic film and organic detritus rather than stirring it into the water column.
 Flow Direction: Adjust lower wavemaker pulses slightly downward toward the sand-rock interface to increase indirect sweeping velocity and prevent diatoms/organics from settling in low-flow pockets around the rock base.
 Mechanical Export: Manually brush the loose green hair algae patches on the upper rock structure with a clean toothbrush immediately before swapping your filter sock or floss to capture dislodged filaments before they can resettle.