A slow process

The presence of nuisance algae is now extremely common in newly set-up reef tanks, and some put it down to our use of dry rock and clean, pest-free decor versus 20 years ago when although we had pests, we had a lot of good stuff transferred from the ocean on live rock and live sand and wild coral bases too.

The average length of time for a reef tank to mature is now at least a year and most don’t become nuisance algae free until two years old.