AlgaeFix Marine to control Hair Algae

[HighlandReefer]

This is the picture that Sana posted when first starting. Sana's statement with this picture was that it was a lot worse than depicted here when first starting to dose algaefix:

Glad to see it worked for your. :thumbsup:

 

[dazed]

Update for me; my 6th dose went into the tank today and there are just a couple of small areas that i need to manually remove i had a piece of live rock that was covered so bad you could hardly see any of the rock itself, the problem i was having with trying to remove it manually was i could not get all of it off of the rock as the fibers were down into the rock itself, since dosing that area has been much easier to remove a day or two after treatment. I don't know if i mentioned it earlier or not but i also have a breeding pair of true perc's in my tank and they have not seemed affected by the treatment at all. I did not remove my gac,gfo continued with my carbon dosing and wc schedule as well during treatment.

 

[jtumbleweed]

I read most of this thread but not all so sorry if this has been asked/answered already: Has anyone used this product with clams in their system, and if so what were the results? I just got a new Squamosa, and have one of each, Crocea, Maxima, and Derasa in my mainly SPS system.

 

[HighlandReefer]

jtumbleweed,

My clams showed no signs of problems while dosing algaefix for an extended period of time.

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dazed,

Great to hear your results.

 

[rhunter513]

update -

For me the algaefix has not worked. After 6 months of trying all the conventional methods plus algaefix, I am getting out of the hobby. I did have some very temporary results with the algaefix but everytime I went to weekly dosing the HA came back. I am back to a raging investation. For me the algaefix will work but only if I keep dosing every three days non-stop - this will eventually kill all my corals based on how it affects them.

I hope others have better results.

 

[Bruno3047]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15097961#post15097961 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rhunter513
update -

For me the algaefix has not worked. "...everytime I went to weekly dosing the HA came back". I am back to a raging investation."

That's what I'm afraid of. Maybe the HA develops some kind of immunity?

 

[iFisch]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15097961#post15097961 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rhunter513
update -

For me the algaefix has not worked. After 6 months of trying all the conventional methods plus algaefix, I am getting out of the hobby. I did have some very temporary results with the algaefix but everytime I went to weekly dosing the HA came back. I am back to a raging investation. For me the algaefix will work but only if I keep dosing every three days non-stop - this will eventually kill all my corals based on how it affects them.

I hope others have better results.

How were you dosing? How much were you dosing? What else were you dosing? How often were you dosing? Were you dosing "Marine" or "FW/normal"?

 

[rhunter513]

wow -

Ok, I was dosing algaefix marine the recommend amount per my volume fish tank every third day - did that for 8 doses saw results then went to the "recommend on the bottle" weekly dose and then algae started to come back. So I did yet another 8 doses - again every third day and again saw results and tried the weekly dosing and again the HA came back. Only other thing I did was cut my photoperiod from 10 hours a day to 5 hours a day.

Obviously algaefix is only a band-aide its not some new wonder fix. My underlying problem - what ever that is - is what causes the HA to grow back after i stop dosing. I can not continue to dose every third day indefinently because that will kill my corals and be WAY to much trouble.

 

[nrannalli]

Is this your Nanocube? If so do you have some kind of protein skimmer or did you do a weekly water change? The reason I ask is because with out removing as much HA as possible first when that algae starts to die the nutrients goes right back into the tank. Since algae fix does not kill spores the environment would be perfect for it to take hold again without nutrient export. Maybe you could try trowing a bag of Carbon and Phosban to help get rid of the nutrients.

 

[rhunter513]

I appreaciate all the help here but I just don't want to rehash that whole long drawn out process. I do have a protein skimmer, do weekly water changes, run carbon and for a while ran phosban. Please know that I tried all the conventional method for ridding and preventing any bad algae.

I just wanted to jump on this thread to tell my experience with algaefix. Not all tanks are the same...

 

[iFisch]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15098620#post15098620 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rhunter513
wow -

Ok, I was dosing algaefix marine the recommend amount per my volume fish tank every third day - did that for 8 doses saw results then went to the "recommend on the bottle" weekly dose and then algae started to come back. So I did yet another 8 doses - again every third day and again saw results and tried the weekly dosing and again the HA came back. Only other thing I did was cut my photoperiod from 10 hours a day to 5 hours a day.

Obviously algaefix is only a band-aide its not some new wonder fix. My underlying problem - what ever that is - is what causes the HA to grow back after i stop dosing. I can not continue to dose every third day indefinently because that will kill my corals and be WAY to much trouble.

I don't think there has been "coral killing" using this product, but I have only been through a few pages. Highlandreefer can give you a more definite answer, since it's mainly his thread.

So using this product every 3 days, under normal dosing, shouldn't stress out/kill anything in your tank.

I don't have much experience with HA, as I only had a 1/4" patch on my rock, which disappeared in two days. Hasn't returned since. However I am on the "weekly" dosing regime now.



I'm sorry it hasn't worked out for you rhunter513. It certainly has for the majority of the people here. Maybe others can chime in and offer some further assistance.

 

[Logzor]

I believe that this product is best for mild algae problems or algae issues that can not be solved by nutrient/phosphate reduction alone. If you start using this product and kill large amount of algae it is going to cause issues. You must be able to export the material that dies off. If you could not control nutrient to begin with and do not change husbandry practices then this is not a good product to jump into.

It is not as simple as algae problem + algaefix = no more problems.

In my situation the algae issue was mild. Before using this product I had cut back on feedings dramatically, larger water changes, etc.

I am having amazing results - this stuff is killing off a nasty macro algae (dictyota) - even my chaeto is turning white. My colors are at 80% but this is expected as I am starving my tank.

 

[evsalty]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15098620#post15098620 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rhunter513
wow -

Ok, I was dosing algaefix marine the recommend amount per my volume fish tank every third day - did that for 8 doses saw results then went to the "recommend on the bottle" weekly dose and then algae started to come back. So I did yet another 8 doses - again every third day and again saw results and tried the weekly dosing and again the HA came back. Only other thing I did was cut my photoperiod from 10 hours a day to 5 hours a day.

Obviously algaefix is only a band-aide its not some new wonder fix. My underlying problem - what ever that is - is what causes the HA to grow back after i stop dosing. I can not continue to dose every third day indefinently because that will kill my corals and be WAY to much trouble.

Not to harp on you or anything but I noticed that you say that you stopped the 3 day treatment when you first noticed results. I would think that you would have had better results if you continued to do the 3 day treatments until it was gone then switched to 1 a week.

I did it this way and I do not do the weekly dosing and have yet to see my nuisance algaes again after almost 6 months.

 

[Logzor]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15099011#post15099011 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by evsalty
Not to harp on you or anything but I noticed that you say that you stopped the 3 day treatment when you first noticed results. I would think that you would have had better results if you continued to do the 3 day treatments until it was gone then switched to 1 a week.

I did it this way and I do not do the weekly dosing and have yet to see my nuisance algaes again after almost 6 months.

May I ask why types you were dealing with? I am curious if more people are having success killing macro algae.

 

[iFisch]

I have noticed from user results, that this item is best used as soon as you notice a problem, or is "mild" or not very old.

For something way out of control, I can only think it will take this product months to get slight control of the problem.


If you don't have the time to watch/view your tank daily or every other day, I am not sure this is the best hobby for someone. Reef tanks, IMO, take users time to check and make sure things aren't out of control. (ie. weekly testing, daily visual inspection, etc.)

I also understand it can take time to find a solution to your problem, but it is easier to control/eliminate a problem if you see it right away. Just post away on the forums with pictures and descriptions of what you're seeing. Sometimes its good, sometimes its bad. If it's bad, and your pictures/description are decent, there is usually someone who will chime in with a solution.

 

[HighlandReefer]

rhunter513,

I am sorry to hear that the AlgaeFix did not work on your algae type pest after a reasonable period of time. It is encouraging that the AlgaeFix did reduce it way back. For a while it seemed like it was going to eradicate it for you. It really bothers me to see someone leave the hobby frustrated with their algae type pest problems. Yes, not all algae type pests are the same and some can be quite challenging to get rid of, particularly the blue green cyanobacteria which closely resemble the true algae. I don't know which type of pest you have, here is a picture of your infestation for other hobbyists interested:

This is quite an obnoxious pest you have. There is so much of it covering your tank. I was worried the AlgaeFix may not get rid of this pest.

FWIW, in your situation this is a type of pest that a hobbyist might decide to brake the tank down and bleach/acid treat all their rock and sand or better yet, get rid of everything in it and start over. Even the coral in your tank are infested with this pest and will only serve to re-infest a clean tank. I personally would not give them away to another hobbyist for fear it might infest their tank. If you decide to get rid of your fish, the water they are taken in can contain spores of this pest and infest other tanks also.

If I were in your situation, I would continue dosing with the AlgaeFix at the 3 day intervals until the pest was gone and if I lost some coral then, owe well.

 

[HighlandReefer]

FWIW, Boomer thinks that rhunter513's pest may be Cladophora.

 

[HighlandReefer]

Logzor,

Thanks for the update on your macroalgae and AlgaeFix used to try and control it. This is very encouraging for other hobbyists who decide to try the AlgaeFix on macro algae pests. I would love to see an update picture. You are the only hobbyist who has tried this on macroalgae other than my experience with the chaeto, in this thread.

I obtained similar results when using AlgaeFix for a prolonged period of time, where it killed my cheato after quite a while at the 3 day dose rate.

Here is a picture of Logzor's pest:

 

[HighlandReefer]

After re-looking at your picture Logzor, it looks like you may have some Caulerpa mixed in also?

 

[Logzor]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15102243#post15102243 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by HighlandReefer
After re-looking at your picture Logzor, it looks like you may have some Caulerpa mixed in also?

That picture was from my old tank where this algae was out of control. The dictyota is the only best in my tank right now (well and some bubble algae).

Here is a link to my tank thread - the pictures are very recent:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1644682

You can not see much algae because it is either gone or plastered to the rock.

A couple of weeks ago I took a close up picture of one area where there was a fair amount of algae on the rock. Today there are only a few tiny pieces. I will try and get those uploaded soon.