AlgaeFix Marine to control Hair Algae

[racingrich]

My wife called me and told me that the cyano is taking over much more today should I do a big water change. Also when my live rock was new years ago it was coverd with it after the cycle and then it went away after some days could this happen again?
thanks for any info.
Rich

 

[HighlandReefer]

I would continue siphoning the cyano often, along with any debris. Perhaps using a brush to get it off the rock work will help. Once the organic matter that the cyano is feeding on is removed, it should fade away. The siphoning should translate into addition water changes. I would maintain your normal water change schedule in addition to this (say at least 30% per month on a weekly basis).

 

[thebanker]

The bad news: I've stopped dosing AF Marine since 09/07, as it seems to have done its job. I have a frogspawn that is dying, and is looking worse every day.

The good news: Well I overhauled my tank entirely. Bought a new skimmer, vacuumed the substrate and scrubbed the live rock in an outside bucket. While I was moving the LR around, I decided to remodel, and fix my substrate issues. When I started my tank I used crushed coral, because I didn't know any better, and I had a large patch of it I "repaved" with caribsea live sand. Now I have at least 2-3 inches of sand everywhere in the tank. I removed about 6 Starbucks Venti cups of crushed coral, and added about 7 Venti cups of live sand (20 lbs).

Here's the remodeled tank and new skimmer.

Just tested the water and got the following parameters:

Specific Gravity: 1.022
Carbonate hardness: 9 dkh
PO4: 0 ppm
NO3: 0-5 ppm

So far so great!

Ca: 580 ppm ... yikes...

Adding all that sand must have spiked the tank's dissolved calcium, and that should go down naturally and over the course of a few water changes. The nice thing is, every time I walk by the tank, I swear there's more coralline algae.

I'm going to watch and see how it goes. Does anyone know if the frogspawn can be saved? It's peeling apart from the base on up...

 

[HighlandReefer]

You will need to bump up your salinity for coral. They will not do well at 1.022. Natural seawater is around 1.0264. I keep mine between 1.026-1.027. Certainly no lower than 1.024.

If you are using a hydrometer to measure specific gravity, it would be advisable to calibrate it with a properly calibrate refractometer from a friend or the LFS.

Randy goes into more details regarding all the recommended water parameters for coral in this article:

Reef Aquarium Water Parameters
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/index.htm

 

[fishgeek88]

where can I find this Algae fix marine?

 

[tweetyfish]

Petsmart

 

[iFisch]

Petco, LFS, online, etc.

 

[jax0007]

have been reading this thread for a while now and not having a huge algae problem i thought i would give ago . now my tank is large( three tanks linked together) and full of fire shrimp snails and mandarin fish plus corals etc etc after reading this thread i used 1/4 rates one hit every day for three days and bang what algae i had got nuked .some of my zoos seemed to open and brighten up more so over last 8 weeks i have given a 1/4 hit once a fortnight and tank has never been better .don't be afraid of this product.

 

[HighlandReefer]

jax0007,

Thanks for sharing your experience with AF.

It is interesting that AF worked in your situation, using 1/4 the recommended strength daily. There was another hobbyist who used AF at full strength daily and suffered problems. AF will brake down in 24 hrs per the manufacturer.

 

[jax0007]

did he use it daily what was his time frame from what i can work out on this thread is slow and steady works best better to go under rate and work up you cant get into trouble that way . I'm a green keeper on bowling greens in oz Sydney and i spray a lot .over rates burn or kill turf under rates will not always work but u will not lose your job he he . and if you work up for each problem you will get the job done right in the end with out any problems . mark twain said common sense is great but it ain't to common.

 

[jax0007]

besides i speak to a lot of chemical reps at what they say and what products really do .do not always go hand in hand .

 

[iFisch]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15730664#post15730664 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by HighlandReefer
jax0007,

Thanks for sharing your experience with AF.

It is interesting that AF worked in your situation, using 1/4 the recommended strength daily. There was another hobbyist who used AF at full strength daily and suffered problems. AF will brake down in 24 hrs per the manufacturer.

Cliff, would you say it is safe to dose per instructions every 24hrs? And not run carbon/GFO during that time?

(ie. dose every 24hrs, for 3 days, stop dosing rest of week, run carbon/GFO)

 

[HighlandReefer]

First off, I only recommend that you follow what the manufacturer has stated on their label.

AF is a biocide, meaning it will indiscriminately kill all micro-organisms when used at high enough concentrations, including your coral. The idea behind the dosing schedule is to just kill the algae and not the coral or invertebrates. There is a delicate balance between killing the algae and not the symbiotic algae in coral tissues. The symbiotic algae are protected inside the coral tissue to a degree. How much protection, I don't know.

Dosing AF at the recommended strength daily instead of every three days, has caused problems for one of the hobbyists in this thread, so I would not try this.

Pesticides are experimented with under controlled situations by Universities and interested private firms. Reef systems contain corals and invertebrates from all around the world, with different physiologies. This makes things more difficult to make recommendations for the use of AF. What may work for one hobbyists may not work for others. Unfortunately, the reefing industry does not interest the Universities much.

That said, I think experimentation is wonderful. After all, it is the way we increase our knowledge. The question is, are you willing to loose your coral and invertebrates in your reef system? To be honest, experimenting in your reef system, which may contain thousands of dollars of organisms, may not be the best way to go. Perhaps experimenting in a small tank setup with cheaper organisms may be a better way to go about it. Of course, there are the select few, who are willing to take the chance and I am always interested in what these hobbyists discover, good or bad.

 

[HighlandReefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15730695#post15730695 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jax0007
did he use it daily what was his time frame.

He used the recommended dosing rate on the label daily instead of every three days. It proved to be too much for his coral.

 

[iFisch]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15730854#post15730854 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by HighlandReefer
First off, I only recommend that you follow what the manufacturer has stated on their label.

AF is a biocide, meaning it will indiscriminately kill all micro-organisms when used at high enough concentrations, including your coral. The idea behind the dosing schedule is to just kill the algae and not the coral or invertebrates. There is a delicate balance between killing the algae and not the symbiotic algae in coral tissues. The symbiotic algae are protected inside the coral tissue to a degree. How much protection, I don't know.

Dosing AF at the recommended strength daily instead of every three days, has caused problems for one of the hobbyists in this thread, so I would not try this.

Pesticides are experimented with under controlled situations by Universities and interested private firms. Reef systems contain corals and invertebrates from all around the world, with different physiologies. This makes things more difficult to make recommendations for the use of AF. What may work for one hobbyists may not work for others. Unfortunately, the reefing industry does not interest the Universities much.

That said, I think experimentation is wonderful. After all, it is the way we increase our knowledge. The question is, are you willing to loose your coral and invertebrates in your reef system? To be honest, experimenting in your reef system, which may contain thousands of dollars of organisms, may not be the best way to go. Perhaps experimenting in a small tank setup with cheaper organisms may be a better way to go about it. Of course, there are the select few, who are willing to take the chance and I am always interested in what these hobbyists discover, good or bad.

Well if it breaks down in 24 hours, then wouldn't it be safe to assume you could dose again, since it's broken down?

At this moment, all I have is my livestock + about 6 frags of zoa's. Nothing else, so I particularly don't have too much to loose. It's not that the product ISN'T working, it's just if it's broken down in 24 hours, why wouldn't it be safe to not reintroduce it again in another 24 hours?

Am I making any sense, lol?

 

[HighlandReefer]

That's a good question.

AF works on the cell membrane, exactly how it works, I don't know. Getting information from the manufacturer's reps is like pulling eye teeth. I don't believe they know either. :lol:

How AF is trans-located inside the coral might have something to do with it.

 

[jax0007]

trust me i fish just 1/4 rates everyday until u see results then scale back do this and get back to me .quarter rates like i said I've sprayed chem for 20 years and what is on label are not always right take mancozeb its for fungi on turf or crops now ill keep this simple for u ,the label say wash it in but every turf green keeper will tell you golf course or any sports turf, leave it on leaf sticks like glue to the plant it works a treat . now what i do and fellow turf managers are experts in chem spraying .how do you think golf course look the way they do .

 

[jax0007]

now for all those reefers who are turf managers or green keepers don't jump all over me words like systemic circulation and photosynthesis and the like will only confuse i was trying to post it as simple as possible cheers mark

 

[HighlandReefer]

Jax0007,

It is true that the Universities help out the Lawn Care Industry, Golf Course Industry, Farming Industry and the Pest Control Industry in and around homes. The Universities research has provided valuable information to those and other industries. Reducing rates of herbicidal applications provides economic gain where it proves effective.

When less than the labeled amounts of pesticides are used, it is assumed in most cases that there will be no deleterious effects on non-target organisms, especially humans.

When engaged in algae type pest control in a reef tank, you are not only concerned about effects on humans but concerns about micro-organisms, fish, coral and invertebrates come into play. Most EPA studies required to approve pesticides for the market do not run studies on factors like we are talking about with AF.

One other bit of information regarding AF is how it works in fresh water, which may be similar to saltwater:

""Pond Care AlgaeFix controls algae in two ways. Many algae, like Chlorella, consist of a single cell. Pond Care AlgaeFix causes the algae cell wall to leak. The algae respond much like a deflating balloon. Other algae, such as Oedogonium, form filaments made up of many cells. Pond Care AlgaeFix binds to protein in the cell membrane, disrupting the flow of nutrients and ions across the cell membrane. Filamentous algae respond to Pond Care AlgaeFix by gradually disintegrating over time. AlgaeFix can be used with aquatic plants."

With this knowledge one might ask, What are the effects on the cell walls of the other organisms in the tank?

 

[jax0007]

look i don't agree with most of your last comment ,but seeing this is your thread you started it and do a great job i will say we will agree to disagree no problem ,just saying in simple terms better to under rate then over 1 its safer 2 every tank is diff (size content fish only etc etc etc )so one rate all for one does not wash with me . 3 if under rate did kill anything the right rate would be worse and like u point out costs and everything u love in your tank is at risk .4 the whole idea of a great reef tank is slow and steady that's all i hear take your time quarantine stock don't rush a start up etc etc etc and all those people are right slow and steady and i say go with that with this product its fool proof that system.