AlgaeFix Marine to control Hair Algae

yeldarbj said:
I'm pretty sure that your algae problem is bryopsis, that fern-like structure is a good indicator. There are some threads on RC about it. It's a brutal pest b/c nothing touches it, but the Kent Tech M - magnesium treatment is very effective. I would do as much manual removal as possible then start dosing the Tech M. Good luck.
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The Kent Tech M - magnesium treatment but a word of caution, follow your alkalinity levels daily while dosing! Mine plummeted!
 
Well AF killed my hair algae problems, but left me with a nice bit of cyano, I upped my flow and scrubbed some off and then siphoned it with a filter sock on the end of a python.

Everything seems to be doing okay though.
 
spazthecat said:
Hi,

Thanks for the reply. Tank details are as follows:

-75 gallon display tank with a 30 gallon sump (total water volume about 75 gallons).
-Tank has been up for 7 years with the past 2 years having algae issues on and off. Now mostly on:(
-Tank parameters are solid and have been so for a while (Ca 380; Mg 1400; dKh 9; pH 7.2). I quit testing for phos and nitrate as they are always zero.
-Mixed reef with mostly LPS and softies. Montipora being the only stony coral I have.
-I followed the dosing instructions on the bottle. So, 7.5ml every 3 days initially.
-I have been dosing VSV for a few months now but stopped it a week before starting the algae fix by tapering down the dose over a 10 day period before stopping. I've used the same tapering procedure before without issue whenever we go on vacation.

I'm in the process of mixing up water to do a 50% water change and I'll add in some carbon and GFO also.

Thanks,

Andy
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Thanks for the response.
 
Just an update for everyone. Tomorrow will be my fourth dose of Algeafix. I have not seen much of a change. Usually after I add a dose the tips of the algae turn white and I see some algae flying around the tank. I have 3 filter sox and just rotate them every other day while I clean the others. I have been emptying my collection cup on my skimmer every day. Not that it's full but it is getting more dirty in the neck and it sort of bogs down if I don't clean it.

Ive had little to no reaction from my livestock from using this product.

There are some exceptions. My mandarin started acting dazed after every dose so I moved her to a pod tank. My frogspawn, Bubble coral, greenstarpolyps, zoas have all been fine. Xenia does retract when I add the algeafix.

I will be putting up pictures when I add the 6th dose as everyone say's usually 5 is the sweet spot so I want to make sure the 5th dose has a chance. I have cleaned about 4 cups of GHA manually and it will all come back although it's not getting any worse, although some may say how could it.

Anyway good luck to everyone.
 
I've lost about 12 snails since I started dosing so I've now stopped after the 6th does. A lot were simply falling over and I put them right when I saw them but I guess those that wre exposed during the night got picked at by hermits and crabs.

All the Dictyota has gone though so I'll give it a couple of weeks, make some water changes and restock the snails.
 
HighlandReefer said:
spazthecat,

Sorry to hear about your coral bleaching. :(

We have not had any hobbyists who have had an experience like yours, at least that I recall, while using AlgaeFix.

It would be nice to get a few other details regarding your reef tank system.

How much AlgaeFix are you adding for each dose, how often and to what total volume of water (excluding rock, sand...etc)?
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Hi,

I was thinking on this some more and I remembered that it's been about 2 weeks since I've seen my Sea Hare. Which isn't terribly unusual. Sometimes I'll go a couple of weeks and won't see it. But, do you suppose if it died it could cause my soft corals to bleach?

Thanks,

Andy
 
We have had several hobbyists who reported loss of their sea hare while dosing AlgaeFix. I'm not sure if it is the AF or since many sea hare do not survive well in tanks. Either way, when a sea hare dies, toxic chemicals can be released which can kill of tanks in the worst cases. Apparently there is a wide range of toxicity associated with different species of sea hare (especially when they die and begin to brake down).
 
I had one (a sea hare) die in my tank, although I wasn't dosing AlgaeFix at the time. I didn't see any evidence of toxicity, although I do have pretty good skimming and carbon capability (Rox 0.8).

I'm quite sure the nutrient release from its corpse wasn't helpful to my algae problem. I'm dosing AlgaeFix now, and am on my sixth dose. The GHA is easily removable with fingers and a toothbrush, so I'm optimistic about a good result.

This has been a great thread.
 
From what I'm seeing, isn't that bubble algae in the pics? If so, are you saying that the algae fix is getting rid of the bubble algae? Man, I thought nothing would kill that stuff.
 
Apologies if this has been asked, but does Algaefix expire? If so, when? I don't see an expiration date on a bottle I bought last year, just a lot number and what looks like a date (Lot 87J0709). I'm hoping the July 09 reference is a born date, not an expiration date. Does anyone know?

Thanks.
 
sirjohn said:
Apologies if this has been asked, but does Algaefix expire? If so, when? I don't see an expiration date on a bottle I bought last year, just a lot number and what looks like a date (Lot 87J0709). I'm hoping the July 09 reference is a born date, not an expiration date. Does anyone know?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

The expiration date for Algaefix has not come up before and I don't know the answer.

I would call their tech support & ask the question:

Mars Fishcare Inc
Hours of Operation:
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM Eastern Time (Monday through Friday)

Product/Technical Support: (800) 847-0659


Usually you will need to leave a message and they return your call the same day.

I would be curious as to what response they give. ;)
 
The Alagefix did not help my situation. You can find my pictures a few posts back.

If anything the Alage is worse. Someone stated that I had something other than hair algea so that is probably why I did not see much if any improvement. Some areas have gotten worse.

Trying a run at the EcoBak pellets. Been going for 3 days now.
 
helpinsmepls,

I was afraid that the AF would not work on your algae, as it resembles a Bryopsis. Bryopsis is a tough pest to deal with as many hobbyists can attest too. :(

If the EcoBak pellets work for your pest, I would like to know about it. If not, I would suggest using Tech M magesium supplement and increase your mag level by about 100 ppm per day for 3 to 4 days. I would not raise your mag. level much higher then 400 ppm using this method. Many hobbyists have reported success using this method against bryopsis but some are unlucky and it does not work.
 
After reading this thread I decided to give AF a try. I had bad hair algae in my 200 gallon FOWLR and even though I had zero nitrates and phosphates it continued to grow. After the first and second treatment with AF the algae growing on the glass was reduced drastically and the GHA was slowed down growth wise. Now after the 4th dose the mexican grazer snails have been able to get control back and the rock is now about 2/3rds showing with the remaining GHA weakened and easy to remove. I am sure it will be gone entirely in another week or two. No sign of stress from the mexican grazer snails or fish.

In my 220 reef however my rose anemone has shown clear stress from the treatments so I stopped them after the 3rd dose. It was helping but I felt the snails would finish off what was left on the rock since it was not the long hair algae just short and on the rock. Not sure what type it is... The algae on the glass was reduced from cleaning every 3 days to a little once a week. I am loving that. If anyone is wondering I have had the anemone for over 2 years so know it is not acting normally.

Has anyone tried it in tanks with copper?

Good luck to everyone using this product.
Pam
 
Texas,

Thanks for sharing your experience. :)

It's interesting that your rose anemone showed stressed from the dosing of AF. I had a RBT anemone in my tank while dosing AF and it showed no signs of stress. Other hobbyist with anemones in this thread have stated they saw no ill signs also. There has to be some factor in play we don't know about yet. :hmm:

Copper is an algaecide which could be used in a fish only tank without an anemone. Once a tank is treated with copper, it may be difficult to get the copper out of sand and rock if you plan on adding coral down the road. I would not recommend using copper if you do plan on adding coral. Higher copper levels than 30 ppb are not recommended in a reef tank with coral and invertebrates.

I don't know of anyone who has mixed a copper and AlgaeFix treatment combination for algae in a fish only tank. Without knowing the effects of how this combination will work, I can't recommend trying it. Definitely not in a reef tank with coral, snails, crabs and shrimp or other invertebrates.
 
HighlandReefer,
The tank with the copper is a 125 quarantine tank. It has some cyno and I thought it would be nice if I could use the AF for that too. I normally just treat with erythromycin in this instance but was curious if anyone had tried the AF in this senario.

Best Regards,
Pam
 
The AlgaeFix label does have one cyanobacteria IIRC on it, but in general I did not see control myself for cyanobacteria. A common problem amoung many hobbyists who have used AF, is that once it killed their algae, they were left with cyano which it did not touch. Now if you increase the dosage 10X with AlgaeFix the active ingredient is labeled as a biocide, which means it will kill most cyano, bacteria, algae & other micro-organisms. I would not do this in a tank with live critters or coral though as it would most likely kill them too.

Using AlgaeFix in a quarantine tank at the recommended dosage and intervals sounds like a good approach to kill what algae it will kill and prevent their entry into your tank for corals and even fish. Copper treatments for fish diseases are at high levels, and I would think that the copper at this level would kill most algae...etc.
 
I used 13 doses of AlgeaFix. There is significantly less algea, but still enough to be an eye sore. Should I continue dosing or stop? I'm currently 6ml of Brightwell's MB7 and 3.6ml of Vodka
 
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