HighlandReefer
Team RC
You need flow going through the GFO more than a drip. Usually hobbyists put the filter bag with GFO in a sump or in front of a power head pump.
AlgaeFix Marine to control Hair Algae
- Thread starter HighlandReefer
- Start date
muppet
Misanthrope
I'm at 6 doses now and I feel like my algae has plateaued. I have no new growth and manual removal is easier (though it gets harder the less I have, lots of tonga and fiji to pick through). One thing I definitely noticed is that my tank is now toxic to red banded trochus. They are ALL dead, and I even tried not one, but TWO new batches of them this week with very careful acclimations and managed to kill 17 of them.
This means that I won't be doing any long term low-dosing of algaefix once my issue is resolved. I can't go without red banded trochus, they're my favorite cleaners. I am so upset about losing so many this week.
I'm going to do some more manual removal and a water change tomorrow and then post some "after" or at least "in progress" pics/vids.
This means that I won't be doing any long term low-dosing of algaefix once my issue is resolved. I can't go without red banded trochus, they're my favorite cleaners. I am so upset about losing so many this week.
I'm going to do some more manual removal and a water change tomorrow and then post some "after" or at least "in progress" pics/vids.
jeffreylesser
New member
I'm at 6 doses now and I feel like my algae has plateaued. I have no new growth and manual removal is easier (though it gets harder the less I have, lots of tonga and fiji to pick through). One thing I definitely noticed is that my tank is now toxic to red banded trochus. They are ALL dead, and I even tried not one, but TWO new batches of them this week with very careful acclimations and managed to kill 17 of them.
This means that I won't be doing any long term low-dosing of algaefix once my issue is resolved. I can't go without red banded trochus, they're my favorite cleaners. I am so upset about losing so many this week.
I'm going to do some more manual removal and a water change tomorrow and then post some "after" or at least "in progress" pics/vids.
Snails are not a big fan of heightened magnesium levels as well. It would probably be a good idea to bring your magnesium down from 1800 with your water changes as the Tech-M is not helping the situation. When I used Kent Tech-M I lost some snails in the process and my magnesium was not even as high as 1800. You may be right, your tank may be toxic to snails right now. You may just have too many things going on in your tank.
terahz
1x10^12 Hz
Ok, here is my first field report. Along with starting AlgaeFix, I introduced an urchin, sold some of my fish, reduced feeding to 2 times a week, doubled on GFO, started dosing PRODIBIO BIO CLEAN, and I try to get as much algae as I can manually with weekly water changes (3 so far). First image is from Sept 3rd. Second from today (Sept 28th).
Overall it is certainly less and not growing. I can't tell if the AlgaeFix is doing anything/enough, but something seems to work. I'll keep you posted.
P.S. The urchin goes creasy for about 2-3 minutes right after I dose AlgaeFix. Almost as if it is trying to escape quickly. Other than that, can't see anything else reacting.
Overall it is certainly less and not growing. I can't tell if the AlgaeFix is doing anything/enough, but something seems to work. I'll keep you posted.
P.S. The urchin goes creasy for about 2-3 minutes right after I dose AlgaeFix. Almost as if it is trying to escape quickly. Other than that, can't see anything else reacting.
tonythefish
New member
My starry blenny would have those rocks cleaned in 3 days .
rudyretama
New member
honestly, i had HA plague my 180g mixed reef with 500W of metal halides for months, and it was probably 2x as bad as this. after countless tries and no solution i decided to wage war. My first plan of action was to go to the nearest drugstore and get a toothbrush, i then proceeded to remove all the HA off the rock by scrubbing it in a 5g bucket with the toothbrush. once this was done, I redid the rock scape and immediately performed a 3 day blackout on the tank while dosing AlgaeFix Marine as directed. This completely solved my problem (and many others whom i've recommended this to) and i could not be more satisfied. because there was no significant die off due to the scrubbing in the bucket, I did not need to watch ammonia levels, but i do however run GFO. My derasa loves the slightly polluted water, i have never seen such color or mantle extension on any 4 inch clam!
HighlandReefer
Team RC
terahz,
Tanks looking good. Hopefully it continues to eradicate the algae.
Tanks looking good. Hopefully it continues to eradicate the algae.
terahz
1x10^12 Hz
I have an algae blenny that seems to be starving! I can't even make him eat nori. Not sure why is that. I see him trying to eat from the rocks all the time, but he can't pull any algae off. Maybe I got a lemon
. I think my algae are just holding way too strong to the rocks for him (sometimes I need to hold the rock in place if I am trying to pull too much algae. Only the urchin is able to rasp enough to remove them.
HighlandReefer
Team RC
Brey,
To Reef Central
Adding the dead rock to your system with live rock, should not take very long for bacteria to start growing in it. There are more bacteria present in the existing rock, sand & water collumn than adding some from a bottle.
If you want corralline algae to start growing on this dead rock, you will need to take scrappings from the live rock and put them on the dead rock to get it going.
To Reef Central
Adding the dead rock to your system with live rock, should not take very long for bacteria to start growing in it. There are more bacteria present in the existing rock, sand & water collumn than adding some from a bottle.
If you want corralline algae to start growing on this dead rock, you will need to take scrappings from the live rock and put them on the dead rock to get it going.
HighlandReefer
Team RC
Yes, scrape the coralline algae off from the live rock and place it on the dead rock, which will get coralline algae growing on this dead rock much quicker.
HighlandReefer
Team RC
It will depend on your current systems ability to process ammonia, nitrate and phosphate. If it can handle the ammonia then it will not be a problem.
If you have not added any organisms to your tank yet, perhaps the best thing to do is add some fish food to your system and see how the tank processes it.
If you have not added any organisms to your tank yet, perhaps the best thing to do is add some fish food to your system and see how the tank processes it.
HighlandReefer
Team RC
You're welcome.
Not a problem, feel free to ask away.
Not a problem, feel free to ask away.
HighlandReefer
Team RC
Have you tested the current ammonia level?
Snails need some food to feed on, so now may not be the best time, unless there is some algae growth on your current rock.
If you have not added food material to your tank, you will need to do this first to give the bacteria food to grow and mulitply on. Some hobbyists add a small dead fish to their tank to get the cycle going. Then you test for ammonia several days later and make sure the system can proccess the ammonia before you add fish to your system. When you begin adding fish, just add one or two small ones to start with and work up slowly to make sure your system can handle the ammonia. Ammonia is very toxic to fish.
These articles written by Randy will help and you should read them.
The “How To” Guide to Reef Aquarium Chemistry for Beginners, Part 1: The Salt Water Itself
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-03/rhf/index.php
The “How To” Guide to Reef Aquarium Chemistry for Beginners, Part 2: What Chemicals Must be Supplemented
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-04/rhf/index.php
The "How To" Guide to Reef Aquarium Chemistry for Beginners, Part 3: pH
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-05/rhf/index.php
The “How To” Guide to Reef Aquarium Chemistry for Beginners,
Part 4: What Chemicals May Detrimentally Accumulate
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-09/rhf/index.php
Snails need some food to feed on, so now may not be the best time, unless there is some algae growth on your current rock.
If you have not added food material to your tank, you will need to do this first to give the bacteria food to grow and mulitply on. Some hobbyists add a small dead fish to their tank to get the cycle going. Then you test for ammonia several days later and make sure the system can proccess the ammonia before you add fish to your system. When you begin adding fish, just add one or two small ones to start with and work up slowly to make sure your system can handle the ammonia. Ammonia is very toxic to fish.
These articles written by Randy will help and you should read them.
The “How To” Guide to Reef Aquarium Chemistry for Beginners, Part 1: The Salt Water Itself
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-03/rhf/index.php
The “How To” Guide to Reef Aquarium Chemistry for Beginners, Part 2: What Chemicals Must be Supplemented
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-04/rhf/index.php
The "How To" Guide to Reef Aquarium Chemistry for Beginners, Part 3: pH
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-05/rhf/index.php
The “How To” Guide to Reef Aquarium Chemistry for Beginners,
Part 4: What Chemicals May Detrimentally Accumulate
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-09/rhf/index.php
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