Before it's too late...

[BfishLpond78]

Minus the overly dramatic thread title...I have some questions and concerns

So I have a few thick...lush green patches of hair algae that have me concerned because they seem to grow like crazy...I try to manual remove them but like tim allen in the santa clause...the beard grow right back and with a vengence.

I've tried soaking the the zoa frag thats still mobile in a solution of peroxide and water and it almost does the trick but it still came back. I've read it should have been straight peroxide but I feared i would lose my purple deaths.

So my options as i've been reading and posting in other forums is to either remove the infected areas, which happen to be the base base rocks for my structure, basically dismantle a few rocks that have some encrusted SPS colonies on them and give them a peroxide bath/scrub to remove the algae or try a risky in take treatment with a syringe and peroxide and basically inject the hair algae with the peroxide mix but there is a risk to my cleaner shrimp.

Now I am bringing my water to puppy center tomorrow for My2girls to test and see whats going on, I am also picking up a Hanna P04 checker tomorrow as well.

Now back to the title of the thread, now before its too late and I have a field lush green waves...what can I do in the mean time...as i realize this is not an overnight fix...

I'm prolly due for some new bulbs in my fixture...larger water changes? any live stock that helps or likes hair algae...my algae blenny only likes the algae that grows on the glass...

I'm open to anything...I've heard of tanks that get so bad that they have to shut down and start over...

 

[esshoes]

Do you run rowaphos or some sort of phosphate remover? Carbon? They also have phosphate sponges that I've had work very well. Do you have snails? Or room for a sea slug. Bulbs can definitely contribute to hair algae, though. Sorry for the stream of consciousness answer ha

 

[Pallobi]

May I ask what u feed and how often? Are u using rodi water and have u tested it for phosphates also?

 

[sdheath]

The long term solution is to find the source of nutrients and eliminate it... food, clogged filters, high TDS, insufficient nutrient export, etc. But while you figure that out you might want to try AlgaeFix. First let me say that I am NOT a fan of chemical cures. But I made an exception for this stuff a few years ago and I'm glad I did. There are lots of positive threads about the product and very little negative. Just my opinion; you decide what's best for your tank.

 

[BfishLpond78]

Do you run rowaphos or some sort of phosphate remover? Carbon? They also have phosphate sponges that I've had work very well. Do you have snails? Or room for a sea slug. Bulbs can definitely contribute to hair algae, though. Sorry for the stream of consciousness answer ha

2 weeks ago I just started using reactors with BRS Rox carbon and GFO (only 3/4 cup as I didn't want to over load system) I do need to re-up on a clean-up crew. Bulbs are def on the older side, pushing 7 months.

May I ask what u feed and how often? Are u using rodi water and have u tested it for phosphates also?

Well...hangin head with this answer, I USED to feed shrimp pellets, flake and frozen mysis and cyclopeze, but have stopped the pellets and flakes after a recommendation. I would feed about every other day. I am using RO/DI water and am in the middle of getting a new unit as mine is a bit on the cheaper side, my TDS meter was showing about 2-3ppm. Im upgrading to a 7 stage with 3 DI resins and waiting for it to come in. I haven't tested for phosphates in awhile due to my lack of testing equipment. I know its probably the main source for it, but i will be picking up the Hanna PO4 tester tomorrow. I also realize this is probably a result of my neglect to these ever aging problems.

The long term solution is to find the source of nutrients and eliminate it... food, clogged filters, high TDS, insufficient nutrient export, etc. But while you figure that out you might want to try AlgaeFix. First let me say that I am NOT a fan of chemical cures. But I made an exception for this stuff a few years ago and I'm glad I did. There are lots of positive threads about the product and very little negative. Just my opinion; you decide what's best for your tank.

I suspect it may have to due with poor nutrient export, manual vs natural as I just found a good light to get my macro to actually grow. I am also not a fan of the chemical treatment but I don't want to see the tank swallowed by the algae.


I am a poster child of what not to do, I waited a bit too long to really attack this head on, but I finally have some spare fund to help combat this issue.

 

[Chriskid]

i say the vodka method,and good skimming . jmo

 

[MADtanks]

Make sure you are not dealing with bryopsis brodda the slightest in anything and it grows like a weed! U sneeze and it sprouts new babies!

 

[Chriskid]

Make sure you are not dealing with bryopsis brodda the slightest in anything and it grows like a weed! U sneeze and it sprouts new babies!

if thats the case,mag of 1500 for a while and good skimming

 

[BfishLpond78]

Here is my headache...

Sent from my ADR6350 using Tapatalk 2

 

[MADtanks]

That's a battle not always won..... I have dealt with it and even at 1500+ it kept growing albeit slower it still grew..... thankfully the rock was not big so I cut off the coral and cooked it but that's not solution for everyone .

I hope its not that and if it is I hope the rock is small enough to remove and deal with

 

[Chriskid]

well every tank is different,however probly have nitrats,and phos.

hows the flow for waste?
how big of skimmer? and tank..

 

[BfishLpond78]

I could remove the rocks...i would just have to be careful as my mini colony of tri color is sitting right on top...and my duncans are on the other rock...if it gets totally out of hand i'll just bite the bullet to save the rest of the tank...I'm a big wuss when it comes to handling my corals.

 

[MADtanks]

I agree....

The pictures just look like hair algae, bryopsis is more like fern, featherish.... can you confirm?

 

[BfishLpond78]

well every tank is different,however probly have nitrats,and phos.

hows the flow for waste?
how big of skimmer? and tank..

I'm guessing its the nitrate and phos...

Flow is OK...two Koralia 1400 and 2 Koralia 525's, it seems like decent flow but have been told its definatley not enough for a 120 as the flow streams are very narrowed...I have some cyano as well, but I dont get it as one area that has it has great flow...things are always whipping around in that area...

 

[BfishLpond78]

I agree....

The pictures just look like hair algae, bryopsis is more like fern, featherish.... can you confirm?

algae is stringy with no fern like details to them...

also i am running a SRO 3000SSS skimmer rated at 300 gallons...but it might as well be overkill since I haven't yet fine tuned it...

I know someone wants to say it....what a mess!!! lol...kid can't even dial in his skimmer...lol :deadhorse:

 

[MADtanks]

What's up with the skimmer? To be honest it may be too big man and is probably not running very efficient. As noted earlier you try vodka yet? I myself do solid vodka(bio pellets) dosing. Then you can put that skimmer to work, otherwise you are probably not going to ever dial it in. Most will say no such thing as too big a skimmer...... But there is a point where the skimmer does not do its job properly. Now if you have a bunch of fish and feed like crazy(not allow the food to settle) then the skimmer is probably adequate otherwise think about properly sizing the skimmer . My 2cents

 

[mylifeismyown66]

If you're interested in running a low nutrient system I have heard of many have great success getting rid of their algae using NOPOX along with Reef Energy eventually. I have also heard of people lowering their nutrients with NOPOX long enough to kill off the HA and then weaning off of it, but the source of the excess nutrients still needs to be addressed.

 

[Pallobi]

I'm curious what u heard about feeding dry food as opposed to frozen, and why u stopped the dry and/or flake feedings... And do u rinse ur frozen, and how often do u feed frozen?

Sorry if I missed it...

 

[Pallobi]

And to add on the skimmer subject, I use a reef octopus dual extreme 300, rated for 300g's, on my 90g water volume... I really don't think your skimmer is the issue... Jmo...

 

[BfishLpond78]

What's up with the skimmer? To be honest it may be too big man and is probably not running very efficient. As noted earlier you try vodka yet? I myself do solid vodka(bio pellets) dosing. Then you can put that skimmer to work, otherwise you are probably not going to ever dial it in. Most will say no such thing as too big a skimmer...... But there is a point where the skimmer does not do its job properly. Now if you have a bunch of fish and feed like crazy(not allow the food to settle) then the skimmer is probably adequate otherwise think about properly sizing the skimmer . My 2cents

Well when I first buying the equipment I had planned for a bit more water volume than 150 gallons and the price was right for 3 month old skimmer and i couldnt say no...now i wish I did...lol. I have gotten it to produce a nice foamy head, but have never gotten really good skimmate out of it...usually very wet...basically just tank water with a tinge to it.

I have never tried vodka (in a tank anyway...lol), have heard good things but never really looked into it. I have 10 small fish, nothing over 2.5 inches.