Hey guys!
I'm back from college after two weeks to find my tank growing some beautiful brown hair algae! I've been blessed with parents willing (and loving) to take care of the corals and fish, but this one appears to have gotten past them.
I have a 20g long tank with a UGF, but am doing consistent water changes every few weeks with great results (besides this recent outbreak of hair algae). The water has been tested and it seems like we had a small spike in phosphates recently which may have had something to do with the bloom. I'm pretty sure it's due to the recent disappearance of my skunk cleaner shrimp (from what I've heard dead things provide lots of phosphates), of which we've scowered the tank to find to no avail.
I've done a 25% water change which should keep the phosphate level under control, but unfortunately the hair algae is already in place. I went to the LFS and they recommended turning the lights on for just 8 hours a day instead of my usual 12, which I'm now doing. They also recommended cleaning the rocks with a new toothbrush to get rid of the bulk of hair algae. However, most of the hair algae in my tank is specifically around the corals, and around some of the stalks of my LPS. The corals don't appear pleased. The membranes are still in tact on the full top of the polyp, but appear to have retreated some from the stalk due to the outbreak.
I wanted to follow the advice of the dude at the LFS but was wondering if I could/should scrub the stalks of my LPS as long as I avoid the membrane? Not really sure if this would be more helpful or detrimental, but some advice would be appreciated.
Thanks for reading!
I'm back from college after two weeks to find my tank growing some beautiful brown hair algae! I've been blessed with parents willing (and loving) to take care of the corals and fish, but this one appears to have gotten past them.
I have a 20g long tank with a UGF, but am doing consistent water changes every few weeks with great results (besides this recent outbreak of hair algae). The water has been tested and it seems like we had a small spike in phosphates recently which may have had something to do with the bloom. I'm pretty sure it's due to the recent disappearance of my skunk cleaner shrimp (from what I've heard dead things provide lots of phosphates), of which we've scowered the tank to find to no avail.
I've done a 25% water change which should keep the phosphate level under control, but unfortunately the hair algae is already in place. I went to the LFS and they recommended turning the lights on for just 8 hours a day instead of my usual 12, which I'm now doing. They also recommended cleaning the rocks with a new toothbrush to get rid of the bulk of hair algae. However, most of the hair algae in my tank is specifically around the corals, and around some of the stalks of my LPS. The corals don't appear pleased. The membranes are still in tact on the full top of the polyp, but appear to have retreated some from the stalk due to the outbreak.
I wanted to follow the advice of the dude at the LFS but was wondering if I could/should scrub the stalks of my LPS as long as I avoid the membrane? Not really sure if this would be more helpful or detrimental, but some advice would be appreciated.
Thanks for reading!
