emonemo420
New member
but it is!!!...who knew..3 hours...a toothbrush (not mine of course) and a big ol rubbermaid container and it looks like a tank again.......
Dosent look like my tank?!?
- Thread starter emonemo420
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emonemo420
New member
oh yea...imma leave the lights off over the weekend and that should help out...sadly i wont have my snails til monday but ill throw them in monday night (yes ill acclimate u freaks lol) and by the end of next week it should be spotless!!!
emonemo420
New member
haha...its the spare i keep around for the tank
Gordonious
Active member
You had highly efficient nutrient obsorbers on all your rocks and now they are gone. I hope you have delt with your nutrients before removing. If not it isn't the end of the world, but it will just grow back. Would be good to get some macro algae, like chaeto, to replace them. Any chance you'll be setting up a fuge? I hope it works out for you, good luck.
Jon
Jon
firecrackerbob
New member
didnt want to be the first to say it, but I agree with Jon. This is definitely one of those things where the source not the symptom must be treated.
as Jon said, if you're not already, I would get a fuge going. I would also run polyfilter and phosphate absorber. one trick that I have started as well is to gravel vac out my substrate(if its larger particles).
Good luck
E
as Jon said, if you're not already, I would get a fuge going. I would also run polyfilter and phosphate absorber. one trick that I have started as well is to gravel vac out my substrate(if its larger particles).
Good luck
E
emonemo420
New member
i have "chemi-mat" phosphate remover going...i have had that in for a day or two and i had phosguard in for a week prior to that...i actually noticed the hair algea decreasing but the cleaning just got rid of it all and hopefully it dont come back
i also have a big ol' clump of cheato in my sump and some red string looking stuff ken gave me..thats been in there for a few days as well
the crappy thing is i do use RO water i think its a combo of really bad water, needing new filters on the RO, and my lack of water changes something i need to set my self on a schedule to do mre often....
thanks for the input though
i also have a big ol' clump of cheato in my sump and some red string looking stuff ken gave me..thats been in there for a few days as well
the crappy thing is i do use RO water i think its a combo of really bad water, needing new filters on the RO, and my lack of water changes something i need to set my self on a schedule to do mre often....
thanks for the input though
Jocephus
New member
Any reason a micro algae is less able to perform this task than a macro? It seems to me, that he had "highly efficient nutrient absorbers" that did their job, then he culled it away. This is not unlike the process that a lot of us use chaeto, caulerpa, and other algaes for. In my opinion, the hair algae does a great job of removing those nutrients, and stores it in it's own tissue. The nutrients are then removed, by default, when you remove the hair algae. The only real differences are:
Plus-
1. Hair is less expensive and easier to grow.
2. It's kinda pretty in patches (adds a different color to a purple tank).
Minus-
1. Hair algae in excess is ugly.
2. Once hair takes hold, it's harder to part with.
This reminds me of the old debates about algae scraper systems.
Your thoughts?
a1amap
New member
I think its more a question of "If the nutrients are still being added what is the next avenue of export?" By removing the hair algae you have removed nutrients from you system. But you have also removed an export mechanism for excess nutrients.
I would have removed it too, but keep up the frequent water changes.
I also agree with Eric in that a shallow sand bed lacks the ability to remove as much waste as a deep one, so vac the sandbed. I am going to start this myself.
I would have removed it too, but keep up the frequent water changes.
I also agree with Eric in that a shallow sand bed lacks the ability to remove as much waste as a deep one, so vac the sandbed. I am going to start this myself.
Gordonious
Active member
Joe, I consider hair algae a macro algae, just a nasty one that isn't that easily controlled. I was saying, as Al stated, that he just removed the nutrient exporter. It's good that he got rid of it, but if it was healthy hair algae that survived for a while then he has nutrient problems and I would suggest replacing it with a easier to control maco like chaeto. I hope that came out right as I am drunk a 3 am...
Just my two drunk gildars,
Jon
Just my two drunk gildars,
Jon
kaptken
New member
Yeah Guys, That all sounds about right. In the reef tank it's survival of the fittest and quickest. Hair is fast but cheato is Quicker. To the victor goes the spoils, of nitrates, and phosphates. You can't just push the VACUUM button and hope to remove all the bad stuff. You need biological balance and control.
We will always add nitrates and phosphates to our tanks when we feed our fish and corals. So ,,, Just plan on having an export system to clean up as you go, before it becomes a big problem.
That could be frequent, massive water changes to keep it dilute,(expensive for salt) or sand beds, DSBs or PLENUMS, (which are a little tricky for some to manage), or a nice YO-HAN SEBATIAN BACH FUGE In "C"heato Major!!
Or,,, a little bit of all of the above. The object is: Waste management. Just don't let it pile up until it becomea a big stinking mess.
There's more than one way to tackle a greased pig!!
We will always add nitrates and phosphates to our tanks when we feed our fish and corals. So ,,, Just plan on having an export system to clean up as you go, before it becomes a big problem.
That could be frequent, massive water changes to keep it dilute,(expensive for salt) or sand beds, DSBs or PLENUMS, (which are a little tricky for some to manage), or a nice YO-HAN SEBATIAN BACH FUGE In "C"heato Major!!
Or,,, a little bit of all of the above. The object is: Waste management. Just don't let it pile up until it becomea a big stinking mess.
There's more than one way to tackle a greased pig!!
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