Eric G's 180 Build - The plight of the hair algae.

[EricGRIT]

A little fishkeeping background for me... I started with a 20 gallon freshwater tank way back when, as a child. Not really sure what happened to that, but hey, I had some fish.

Skip ahead ~15 years to about three years ago and I decided to start up a freshwater tank - planted, 20 gallons. Instantly got hooked again and this time I really started looking into doing things correctly. Converted the 20 gallon to a little FOWLR with a couple clowns (which I still have in my 180) and that started my reef journey. I also had a 75 gallon over the past couple years which was a planted Discus tank with CO2 injection. Over the last few years the 20 gallon turned into a 56 gallon which turned into a 90 gallon, which leads me to my current 180 gallon "forever" tank.

A few pics of the 90 gallon (noticed the Regal Tang looks splotchy, just the camera):

My fiancee and I purchased our first home in June of this year and knew instantly where the 180 would go. There was a wall in the dining room that was about 9' long. On the other side of the wall there was a pantry... perfect size for a dedicated fish room! Don't worry, the wall is still there, just augmented a bit.

Bonus pics of floor refinishing before move-in:

After pulling up carpet, partially sanded -

After, but before polyurethane, all DIY because why not... these old floors weren't going to be perfect -

I have seen builds where the tank sticks out from the wall, as opposed to the front panel being flush with the wall, but still drywalled into place to make it look built in. I decided to go this route, since I didn't want to lose space behind the tank, and make a beefy stand/canopy which is actually attached to the wall.

Here's the base stand and tank when first placed - 42" off the ground. Check out how level that 140 year old floor is .

Obligatory "cat fish" picture:

Filling and perfectly level according to the vintage level:

 

[EricGRIT]

Now, time to get down to business.

I really wanted to do a "3d" back wall, so I gave it a shot. I think it came out absolutely great, just need to fill in the spaces between panels to make it look a bit more natural. Overall, extremely happy with this and no scraping the back glass which is pretty much impossible to get to.

I moved all the rock/coral/fish into the new tank which was filled with salinity-matching saltwater. No losses.

DIY RapidLED Aurora kits installed:

Maybe time to explain the hardware behind the scenes here. I run a Neptune Apex with two EB8 modules and a breakout box. Breakout box is used for ATO purposes. Protein Skimmer for this build is a Aquamaxx CO-3 (took like 3 months to get on backorder but well worth it). Dosing is done via two BRS dosers programmed through the Apex. Dosing ESV B-Ionic 2-part. Return pumps are 2x Jebao DC3000 running full blast. I figured this would give me redundancy so that if one goes I'm not totally dead in the water while I change it out... so far so good. Running GFO and carbon via BRS reactors. Oh, and running biopellets in a JNS Alpha 2 reactor.

Sorry, no pics of the sump room yet but they will be coming.

Building out the framework on the stand:

Drywall!!!

Painting, but not loving the color:

That was quick:

Night shot:

Kitty grew a bit:

RODI was putting out some high TDS... love me some brand new clean filters:

 

[EricGRIT]

Couple close-ups:

GSP anyone?

I spy parents!

So now starts the end of the honeymoon phase. My wife and I got married on October 4, right in the middle of all this house work. Not taking care of the tank as much as I should have caused an outbreak of hair algae which I have NEVER been able to totally eradicate. I know the basics - watch how much you feed, check Phosphate, Nitrate, etc. However, I can just never totally win the fight. I scrub, clog everything up with the overwhelming amount of hair algae... rinse and repeat. I'm to the point where its not growing anymore but I still want to get this thing pristine and keep it that way.

Algae - not a great pic but all the darkness on the back wall is hair algae... totally covered:

So, this thread will serve as a log of my fight with hair algae. Stay tuned. Once I get the algae under control I will start filling this bad boy with more livestock and large amounts of SPS.



Bonus video of monster GSP pile:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEnyGiln1DY

 

[EricGRIT]

Update #1, first detail pictures of hair algae. Sorry for the really, really crappy pics - I think I'm going to pick up a DSLR here in the next week or so now that I need some good quality pics of the tank.

First, confirmation of hair algae as I've always thought?

Bonus question - while I understand that I have a phosphate problem because the hair algae keeps coming back, check out that wall hammer. I purchased this hammer ~1.5-2 years ago and it has just barely hung on to life as you can see here. I've tried super low flow all the way to high flow, low light to high light. Dipped in Bayer, also dipped normally when I got it. I've never been able to get this thing to extend. Worst part is that I absolutely love wall hammers.... We will see if getting this algae in check and watching levels very closely fixes the hammer.

Levels -
Alk: 7.0dkh
Calcium: 400
Magnesium: 1250
Nitrate: 0
Phosphate: 0.02

 

[EricGRIT]

Another update and asking for some feedback. Continuing to change GFO regularly, doing 30 gallon water changes every couple of weeks. I just can't figure out how to get this hair algae to recede. Sometimes I think I'm getting a hold on it, then I realize I'm just going backwards.

PO4 shows 0.00 on Hanna tester, to be expected due to hair algae growth.
Nitrate is 0 due to biopellets.

I'm wondering if I don't have enough flow through the sump and nutrients/waste is dwelling in the display for too long. I'm running 2x Jebao DC3000 pumps up ~6ft to my display, using 1" flex hose. Any reason why this would be way too little flow?

I'm just not feeding much (figure 1.5 blocks of mysis per day, or less) for the following:
1x Blue Tang
1x Yellow Tang
3x Lyretail Anthias
1x Yellow Eye Blenny
2x Clowns

Water quality must be pretty good I would imagine, as the clowns are spawning very regularly now. Maybe my whole-tank ATS (the display tank algae) is keeping it that way.

I'm also getting cyano on the sandbed recently.

I'm thinking about setting up a 10gal as a refugium or at least a place to run a light like 18 hours a day and grow my hair algae in there. However, I've taken pretty drastic steps IMO to kill off this algae and I just get nowhere. I feel like something other than a dedicated ATS would get my tank to at least close to where it needs to be.

 

[dave.m]

That's a lot of algae for only two tangs to manage. What about a lawnmower blenny for the algae and a diamond goby to turn the substrate? What sort of clean-up crew do you have to keep your substrate clean? Do you vacuum your substrate? Do you vacuum your overflow and sump? Turnover from your sump is not the same as flow inside the tank. Make sure you're moving water from the bottom of the tank towards the top to keep it refreshed.

Dave.M

 

[EricGRIT]

Yeah I have 2x Wp40 inside the tank. They do a good job providing a strong undertow and in tank flow IMO. I have something like 10 large turbo snails, probably 50-100 hermits, 5 Emerald Crabs, Nassarius snails in sand bed, and a few peppermint shrimp.

I don't siphon the sump, as I run a filter sock at all times and the sump is pretty much spotless. I change the sock every 1-2 days. Had a lawn mower Blenny which recently starved.... Strange. I do not siphon the gravel, figured the Nassarius and hermits would take care of that cleaning. Think that could be a major culprit? Overflow stays clean in its own.

 

[dave.m]

No, they were just guesses as you didn't provide much detail. Is it really a lot of algae? There are algaecides available but they really create a lot of debris afterwards and leave nothing for your pets to eat. If the lawnmower blenny starved how can you say you have an algae problem?

Dave.M

 

[EricGRIT]

If you look at some of the more legible pics above (I understand they aren't very beautiful pics, but you can certainly see a ton of algae in them) you will see the entire back wall and lots of rocks covered in tons of algae. No question there is an algae problem.

The lawnmower did starve, as it became very skinny over the course of 4-6 weeks and I never saw it munch on the algae. I can say I have an algae problem because there is a boatload of algae in the tank.

Here are a couple pics which will give you a better idea of the problem.

 

[EricGRIT]

Also, Dave, thank you for the posts. Here's a summary of what I'm working with.

Fast-growing hair algae is taking over the tank. Growing on rocks, pumps, base of corals. Scrubbing helps to reduce the total amount of hair algae - doing this maybe once a week but it grows back quickly and I can never totally scrub everything since it grows down inside the rock crevasses.

Flow:
2x Jebao WP40 in tank, on high ELSE mode.
2x Jebao DC3000 pumps for return, using 1" spa flex to 4x loc-line connectors (the wide spray style).

Feeding:
1x block of mysis a day
Couple pinches of pellets for the Tangs.
I feel like this is not a lot of feeding for the below livestock list.

Stock list:
1x Blue Tang
1x Yellow Tang
1x Yellow-eye Blenny
2x Clowns
3x Lyretail Anthias
5x Emeral Crabs
50-100 Hermits
~10ish Turbo Snails
~50ish Nassarius Snails
3ish Peppermint Shrimp
Lots of Copepods and Amphipods.

Filtration:
40b Sump
Aquamaxx CO-3 Skimmer
BRS Reactor with GAC
BRS Reactor with GFO
JNS Alpha 2 Biopellet Reactor
Filter sock (changed 2-3x per week)

Dosing:
Auto-dosing ESV B-Ionic 2-part

Salt is IO Reef Crystals

Nitrate - 0
Nitrite - 0
Ammonia - 0
PO4 - Reading 0
Alk is steady around 7dkh
Calcium is steady around 400ppm
Mg is steady around 1300

 

[dave.m]

If your lawnmower blenny died with that lot in your tank it wasn't starvation. They get their moniker for good reason. Once hair algae gets that strong of a hold in the tank there are two ways you can go: 1). let your tangs, mithrax crabs and turbo snails to catch up to it, or 2). try an algaecide. You will definitely need to change filter socks every day with the algaecide and will need to do a lot of vacuuming of the rock to remove all the dead algae afterward. The natural way takes longer but is safer. I would definitely try another lawnmower blenny. And I personally have no use for biopellets.

Dave.M

 

[anbosu]

What did you use to make your rock wall in the back? Could that be leaching phosphate?

 

[EricGRIT]

If your lawnmower blenny died with that lot in your tank it wasn't starvation. They get their moniker for good reason. Once hair algae gets that strong of a hold in the tank there are two ways you can go: 1). let your tangs, mithrax crabs and turbo snails to catch up to it, or 2). try an algaecide. You will definitely need to change filter socks every day with the algaecide and will need to do a lot of vacuuming of the rock to remove all the dead algae afterward. The natural way takes longer but is safer. I would definitely try another lawnmower blenny. And I personally have no use for biopellets.

Dave.M

I understand what you are getting at, but if he wasn't eating anything (which maybe he was, and I just didn't see it, ever) and he slowly became skinnier and skinnier then I would think starvation. Maybe I'm wrong, I'm definitely open to that. Maybe there was an underlying issue as well, but he just wouldn't eat anything including the algae. Maybe I should get another and see if he will eat it.


Anbosu, that could certainly be a possibility. I guess I would have to take a panel out and test to be sure. I used the black pond foam, egg crate as a structure, Marco dry rubble rock, sand, and a little bit of Gorilla Glue to attach the sand to the pond foam. Problem is removing it at this point in time - wouldn't be much fun.

I guess my main concern is that I might be doing something so obviously wrong with my maintenance, feeding, filtration, etc. that it would be a concern in relation to algae issues. If I'm doing everything mostly "right" then I can start looking at more drastic changes such as removing the back wall.

 

[EricGRIT]

And I personally have no use for biopellets.

Dave.M

The longer I have them in my tank the more I think I might feel the same way. I originally started them because I had algae issues in my 90g and nitrate was a bit high, though I used to feed a lot more as well.

 

[anbosu]

Well, if you didn't have any issues before you moved to this tank, and it's mostly located on the rock wall, I would say it's a good possibility. You have a pretty light bioload overall, so even if you're overfeeding (and it doesn't sound like you are) you shouldn't have this big of a problem.

I would look into dosing lanthanum chloride or carbon dosing to reduce the phosphates. If it is the rock leaching phosphates you're going to have to deal with it for a little while longer until it's depleted.

 

[EricGRIT]

Well, if you didn't have any issues before you moved to this tank, and it's mostly located on the rock wall, I would say it's a good possibility. You have a pretty light bioload overall, so even if you're overfeeding (and it doesn't sound like you are) you shouldn't have this big of a problem.

I would look into dosing lanthanum chloride or carbon dosing to reduce the phosphates. If it is the rock leaching phosphates you're going to have to deal with it for a little while longer until it's depleted.

While the pics I have are mainly of the rock wall, this stuff is on every rock in the tank, including rocks I've had for 2+ years. Not enough to say it definitely isn't leaching from the wall, but I wouldn't say it is mostly on the wall. Just easiest to get a pic of the wall itself. Also, I've had hair algae problems for a couple years now. Nothing this bad, but I have had it pretty close before. This is the main reason I'm wondering if I have some obvious deficiencies in my husbandry. I'm doing something wrong, just not sure exactly what.

I was thinking about lanthanum chloride - might have to give that a shot instead of the GFO.

I suppose I'll continue scrubbing, upping the frequency of scrubbing and manually removing as much as possible. I'm also at least going to start changing out GFO 1x per week, changing socks every single day, and I'm dosing a light dose of Algaefix Marine.

 

[traumajeff]

Not that my opinion matters much, as I'm still new to reef keeping... I made some rookie errors when I threw together my setup. Tap water, not checking levels, overfeeding, on and on. I ended up with crazy hair algae like yours. I tried a lawnmower blenny and some turbos with limited success. I was ready to beat my tank with a bat, when a buddy mentioned dosing VSV and raising my mag levels. Within 3 weeks, I'm to the point that you actually have to look hard to find the algae. My blenny and turbos are now able to keep up with what little algae there is. From what it looks like, your husbandry is far better than mine was , but this may be of some additional help until you find the root cause. Just some food for thought.

 

[swclown]

Elevating the magnesium levels has worked for many including myself. Increasing anywhere from 1600 all the way up to 2000 slowly over a week or so and keeping it there until the problem is fixed and then slowly bring it back down. Typically two weeks seems to be enough to get rid of it.
It was years ago when I did this and I just used regular magnesium but from what I've heard recently Kent Marine Tech M or
Continuum Magnesium will work better than others.

 

[iced98lx]

I suppose I'll continue scrubbing, upping the frequency of scrubbing and manually removing as much as possible. I'm also at least going to start changing out GFO 1x per week, changing socks every single day, and I'm dosing a light dose of Algaefix Marine.

I'd continue on this path, and add big water changes if it's feasible. I too would try the lawnmower again when you are ready.

Important thing is you isolate and get into a routine that keeps your water in good shape, not changing a bunch of things all at once and trying a bunch of new options over and over which may inadvertently kill other things or make the situation worse. It's such a frustrating position to be in, but hopefully you crest the hill eventually and see the otherside.

Good luck, keep us up to date. Sometimes taking a photo every week and posting it is enough to keep the spirits up. I went through it with my biocube, no idea what caused it but after a year of doing fine the water was green and you couldn't see through the tank, HA everywhere. Six months later everything is awesome and whatever algae grows the turbo's take care of.

 

[EricGRIT]

It has been a busy couple of months! Thank you all for your input thus far!

Updated FTS:

I've been doing some massive water changes, about 250-300 gallons worth over the last month and a half. I'm continuing with this regimen until the algae is gone, just "resetting" the tank so to speak and keeping it as pristine as possible. I've also taken the biopellets offline, and did that about 1.5 months ago. Teaser - things are progressing well!

Manual removal has been extremely important. Cramped fingers and a toothbrush are a staple in the anti-hair algae diet. I scrub the back rocks every week or so, nothing too crazy but still enough to get tired of doing it. Also started using high capacity GFO and have adjusted my skimmer to be more efficient. For the record, I run filter socks and replace them every other day. They catch the algae I can't remove from the tank by hand.

Lighting-wise I have reduced the amount of white/color spectrum on my RapidLED Aurora pucks. Using mainly blue for a while, and just added some T5s to make a nice combo. Hoping the reduced white spectrum helps with reducing macro algae growth. I absolutely love the look of the combo and I'm sure it will help with the shadowing from the LEDs. Still get the shimmer from the LEDs and the super *pop* when the T5s go out and it is blue/UV LEDs only.

100% DIY Combo Fixture (need to loom and move those wires, I know!):

Tomorrow I will receive some inhabitants that I hope will help to mow down the shorter hair algae and give this rehab the kick in the butt it needs. I have a couple Lettuce Nudibranchs, some Mexican Turbo Snails, Dwarf Zebra Hermits, Nassarius, and Margarita Snails coming. Hopefully some of those will much on it. In any case, they will be a nice addition to the CUC.

Okay... that's the update for the algae. I've also been working on redoing my sump room. When I purchased this old house, the sump room was a little crappy pantry. In the interest of time, I ripped out the old built in cabinet on the floor and placed my sump on that. No finishing done, nothing. It was terrible and I didn't take any pride/care in my plumbing and wiring due to time constraints and laziness. Take my word for it... horrible.

So, I decided to drywall everything that needed it, run some more organized plumbing, add GFI outlets, build a bench, level said bench, and install a sink. Still lots of work to do, but here's the current progress. Much more functional and will look nice once fully complete and organized!

Bonus pics:

Long way down the reef.

Blue Tang and Wall Hammer that is going on 2 years without growth... so weird.

Little frag on the new rock.