green hair algae effect on sps?

[jjoos99]

I am trying to restore my tank after a bad hair algae problem. My question is if I scrub the rocks with a tooth brush and let the algae get swirled around and get picked up in my overflows and filter out my corals will look terrible for weeks after that. No polyp extension and actually loose some color. Even my lps will not expand like they normally do so a week or so. I dont change out any water at the time just dislodge the algae. What could this be doing that is effecting everything this way?
thanks
Jeff

 

[i Tuna]

Always happens with me too... Following along for an answer.

I actually just started to have some RTN on one small purple acro colony. It lost it's color after I cleaned the back aquarium wall (haven't done so in about a month) last week, and now it's got RTN :/

Oddly enough though, non of my other SPS / LPS were effected that badly by me cleaning the back wall... They close up their polyps until the 'algae storm' passes by but otherwise they usually open up by the next day.

 

[Allmost]

perhaps releasing of toxins form algae ?

take a long tube, put the end in the sump, in a filter sock, filled with filter floss. as you scrub the algae, suck up the left overs, turn pumps off. this way u wont change any water, but will catch all algae.

letting it flow around just means it will settle somewhere else [or same spot ... that's where the flow pushed it at first] and it will re grow.

 

[jjoos99]

when I do scrub it I do indeed have an algae storm. My overflows direct feed my skimmer and I have a filter sock on the water that comes out of the skimmer. I catch alot of crap when I do this. It is frustrating trying to remove the algae and have what is left of my sps turn to crap for weeks after. this will also effect my lps also. I would love to know what is being given off into the water. I have thought that maybe one of the corals was releasing chemical warfare during the algae storm. I almost hate to remove it for the damage it does to the corals but the algae forest looks terrible. I am running biopellets, deepsand bucket and a denitrate coil style filter and still cant seem to get rid of the food source of the algae.
thanks
Jeff

 

[sahin]

Jeff:

If you can get someone else to help you, that will be extremely useful. As Almost has said, you need to siphone algae that is released into the water.

When I had algae issue with my tank, I took out as much rocks as I could and scrubbed them good. Rocks with corals that cannot be removed from the tank, I did the following:

Get a 100micron large filter sock. Line it with filter wool. Now stick that securely into your sump. Get a long hose and get your helper to stick that into the tank and create a siphone and insert the other end into the sock with the filter wool.

Now start scrubbing and make sure the other person gets as much of the floating algae going into the hose.

Having a siphone straight into your sump means there is a continuous water flow. And since you have the filter wool and filter sock, most of the algae will be trapped.

Buy LOTS of clean up crew:

For my 47G tank I bought the following:
2 x Large Mexican Turbo Snails.
6 x Large Astrea Snails.
6 x banded Trochus snails - these are very fast moving and can right themself
6 x Red Leg Hermits
6 x Blue Leg Hermits

So basically something along those lines. You can also try urchins and a sea hare too. Or an algae blenny.

Reduce light hours to no more than 6 hours.

Use regular GFO, and replace weekly.

Water changes. Mix at least 25% of w/c a week in advance, so its fully mixed etc. And carry out at least that amount each week.

You can siphone out that amount of water whilst you are scrubbing the algae off in order to reduce any toxic effects.

Be careful with the pellets. They cause so many people STN and RTN issue. Ensure you keep your alk somewhere around 7.5dkh.

Sorry for the rant, I kind of lost track of your original question.

Hair algae can irritate SPS if they land and grow near them. Whether there is any toxic effects...I dont know.

Goodluck.