Hair Algae Removal Attempt #3.

[MyMonkey]

Well, I did it. Scrubbed Hair Algae off all my rocks. All but one actually. I have a LTAnemone that was attached to a rock. Did not want to remove him from the water. All other rocks were removed, scrubbed and returned to the tank.

It took about 3 hours and was no fun at all. Most HA is gone. Only small tuffts here and there. I completely removed one rock that was covered with Xenia because they did not hold up to the scrubbing. Everyone else is recovering fine I think.

The LTAnemone turned a bit lighter in color. I don't think he is very happy with the movement. Here are some pics.

Before: The Green Machine.

After: Full Shot

Right Side. You can see the anemone here. He will likely move about.

I have done this once before to the entire tank. It lasted quite a while. I also did this to a few rocks at a time. That did absolutely nothing.

This time, I hope the addtion of some Macro algae will help keep the HA in check. The fish there should also help. Scopas Tang, Red Lip Blenny and lots of Crabs n snails shouls help as well.

Does anyone know where I can buy a filter sock locally? I need the ones you can add material to and drop in the sump. Such as Carbon and Phosguard. Any suggestions?

 

[Lazyreefer]

I got some at petco. However, Phosguard does not really work overall. Spend a week in the chemistry forums and you will know why.
What they suggest is ROWA in a Phosban reactor. The creator cost $35 dollars and Rowa is similar in price to Phosguard.

 

[MyMonkey]

Hmm... I will have to read up on Phosguard. Will check Petco for the filter bags. Thanks.

 

[captbunzo]

PhosBan is just as good as RowaPhos and is a bit cheaper. You can outfit yourself with a PhosBan Reactor and PhosBan for about $50. I consider this to be a VERY worthwhile investment...

 

[dugg]

When i used phosban, it killed all of my cheato for some reason. The cheato turned to mush about 3 days after adding the phosban. Never figured that out, but i keep my HA in check just fine using macros under 24/7 lighting. I haven't had one bit of algea in my tank for over 3 years now.

 

[MyMonkey]

Now all I need to do is break up the sump into a fuge/sump with some cheato in there.

 

[dugg]

I don't have my sump/fuge sectioned off. The water enters through the skimmer, then has to go through a wall of live rock, then an open area where the macros grow at, then there is live rock piled around the pump intake to keep the macros away from the pump. The live rock around the pump intake is also there so plenty of pods are living near the intake to send lunch up to the tank.

 

[SoonerFan732]

Dugg,

What lighting do you use for your macro algae? I have some in my sump, but it doesn't seem to grow (and I have a reoccuring HA problem in the display).

Thanks!

 

[MyMonkey]

Great idea Dugg! I can do that easily. Anyone have any small pieces of rock laying around?

I too am curious about the lighting. I have seen some use those clip on lamps with a spiral PC in it. I have a small NO florescent fixture I may try.

 

[dugg]

I use a clip on fixture with a lights of america 6500k bulb. It works great and doesn't put off much heat.

 

[papagimp]

dugg,
that does sound like a good idea, I built my own fuge for cheato and use the same bulb with a clip on reflector but I like the idea of using rocks to separate and break up flow, as well as getting pods closer to the pump.

 

[MyMonkey]

Casualties of War:

I noticed the day after scrubbing the rocks that my Cleaner Shrimp was not poking around at all. I found his carcass dried up in the dirt where I dumped the waste water. That and a few small snails. I assume the Peppermint shrimp faced a similar fate as I have not seen him either. Ugh...

I thought I might have a small cycle. It seems as though I have avoided that. No amonia as of yet. Woohoo..