Hair Algae Solution That Worked For Me

OK guys time for update!

So after 6 doses and No carbon, no GFO, skimmer off first night after every dose and No water change during treatment period (I change water every month), I have to say the product work on hair algae. Even the famous snail algae meter has lost most of its cover of algae.

BUT People with refugium, this may not be your magic bullet. I came home today and saw my Cheatos has lost its color. It has not been doing so great after 4th dose. It usually floats up on the top but I noticed for last week or so, it kind of sank to the bottom and kind of lost control (like the house plants droop down!). Anyhow, right now, the upper portion of the cheato's clump is turing whiteish! :( Now that is BAD!!!
I have started the carbon, gfo back online again and will be doing some major water changed every other day (atleast 5 to 6 water changes, 20% each).
So here is my conclusion FOR MY SYSTEM ONLY, the algaefix works for killing hair algae but it also is bad for cheatos/refugium. All my corals/fish are fine and never showed any sign of stress. Every system is different and these conclusions are only for my system. you may have a completely different experience with your tank!

Also, thanks to OP who started this thread. I think we have a possible solution for hair algae. If I have to repeat this treatment again, I'll do it with my refuge offline.

Hope this helps to other reefers.
 
OK guys time for update!

So after 6 doses and No carbon, no GFO, skimmer off first night after every dose and No water change during treatment period (I change water every month), I have to say the product work on hair algae. Even the famous snail algae meter has lost most of its cover of algae.

BUT People with refugium, this may not be your magic bullet. I came home today and saw my Cheatos has lost its color. It has not been doing so great after 4th dose. It usually floats up on the top but I noticed for last week or so, it kind of sank to the bottom and kind of lost control (like the house plants droop down!). Anyhow, right now, the upper portion of the cheato's clump is turing whiteish! :( Now that is BAD!!!
I have started the carbon, gfo back online again and will be doing some major water changed every other day (atleast 5 to 6 water changes, 20% each).
So here is my conclusion FOR MY SYSTEM ONLY, the algaefix works for killing hair algae but it also is bad for cheatos/refugium. All my corals/fish are fine and never showed any sign of stress. Every system is different and these conclusions are only for my system. you may have a completely different experience with your tank!

Also, thanks to OP who started this thread. I think we have a possible solution for hair algae. If I have to repeat this treatment again, I'll do it with my refuge offline.

Hope this helps to other reefers.
 
Last edited:
madreef........

Great......no I'm not going repeat it...repeat it...just kiddin..you make several excellant points, first, with the fact you stated this was ONLY your tank...great point not that other's wouldn't have the same result with their cheato...too many of us jump to conclusions and make statements as fact when in fact it was ONLY there Tank.... well done and thanks for your up dates...

By by-passing the refugium is exactlly what I will do and can do as mine is a totally separate unit (sump) and not a part of the system as a whole, unless I want to be...

Once again thanks..

Dick
 
:)

Yeh! I tried to delete the two duplicate post but it was already past the time when you are allowed to make changes/delete the post!

Anyhow, As soon as I saw my results, I posted it on the board and the next minute, I was in the basement trying to recover the cheatos!, I prepared some fresh salt water, pulled all the cheatos out and put is in this water with light on all the time! I'll keep it there until I am done with my third major water change and bring it back into the system!
 
madreef.....

Sounds like a plan and I hope this works for you as I know you are aware getting the GHA under control is #1, we can always get more cheato....as I think about it a little more I would watch the cheato closely for it dies it could release a bunch of junk back into the system, so......if it looks real bad I'd just junk it .......IMO
 
Following along here. I am not one to try any chemicals ever...BUT I am starting to get a little desperate. I have had good results with doing large volume water changes - 90/100% weekly but as soon as I stopped the large volume water changes the HA started to grow back in some places. Can't keep doing huge water changes - its putting too much stress on the tank, so maybe its time consider a chemical. I can wait though. For now I am slowly learning to make friends with the algae as it has yet to overcome any corals and hurt or kill them. What I want to see is the real long temp affects. Its nice to see it works and so far after one month things are looking good but what about after 2/3 months or a year? And will the HA come back?
 
It will depend on how you take care of your tank after wards. HA doesnt just appear by itself. It needs a source. If you continue to overfeed the tank for example - HA will deff come back. Excessive nutrients will always lead to algae.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14216100#post14216100 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rhunter513
Following along here. I am not one to try any chemicals ever...BUT I am starting to get a little desperate. I have had good results with doing large volume water changes - 90/100% weekly but as soon as I stopped the large volume water changes the HA started to grow back in some places. Can't keep doing huge water changes - its putting too much stress on the tank, so maybe its time consider a chemical. I can wait though. For now I am slowly learning to make friends with the algae as it has yet to overcome any corals and hurt or kill them. What I want to see is the real long temp affects. Its nice to see it works and so far after one month things are looking good but what about after 2/3 months or a year? And will the HA come back?
Click to expand...
 
I agree. I had none in my tank. I had some bryopsis that hitchhiked into my tank and started to spread. I killed off the bryopsis which died off and then the hair algae started. I am assuming that me not siphoning out the dead bryopsis started it. When I started to see the bryopsis spread I cut back on my feeding also so overfeeding was not the issue. I am on three doses and so far nothing. Hopefully by 5 I will start to see some fade away.
 
Cool well either way I would love to see how these tanks are doing a couple of months from now. Please keep us updated and thanks so much for sharing. I really hope this is a new answer to hair algae.
 
Well...the thread sold me and I dosed my first dose tonight. My plan is to leave the skimmer and carbon/GFO reactor off for the first 24 hours and then fire them back up tomorrow night. While my tank looks WAY cleaner than it did before now that I pulled a lot of rock out, scrubbed them, and did a large water change but here is what I was dealing with before the rock scrubbing:


DSC02543.jpg


100_7520.jpg


DSC02541.jpg


I'll give updates as things happen.

Jim
 
Ok guys. I'm sorry..... but I cheated. Yesterday, I too scrubbed some rocks. After roughly a week and two doses I wasn't getting the results I hoped for. MAYBE looked a little thinner in areas, but definitely looked thicker in other areas.

I went a little crazy. I renewed and doubled the amount of PhosLock I had. Scrubbed a majority of the hair algae in the tank. And went lights out. I'd rather my corals look bleached for awhile than deal with this any longer. I'm sick of looking at this grass taking over my tank.:(
 
My hair algae is not as bad as most of yours but I had noticed it spreading and that is why I started. I am on my 3rd dose and as stated above saw no decrease or dying off of the hair algae. I must say that it looks like it has not spread either so hopefully it will start to die off after my 4th(tomorrow the 24th) or 5th dose.
 
I found (FOR MY SYSTEM) you will start to notice the change after 4 to 5th dose! My HA, although not as bad as shown in above picture, did start to thin out. by the time I was on 6th dose, I notice decline in HA but them my Cheatos also went south with it. It may have to do with buildup of the treatment in the system over a period of time (Just my GUESS!)
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14201723#post14201723 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by madreef_7K
.

BUT People with refugium, this may not be your magic bullet. I came home today and saw my Cheatos has lost its color. It has not been doing so great after 4th dose. It usually floats up on the top but I noticed for last week or so, it kind of sank to the bottom and kind of lost control (like the house plants droop down!). Anyhow, right now, the upper portion of the cheato's clump is turing whiteish! :( Now that is BAD!!!
Click to expand...

Yeah, Its killed most of my caurlupa to the point where I decided to remove it all from the system so that doesn't add more nutrients back as well. I'll get a new clump of it or cheato once the HA is all gone and dosing algaefix stops.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14225818#post14225818 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by chercm
while using this , can i still continue my dose on using bio digest?
Click to expand...

I still continue to dose Biodigest and also vodka.
 
I increased my dosage and now most has died faster. I have a 150 display and a frag system -sump-refugium total 140 gallons.

I was dosing for 150 gallons and increased to 200 gallons and that made a huge difference and now most algae turned white and fell apart.

My macro algae looks pretty good.

I only have a tiny bit of HA.

My skimmer is pulling a ton of junk and my ozone is working overtime.


:)
 
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