hair algae...

[coralcruze]

ph 8.13
salinity 1.026
temp 78.1
cal 420 tested using salifert
alk 9 dkh tested using salifert
amonia undetectable
magnesium unknown, salifert test kit on the way
nitrite undetectable
po4 .13 tested using colorimeter by hanna
running ferric oxide and carbon
running ozone untill few days ago relized I need new probe so turned off unit
salt used reef crystals

hair alage is driving me nutz... live rock was fully cured but in vats for about 3 months it was covered in coraline but lost most of it during upgrade into my new tank. since setting up my new system the rock looks like crap. hair algae all over it. I'm talking about the thick mat kind. I've heard of cooking rock and wondering if I should do this at this point. I can't figure out whats causing this... any ideas?

 

[coralcruze]

oh i have a sea hair in there and it can't keep up with the growth... I have about 100 lbs of the stuff. been turning the rock over to try and keep control over it. nothing helps.

 

[Allmost]

well obviously its the high po4 causing it.

easy solution is to run GFO, test po4 daily, as soon as you see no decrease renew the GFO.

seahares do a good job, but with that high of po4, they can t keep up as you posted.

no ozone is needed.

also, you know that Reef crystal salts contain VITAMINES right ? vitamines meant for corals ! and if your corals are not the first to take it up, then hair algea or Cyano bacteria will grow !!!! check chemistry forum for more info on RC salts.

good luck

 

[coralcruze]

well obviously its the high po4 causing it.

easy solution is to run GFO, test po4 daily, as soon as you see no decrease renew the GFO.

seahares do a good job, but with that high of po4, they can t keep up as you posted.

no ozone is needed.

also, you know that Reef crystal salts contain VITAMINES right ? vitamines meant for corals ! and if your corals are not the first to take it up, then hair algea or Cyano bacteria will grow !!!! check chemistry forum for more info on RC salts.

good luck

Hmnnn I thought that .13 is borderline low... I've always been told .15 or higher you want to change out your media. which i did this morning. also I do run GFO in a media reactor. are you sure its Po4? I have read that high magnesium levels can also trigger algae blooms. also, i'm confused... you mention that I should be seeing a decrease in po4 right? can you be more specific as to what level I should be looking for as a cut off and what level should the gfo be decreasing po4 to?

why do you say no ozone is needed? just curiouse?

I'm also reducing my photo period as well from 8 to 6.

thanks for your suggestion.

 

[Allmost]

meant to say Ozone is not needed so ure doing good taking it out.

MG itself can not cause algea blooms, and in fact in some cases it can lower growth of some algea, like byprosis. some elements in commercially sold MG boosters are even toxic to algea and corals !

algea eats po4 and no3 and uses light to grow. no you do have both no3 and po4 in your tank (excessive, hence algea)
what do you test your no3 with ? salifert kit goes down to 0.2 PPM, so u can get a much better feel of it. (please note that the reading u get is the free no3, since the hair algea is also consuming some, so ure total amount is actually higher than the reading you get )

as of po4, you want to aim for zero (0). which is kinda impossible, but po4 of 0.1 PPM is considered alot. u wnt about 0.02-0.05 maybe, less than 0.07,
but those are mostly guides for SPS corals, so if you lower it below 0.1 PPM, you should see a decline in algea growth. most phos removers are safe to use more than recommended.

also do you have a Fuge ? its a great help in lowering n and p

 

[Canadian Reefer]

Scrub it off every rock that has it and do a big WC. If you can build an algae scrubber keep the lights on in that all the time.

 

[Allmost]

Scrub it off every rock that has it and do a big WC. If you can build an algae scrubber keep the lights on in that all the time.

I never tried algea scrubber, but what do you think works better ? scrubber or cheato in fuge ?

Im guessing since "hair algea like" grows on scrubber, its a better competition for hair algea ?

 

[coralcruze]

The alage scrubber looks like a good idea... has anyone tried this and reported good results? are there any sources to a DIY on this? thanks

 

[EaZy DuZ iT]

Are those algae bubbles just as bad as hairs?

 

[bimmer01]

I had a rough time with green hair algae just about 2 weeks ago. I purchased 5 mexican turbo snails, regular snails and an algae blenny and they wiped all the green hair algae clean! Good luck.

 

[DeepSeaBeauti]

Following along! This has been killing me for weeks. I just can not seam to get a hold of it. Started dosing vodka yesterday, hopefully this helps. Right now my tooth brush has been doing most of the work, and Jack & shermin, my Lawn mower blenny and my yellow Tang.

 

[Allmost]

I had a rough time with green hair algae just about 2 weeks ago. I purchased 5 mexican turbo snails, regular snails and an algae blenny and they wiped all the green hair algae clean! Good luck.

lawnmover blenny is my FAV. fish ever lol

they eat even Cyano !! I have one, and he goes from tank to tank and cleans it in my place, LOL he is in a different tank every week

bubble algea is worse by the way, it can grow on the base of corals and kill them. not sure, but I think it has toxins in it too,

 

[DeepSeaBeauti]

My Lawnmower blenny has grown fast since i got him. Got to love those kiss marks on the glass it leaves. lol and his Homer Simpson mouth.

 

[coralcruze]

I had a rough time with green hair algae just about 2 weeks ago. I purchased 5 mexican turbo snails, regular snails and an algae blenny and they wiped all the green hair algae clean! Good luck.

unfortunatly for your snails... they will die of starvation now that they have nothing to eat. Been there.

 

[Canadian Reefer]

I love my scrubbers. I wish i had them on every tank cuz they are well worth it. |Hair algae grows real well on it. But it is real fun watching a lawnmower blenny chew through the stuff also

 

[JustClownin]

Scrubbers are excellent at controlling most algaes, along with being cheap to build. Most expensive part is going to be the return pump.

 

[Mavrk]

A lot of people here have reported success with a slight overdose of magnesium. Of course you need your test kit first before attempting this.

 

[incognitus]

A month ago had all my rocks covered by hair algae. My PO4 reading was 0 ang HA growing was fast. Chaeto was no competitor to them.

As there was not other way took the NO3 highway. I managed to lower it from 10 to almost 0. HA reaction was fast and died. Now my rocks are clean except for a patch of HA that has remained to remember me its power.

 

[Damasta5]

Bally Sea Hares are the best thing for hair algae throw a few in the tank and they will eat it up. I worked at a fish store and we had a huge problem with it. I threw in a few of them and in the matter of days it was all gone.

 

[tonyf]

Are we talking Bryopsis here or just normal hair algae?

If Bryopsis then the way forward is complicated as it will grow despite low PO4 and NO3.

Do a quick search on "bryopsis" and you may find a well discussed previous thread on the matter. Check out GlassBoxDesign as well, I seem to recall an article there.