Jump to content

Hair Algae.....


Recommended Posts

Perhaps you all may remember Chuck. :)

 

Chuck has a problem. A large problem. With hair algae.

 

I was over at chuck's a few weeks ago and got to see his in-tank algae turf scrubber. Rock and glass were essentially covered in hair algae.

 

We tested the water,

 

Phosphate - 0 - 0.5ppm

Nitrate - 0-5 ppm

 

I assume the hair algae was sucking nutrients out of the water resulting in low test results.

 

We pulled and scrubbed every piece of rock from the tank and did a 7g water change (30g cube tank). We obviously couldn't get it all out, not with toothbrushes anyway. :P

 

He's got a cowry in tank at the moment, he's tried emerald crabs, turbo snails, nothing will eat it. For the most part it was the soft furry type of hair algae that easily pulls off the rock, a few spots had the tough impossible to remover hair algae (which may not even be hair algae).

 

Any suggestions?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

add phosphate remover and keep doing water changes with good quality water... cut back on feeding and maybe cut back on light duration.

 

Water is RO/DI with 0 TDS. Salt mix is instand ocean. Lights are only on every 2-3 days. Feeding every 2-3 days. Where are the phosphates coming from, that's more of the question?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

phosphates could have been there from previous overfeedings... PO4 can be like nitrates, stored up in rocks/substrate. you by removing the water over and over again act like draining the "battery" in the rocks. when battery runs out, you win!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

phosphates could have been there from previous overfeedings... PO4 can be like nitrates, stored up in rocks/substrate. you by removing the water over and over again act like draining the "battery" in the rocks. when battery runs out, you win!

 

True. He did say the tank was fairly neglected over the course of the last year. I'll keep on him about doing water changes. :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You could try a phosphate reactor to try to drive down the phosphates, and lots of water changes with rodi water. Or 4 or so tangs in the 30 gallon should take care of that problem. Have him get a nice achilles tang and I will take it from him when it grows out of his tank. ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You could try a phosphate reactor to try to drive down the phosphates, and lots of water changes with rodi water. Or 4 or so tangs in the 30 gallon should take care of that problem. Have him get a nice achilles tang and I will take it from him when it grows out of his tank. ;)

 

 

ANyone with phos reactor I can borrow for a bit? or buy possibly? Other phos removers other than reactor? Was thinking about kole tang or foxface?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

ANyone with phos reactor I can borrow for a bit? or buy possibly? Other phos removers other than reactor? Was thinking about kole tang or foxface?

 

 

 

Ummmmmm....Pwoller was kidding about the Tangs (I think?) Hope you are too :blink: Besides the tank being too small for ANY Tang, you are adding more waste and nutrients to a tank that already has issues. Won't solve a thing.

His other suggestions were much better. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ummmmmm....Pwoller was kidding about the Tangs (I think?) Hope you are too :blink: Besides the tank being too small for ANY Tang, you are adding more waste and nutrients to a tank that already has issues. Won't solve a thing.

His other suggestions were much better. :)

 

Bulk reef supply sells a nice phos reactor.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not sure if this is the correct thing to do or not, but, I had asked the same question about hair algea. I was told before I started doing chemicals to shut down my light cycle for 2 or 3 days because algea feeds from the light. So I did that, and it really seemed to work. It didnt seem to affect anything but the algea, it was almost all gone :D If this is a really bad thing to do hopefully someone will tell me :blush: I did also cut back a little on the feeding, but, my phos levels and all my other levels were right on target. Up to this point (about 2 weeks) i have not seen a return of the algea crop :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Royal Urchins or (Small) Black Long Spined Urchins are what I have found to be the best for cleaning up hair algae. Especially in smaller tank that the bigger cleaners won't do well in. Just remember to feed them algae after they have the tank cleaned up or trade them off when they get large. And watch out for the spines when hands are in the tank. You might lose some coraline algae to them but it grows back pretty quickly and your already losing some to the hair algae.

 

Test your Alkalinity, Calcium and Magnesium levels and make sure everything is in balance. Low Alk and Mag can definitly led to algae problems. IO is known for low Alk and Mag levels so adjust the levels in you new saltwater before your water change or consider using a salt more suited to reef tanks.

 

Hope this helps you out some. Hair algae can be a real pain to get rid of.

 

Dan

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not sure if this is the correct thing to do or not, but, I had asked the same question about hair algea. I was told before I started doing chemicals to shut down my light cycle for 2 or 3 days because algea feeds from the light. So I did that, and it really seemed to work. It didnt seem to affect anything but the algea, it was almost all gone :D If this is a really bad thing to do hopefully someone will tell me :blush: I did also cut back a little on the feeding, but, my phos levels and all my other levels were right on target. Up to this point (about 2 weeks) i have not seen a return of the algea crop :D

 

 

Limiting the light is definitely a good option.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I may try the urchin route. I already limit my light greatly since I don't have any live coral left. Just 2 clownfish at the moment. I give em about 8-10 hours light every other or 3rd day. Going to try to beef up the water changes and I'll try to steer away from IO in the future. I'm just afraid a year's worth of neglect is what I'm cleaning up.

 

Thanks for the welcome back Hooked, look forward to seeing you again at the swap this year. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I may try the urchin route. I already limit my light greatly since I don't have any live coral left. Just 2 clownfish at the moment. I give em about 8-10 hours light every other or 3rd day. Going to try to beef up the water changes and I'll try to steer away from IO in the future. I'm just afraid a year's worth of neglect is what I'm cleaning up.

 

Thanks for the welcome back Hooked, look forward to seeing you again at the swap this year. :)

 

Hey Chucko, PA sells Seachem Reef Salt cheap, from what I understand it mixes up with good Calc/Alk levels, I've got a pail sitting at home it you want some, it'll take me a year to go through it all.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Unless you have some high light needing corals such as sps or possibly anemones turn those lights off for a week. When I had my 75 and was having cyano problems I turned them off for a full week without any problems to my corals. Remember it's not sunny everyday on the reef either.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...