ok so its not like its taking over my tank but id rater get it under control before it over grows my tank. I have a 120 with a 60 gal or so sump. I run phosban in a reactor and i have a fuge with grape curpula and another type of curpula i run my lights 10 hours atinics and 8 hours with 15000k.
what should i cut back my lights another 2 hours, which i al ready have from 12 and 10,
added the phosban
started up the refugium cuz its and upgrade tank from my old 55
I have 2 tangs that munch on it all day long
cut back feedings alot. like 1 or 2 times per week
anything else i can do
i think it started because i was not rinsing my mysis shrimp before feeding for the first 2 weeks of the starting it up
let me say most of the rock is over a year old about 75% of the water is from my old tank sand in fuge is from old tank the olny stuff that is new is about 75 lbs of rock which cure for 3 weeks in my fuge of my old tank and the sand in the display and i only bought 4 new fish a copperbanded, 2 really small blue green cromis', and a tiny niger trigger
help with hair algae
18 posts • Page 1 of 2
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Snowboss4492 - Posts: 2098
- Joined: Sun Jan 27, 2008 11:24 pm
im in the same boat................ive tried phosban pellets and even the phosban sheet things................as far as i can see it doesn't do crap..................
my tank is right at a year old and i have 5-6 1 inch tufts of green hair algae that i can't get rid of..............it's on the power head and over flow intake so it can't be a current problem
like delta................it's not out of control but i'd like to get rid of it before it becomes an issue
Boss
my tank is right at a year old and i have 5-6 1 inch tufts of green hair algae that i can't get rid of..............it's on the power head and over flow intake so it can't be a current problem
like delta................it's not out of control but i'd like to get rid of it before it becomes an issue
Boss
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gdeeber - Posts: 113
- Joined: Thu May 22, 2008 12:27 pm
Get a sail fin blenny. I have one and you won't find a speck of algae on my rocks. He is so good at eating it that I had to start feeding him dryed seaweed because I thought he would die of malnourishment.
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gdeeber - Posts: 113
- Joined: Thu May 22, 2008 12:27 pm
If you don't want to add more fish to your tank look into getting snails (Astraea, Turbo, Nassarius) and hermit crabs they will keep your tank nice and clean.
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Deltasigpony3648 - Posts: 314
- Joined: Mon Nov 19, 2007 7:21 am
Ok Here is the Test for my water so you guys know:
Temp: 80.2
pH: 8.15 on probe 8.2 on test
Specific Gravity: 1.0220
Nitrate: 0 - 5.0 ppm
Nitrite: 0 - .25 ppm
Phosphates: 0 - .25 ppm
Calcium: 440 - 480 ppm (lost count)
Kh: 179 ppm
pretty good imo got to get the ph up
Temp: 80.2
pH: 8.15 on probe 8.2 on test
Specific Gravity: 1.0220
Nitrate: 0 - 5.0 ppm
Nitrite: 0 - .25 ppm
Phosphates: 0 - .25 ppm
Calcium: 440 - 480 ppm (lost count)
Kh: 179 ppm
pretty good imo got to get the ph up
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Snowboss4492 - Posts: 2098
- Joined: Sun Jan 27, 2008 11:24 pm
i have nassarious snails and 7 algae hermits that seem to be walking around the hair algae and not eating it - -- i dont want to get a blennie as there isn't enough to support him
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Deltasigpony3648 - Posts: 314
- Joined: Mon Nov 19, 2007 7:21 am
well from the other sites that i have been reading this is the response that i got which i basically what i ready on the inter web
Re: Help! with hair algae
quote:
Originally posted by Deltasigpony
[B]ok so its not like its taking over my tank but id rater get it under control before it over grows my tank. I have a 120 with a 60 gal or so sump. I run phosban in a reactor and i have a fuge with grape curpula and another type of curpula i run my lights 10 hours atinics and 8 hours with 15000k.
what should i cut back my lights another 2 hours, which i al ready have from 12 and 10,
Unless you have a medium to large outbreak, I don't think a drastic change in photoperiod will effect hair algae. Although the level you cut them to is fine as a permanent photoperiod for coral anyhow.
quote:
added the phosban
started up the refugium cuz its and upgrade tank from my old 55
Phosban good
While caulerpa is great for a fuge, I am a MUCH bigger fan of chaetomorphic algae--- it's what I use. I light mine, right now, 24/7 but my nitrates/phosphates are pretty close to NOTHING so I may cut it back to an 18-hour photoperiod to make some of the nitrogen available to my soft corals.
Chaeto never goes "sexual" = melting away.... and is insanely tough and hardy. All around about the most useful thing ever discovered for a reef tank
quote:
I have 2 tangs that munch on it all day long
cut back feedings alot. like 1 or 2 times per week
Good. Keep the feedings skinny. Even with phosban, the algae might still be able to use some of the phosphates from the feedings before the phosban reactor pulls is out. We all have heard or seen tanks that read a near-zero phosphate yet still have some hair algae.
quote:
anything else i can do
raise pH to at least 8.4, get your dKH up around 10, and raise magnesium
Raise magnesium to at least 1300. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I think even 1400-1500 is safe for everything but makes life hard on hair algae.
Second, drip kalkwasser in your top-off water. Gives pH a temporary boost, helps keep calcium right, and gives kH a bit of a boost. Has the side benefit of precipitating phosphate out of solution, very cool indeed.
Lastly, LEARN HOW TO USE THE "." KEY, WE CAN'T HALFWAY READ YOUR SENTENCES
__________________
"Jesus did not come to make good people better. He came to make DEAD people LIVE!"--- Ravi Zacharias.
Hobby Experience: FW, 20 years experience--breeding, planted tanks. Saltwater/reefs: 2 years (all nano reef or fish/invert tanks with Carolina native fauna).
Current Tanks: "10g" nano custom build, 96w T5, stocked with acro, monti, hydnophora, GSP, cloves, duncans, zoas and palys, xenia, and caulastrea. small ocellaris, small gramma, yellowtail damsel, CB shrimp, and a bull shark.
Interests: Making collector-grade fountain pens, woodworking, fishing, and well, duh, reef keeping.
Re: Help! with hair algae
quote:
Originally posted by Deltasigpony
[B]ok so its not like its taking over my tank but id rater get it under control before it over grows my tank. I have a 120 with a 60 gal or so sump. I run phosban in a reactor and i have a fuge with grape curpula and another type of curpula i run my lights 10 hours atinics and 8 hours with 15000k.
what should i cut back my lights another 2 hours, which i al ready have from 12 and 10,
Unless you have a medium to large outbreak, I don't think a drastic change in photoperiod will effect hair algae. Although the level you cut them to is fine as a permanent photoperiod for coral anyhow.
quote:
added the phosban
started up the refugium cuz its and upgrade tank from my old 55
Phosban good
While caulerpa is great for a fuge, I am a MUCH bigger fan of chaetomorphic algae--- it's what I use. I light mine, right now, 24/7 but my nitrates/phosphates are pretty close to NOTHING so I may cut it back to an 18-hour photoperiod to make some of the nitrogen available to my soft corals.
Chaeto never goes "sexual" = melting away.... and is insanely tough and hardy. All around about the most useful thing ever discovered for a reef tank
quote:
I have 2 tangs that munch on it all day long
cut back feedings alot. like 1 or 2 times per week
Good. Keep the feedings skinny. Even with phosban, the algae might still be able to use some of the phosphates from the feedings before the phosban reactor pulls is out. We all have heard or seen tanks that read a near-zero phosphate yet still have some hair algae.
quote:
anything else i can do
raise pH to at least 8.4, get your dKH up around 10, and raise magnesium
Raise magnesium to at least 1300. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I think even 1400-1500 is safe for everything but makes life hard on hair algae.
Second, drip kalkwasser in your top-off water. Gives pH a temporary boost, helps keep calcium right, and gives kH a bit of a boost. Has the side benefit of precipitating phosphate out of solution, very cool indeed.
Lastly, LEARN HOW TO USE THE "." KEY, WE CAN'T HALFWAY READ YOUR SENTENCES
__________________
"Jesus did not come to make good people better. He came to make DEAD people LIVE!"--- Ravi Zacharias.
Hobby Experience: FW, 20 years experience--breeding, planted tanks. Saltwater/reefs: 2 years (all nano reef or fish/invert tanks with Carolina native fauna).
Current Tanks: "10g" nano custom build, 96w T5, stocked with acro, monti, hydnophora, GSP, cloves, duncans, zoas and palys, xenia, and caulastrea. small ocellaris, small gramma, yellowtail damsel, CB shrimp, and a bull shark.
Interests: Making collector-grade fountain pens, woodworking, fishing, and well, duh, reef keeping.
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newbie916 - Posts: 375
- Joined: Sat Jun 21, 2008 3:12 pm
I was in Maui last week at their aquarium, which was awesome. I asked one of the marine biologists who was cleaning one of the main display tanks how they control their green hair algae. Their filtration system includes a massive protein skimmer and a pipe that goes 1/4 of a mile out into the ocean.That's my kind of filtration and water changes.haha
Anyways, when I asked him the question, he laughed and reached into the display and pulled out a handful of green hair algae. He said there isn't an animal that he knows of that will eat and maintain green hair algae. It's the last thing on earth any of the fish, inverts, etc. will eat.
His solution was normal water changes and to take my rocks out and scrub them with a toothbrush. Also, to make sure you pull the root of the algae out as well. He said green hair is unavoidable and they actually have one guy dedicated to cleaning all of the green hair algae off their rocks and corals. They clean their tanks 3 days a week.
I'm in Kona right now, but when I get back I'm going to have to start my cleaning process. I thought this may help you guys because I've been running into the same issues as you guys. I've spent easily $400 on cleaning crew members who haven't touched the stuff. I put in a refugium with macro and bought more LR and LS. Increased my flow and I've been doing 20% water changes every 10 days. Still the crap won't go away. Now it's down to me scrubbing my rocks with a toothbrush. I wish I didn't have a 150lbs of LR in my tank.lol
Take care guys
Anyways, when I asked him the question, he laughed and reached into the display and pulled out a handful of green hair algae. He said there isn't an animal that he knows of that will eat and maintain green hair algae. It's the last thing on earth any of the fish, inverts, etc. will eat.
His solution was normal water changes and to take my rocks out and scrub them with a toothbrush. Also, to make sure you pull the root of the algae out as well. He said green hair is unavoidable and they actually have one guy dedicated to cleaning all of the green hair algae off their rocks and corals. They clean their tanks 3 days a week.
I'm in Kona right now, but when I get back I'm going to have to start my cleaning process. I thought this may help you guys because I've been running into the same issues as you guys. I've spent easily $400 on cleaning crew members who haven't touched the stuff. I put in a refugium with macro and bought more LR and LS. Increased my flow and I've been doing 20% water changes every 10 days. Still the crap won't go away. Now it's down to me scrubbing my rocks with a toothbrush. I wish I didn't have a 150lbs of LR in my tank.lol
Take care guys
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bg7003 - Posts: 5
- Joined: Tue Feb 19, 2008 6:52 pm
try to get a sea hare..they're good with the hair algae and keep the time you have your light on to a minimum
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schigara - Posts: 468
- Joined: Fri Mar 14, 2008 5:42 pm
Delta,
I am curious as to why your nitrites are detectable. How old is the test kit?
You PH is not the problem.
You have nitrates and phosphates. That is the cause for the hair to continue to grow.
The fact that phosphates register at all means your phosban is not working. Is this media being run in a reactor? How much flow is going through the reactor? You should see a very slow rolling boil at the top of the media. How much media do you use?
To starve hair algae, you have to see 0 on a titration test kit and as low as .02 on a meter for phosphates.
Have you tested the TDS of the ro/di water? Are you using ro/di? What salt mix are you using? Have you tested a fresh batch of saltwater for phosphates before putting it in the tank?
Your phosphates are coming from somewhere.
Are you sure it's common hair algae or might it be Bryopsis? Byropsis looks kinda like hair algae except you can see what looks like tiny green feathers.
If it is Bryopsis, elevated magnesium levels of around 1600 will help.
The only animals that will really help with hair algae and are easy to get, are large turbo snails. When I say large, I mean golf ball size or larger. Astrea, small turbos, nassarius, etc., won't touch large tufts of hair algae but very large turbo will usually stay on it and mow it down. Even then you still need 0 phosphates to eliminate it.
Hair algae is one of those nuisances we all have to deal with when putting live rock in the tank. Taking live rock out and scrubbing with a toothbrush might get most of it removed from the surface but there are many tiny holes in LR that you can't scrub. This method only helps once the phosphate issue has been eliminated.
I am curious as to why your nitrites are detectable. How old is the test kit?
You PH is not the problem.
You have nitrates and phosphates. That is the cause for the hair to continue to grow.
The fact that phosphates register at all means your phosban is not working. Is this media being run in a reactor? How much flow is going through the reactor? You should see a very slow rolling boil at the top of the media. How much media do you use?
To starve hair algae, you have to see 0 on a titration test kit and as low as .02 on a meter for phosphates.
Have you tested the TDS of the ro/di water? Are you using ro/di? What salt mix are you using? Have you tested a fresh batch of saltwater for phosphates before putting it in the tank?
Your phosphates are coming from somewhere.
Are you sure it's common hair algae or might it be Bryopsis? Byropsis looks kinda like hair algae except you can see what looks like tiny green feathers.
If it is Bryopsis, elevated magnesium levels of around 1600 will help.
The only animals that will really help with hair algae and are easy to get, are large turbo snails. When I say large, I mean golf ball size or larger. Astrea, small turbos, nassarius, etc., won't touch large tufts of hair algae but very large turbo will usually stay on it and mow it down. Even then you still need 0 phosphates to eliminate it.
Hair algae is one of those nuisances we all have to deal with when putting live rock in the tank. Taking live rock out and scrubbing with a toothbrush might get most of it removed from the surface but there are many tiny holes in LR that you can't scrub. This method only helps once the phosphate issue has been eliminated.
