Alge issue

[Portuguesenrg]

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Now the tank is fairly new about 4 months old , I had a outbreak last month tank was completely fogged out completely unclear water lost some live stock but made a full recovery but now I have hair alge out the ying yang so to say haha

Was wondering if any one has any tips or tricks , it's slowly going away but would like something to speed it up

Ive scraped off the rocks , wanted changes every two or three days etc.

Any help would be appreciated




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[WarDog]

Try some Trochus Snails. I've got 6 that keep my GHA in check.

[Portuguesenrg]

Hmmm I'll have to pick some up , I have two emerald crabs in there now they help but still over powers them


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[gobytron]

where did you get those rocks from?

[Portuguesenrg]

There a bunch of pieces to that scape , but I got pretty much all of it golds aquarium


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[gobytron]

And it was all new fresh rock?

Thats a lot of HA for a new tank, I only ask because older rock, espeically older rock from high nutrient tanks can soak up phosphates and then slowly leach them out...

Are you doing any phosphate testing?

[Portuguesenrg]

There's about two pounds of base rock and the 4-5 pounds rest is LR , and yes I do regular test with Elos kits and phosphate is always at 0


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[monocus]

try seachem.it looks like cyano on your sand bed

[gobytron]

Cyano could be a factor of it just being a new tank.

You definitely have some phosphate in there.

You probably have the algae consuming it before it can really get into the water column and show up in testing.

Look into running some GFO or some chemipure...

That might help.

Sea Hares are, IME, the best HA eater around...especially for the stuff on the rocks that can be hard to get to and remove from the roots.

A 7 gallon tank is a challenge for anyone to keep long term.

[Coasting]

Sea Hares are, IME, the best HA eater around...especially for the stuff on the rocks that can be hard to get to and remove from the roots.

A 7 gallon tank is a challenge for anyone to keep long term.


What about perhaps an algae eating blenny of sorts?
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=15+23+69&pcatid=69
My guy is chomping at my rock work and glass all day long, but happily takes part during normal feedings and eats the frozen and pellet food the other fish get.

[gobytron]

What about perhaps an algae eating blenny of sorts?
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=15+23+69&pcatid=69
My guy is chomping at my rock work and glass all day long, but happily takes part during normal feedings and eats the frozen and pellet food the other fish get.

where blennys arent as good as a sea hare is in how messy they eat.

They graze more so than scour the surface.

So if you watch a sea hare eat through a path of HA, what you see is a pretty clean rock with most of the visible roots consumed as it's mouth is sucking right on the rock.

This means its less likely to spread and takes longer to grow back.

Blennys spread HA around a lot more as they grab the alga higher up and tear it.

[MKLKT]

Urchins can be good at scouring as well, would need more of a tuxedo type than a rock boring one though for it to be useful for algae.

[TimT]

Sea Hares are very good at eating macro algaes. They do come with a few inherent risks. They can release a dark red dye into the water if they feel threatened or get squished. I do not know whether the dye is toxic in an aquarium or not. They can be problematic for getting a good specimen that lives more than a week.

Tuxedo urchins are also good algae eaters but not as good as a Sea Hare. They come with the risk of bulldozing corals etc. They are also quite fragile.

Herbivores are a solution to a symptom of a problem which is phosphate/nitrate issues. I like to say that Phosphate is the trigger and Nitrate is the fuel for algae growth. If you can limit one then the algae problem will be greatly reduced.

The easiest and most cost effective way to eliminate Phosphate is with Foz Down. More info on Foz Down can be found on my website here. http://www.oceanfreshaquarium.com/foz-down.html

There are many people on CanReef who are successfully using Foz Down to help with Algae issues.

Foz Down is available in Calgary from Eli @ Fiji Reef Rock and also Wai's Aquarium.

Cheers,
Tim

[gobytron]

Sea Hares are very good at eating macro algaes. They do come with a few inherent risks. They can release a dark red dye into the water if they feel threatened or get squished. I do not know whether the dye is toxic in an aquarium or not. They can be problematic for getting a good specimen that lives more than a week.

Tuxedo urchins are also good algae eaters but not as good as a Sea Hare. They come with the risk of bulldozing corals etc. They are also quite fragile.

Herbivores are a solution to a symptom of a problem which is phosphate/nitrate issues. I like to say that Phosphate is the trigger and Nitrate is the fuel for algae growth. If you can limit one then the algae problem will be greatly reduced.

The easiest and most cost effective way to eliminate Phosphate is with Foz Down. More info on Foz Down can be found on my website here. http://www.oceanfreshaquarium.com/foz-down.html

There are many people on CanReef who are successfully using Foz Down to help with Algae issues.

Foz Down is available in Calgary from Eli @ Fiji Reef Rock and also Wai's Aquarium.

Cheers,
Tim

Very true.

You will continue to have algae to control as long as you have significant phosphate present, regardless of how you control it once it manifests.

[Portuguesenrg]

Okay thanks for all the info , I did have a blenny but he decided to jump out of the tank

I'll have to check around town and see if anyone has any sea hare that's one that I haven't tryed

I'll pick up some foz down


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[Dendromad]

I had a rock covered in hair algae in my 10 gallon with a large colony of paly on it and it wouldn't shift. I did a 50% hydrogen peroxide bath on it for a few minutes put it back in and within a day it had gone. The paly took a few days to recover fully and it bleached a lot of the coralline but it has never returned.

[120G]

Last time I have that issue I took my rock out and power wash it.
Power washer is a good device to get rib off pest coral like Aptsia or BSP

[jason604]

I'm starting to get a really though GHA as well in my newer tank. It's a lot harder to pull off than when I had my old tank and it wrecked havoc on all my corals. Took many hours but I was able to remove a lot and increase my Gfo n it has slowed down a lot. I wish I was able to keep sea hares. I bought 3 in the past and all died within days but they were chomping down on GHA like mad. First 1 died by my brain coral trying to swallow it alive during the night. Didn't know they could do that and my next 2 was eaten alive by my cleaner shrimp lol. Each time it ruined my tank water and was bad for my corals. Vinegar/vodka dosing does help as well U should try. Now where can I get 1 of those black blennies lol.