more dumb questions

[tgoeujon]

heres the situation. i have two large rocks in my tank that i got a few months ago that have a hair algae problem. at first it was alright because my fish had it under control but now its going nuts only on those two rocks. now my question is can i put the rocks in a dark quarantine tank to get rid of the algae and if so will the few palys on it be alright in the dark long enough to get rid of the algae. or is my only option picking it all off?

[michika]

From what it sounds like your rocks are leaching phosphates, and those phosphates are feeding your GHA.

Your options;
1) Trim it back frequently, scrubbing with a brush
2) Make sure your lighting isn't too old. Yellow light can feed different types of macro algaes
3) Try some living solutions; urchins, snails, foxface, seaslug, etc.
4) Do nothing and let it work its way out naturally (takes about 6 months per my experience)
5) Cook it if you like, but seriously the dark did nothing for me
6) Try running phosban or GFO (granular feric oxide), and carbon or GAC (granular activated carbon)
7) Try dark periods over your tank. E.g. a weekend with lights out and towels over the system.
8) Learn to love it.

I waged this battled for 8 months, so I know all too well where you are coming from. I wish you lots and lots and lots of luck. You can search for GHA or Green Hair Algae and you can find a few threads that might be of use to you.

[tgoeujon]

thanks for the tips. would a blackout period over for a weekend be harmful to corals?

[michika]

When I did it, I only had SPS. I saw a bit of colour loss, but everything colored right back up after a few days. The GHA on the other hand seemed to draw back a bit for the first day, I think, but then it just came back worse then before. Try it though, what worked for me may not work for you and vice versa.

This is one of my threads (http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=34686&highlight=green+hair+algae) documenting my war on hair.

[banditpowdercoat]

Trevor, I have done the blackout a couple times. Never hurt corals none. I was using it to rid Cyano. Was allways doing 2 days no lights, but not covering tank. Cyano back in a week. Last time, 2 days covered with thick towel, and 3rd day, no lights. Then, 6 rd actinic, 3 hrs daylight on 4th day, 5th, resume light schedual. And my sand was pearly white, cyano and hair was gone. I only had a small patch of hair, never even noticed it was gone till I got that Xenia from you. LOL Which, BTW is thriving nicely.

I have acctually read of people who do 2-3 days blackout once a month to keep thinks white and fresh looking, with no ill effects. i mean, on the real reaf, they have extremly cloudy periods too, dont they?

[michika]

I should mention that the colors in my SPS came back brighter and stronger then before my blackout attempt. Only the GHA responded unfavorably for me.