I'm loosing the war with GHA, help?!

[andrewsk]

Originally Posted by michika

Just to clarify again, my rocks are not all 3 years old, only 1 or 2 pieces are, the rest are about 6 months old. The "old" rock is probably only 10% of my total display rock.

The algae is also growing on some of my clams, and its also growing on colonies themselves. Its not limited to the rock itself. It is also only found on the top of the rocks, not on their undersides, nor in any of the caves.

I already have quite a few algae eating creatures, and don't feel that I could add to it without compromising my bioload.

I have actually added new rock to the system, as in it was completely dried, and bone white. I cleaned it, then added it to the tank, it was also covered in algae rather quickly. Do you think that this new rock being covered in algae is a result of my older rocks?

I think first I'm going to try to raise my magnesium levels like in the Reef Central thread. Even though my algae is not briopsis, I still think its worth a try.

After that I would probably consider new rock, but because of my space constraints I can't cook it.

So your thought is that phosphates are getting into the system from my old rocks?

With your space constraints I am not really sure.

If it were me, I would slowly eliminate the potential culprits until the Algae went away.

Something is providing fuel for it to grow.

How deep is your sand bed?

[robzilla]

in my tank, i believe the nutrients were coming from the rock. the previous owner did like to feed heavy
thats why in my case it took some months for the phosphate reactors to work.
the nutrients are in your tank, and they are feeding the algae.

[michika]

The sandbed is maybe 1.5" at its deepest. For the most part its about 0.5".

The logical step is to treat the source of the problem, where the algae is getting its nutrients from. After that it would be to just deal with the algae itself, manual prunings, scrubbing the rock, etc. Although since I can't pinpoint the source I feel like I just endless go in circles.

[ponokareefer]

Why not get a few more urchins to eat/pull the algae off the rock? If you have one that is doing it, but just not keeping up, give a couple more a try. It will save you the grief of doing it all yourself, and personally, I love the look of urchins. Such a cool animal. I know it is doing things backwards, not finding the source of the problem, but it can be satisfying seeing them tear that algae to shreds. I know it was for me.

[michika]

I agree it is very cathartic to watch my urchin clean off my rocks!

I'm pretty maxed out on my bioload right now. I'll consider it though, like a seahare, but I would have to give up any extra urchin(s) I aquire.

[andrewsk]

Originally Posted by michika

The sandbed is maybe 1.5" at its deepest. For the most part its about 0.5".

The logical step is to treat the source of the problem, where the algae is getting its nutrients from. After that it would be to just deal with the algae itself, manual prunings, scrubbing the rock, etc. Although since I can't pinpoint the source I feel like I just endless go in circles.

1.5" of Gravel is a total nutrient sink. Under 4" willl not really act as a Biological filter at all.

Could you run Barebottom for a while?

[michika]

I respectfully disagree about your comment regarding my sandbed. All my reading has informed me otherwise. I'm actually quite happy with my sandbed, and am not really interested at looking at removing it at the moment. First I want to look into higher magnesium levels, and possibly switching out rock.

[Der_Iron_Chef]

I was under the impression that, for a sandbed to truly be effective, it needed to be deeper than that. Maybe I'm wrong.

Would you remove the sandbed if you knew it would fix the hair algae problem?

[Johnny Reefer]

I am of the belief that a shallow sandbed (ie: 1"-2") is easier to maintain and keep clean, as opposed to a DSB. I'm the opposite re: nutrient sink. I think a DSB would be more prone to that. JMO.

Edit: In an attempt to be more constructive toward the thread topic....I too am battling hair algae right now in my reef tank. The system is 8 months on now, after a move, so still relatively new. I'm also inclined to believe that the time of year factors into it, what with the longer days and increased duration of ambient daylight entering the room. I had hair algae growing like mad 1 to 2 months ago, but now it is showing signs of a decreasing growth rate. I'm just biding time with it and removing most manually before doing anything drastic....hoping tank maturity and shorter days will help.
I see your system is still relatively new also, and I'm curious to know what kind of daylight enters your tank room. Is it bright? (Not necessarily direct sunlight. Just daylight, period).

[michika]

Originally Posted by Der_Iron_Chef

Would you remove the sandbed if you knew it would fix the hair algae problem?

Yes I would, but only if I knew for sure it was feeding/causing the algae.