hair algae

landshark · #1 03-18-2008, 05:49 AM

I'll try to answer all your questions. Lights are nova extreme,T5HO 18" . Current 10000K and actinic, 38watts total. I've cut back to 6hrs daily. I am using r/o. Rocks are Fiji C/W lots of coraline algae from well established tank.

michika · #2 03-18-2008, 02:22 PM

I'm guessing rocks have phosphates/nitrates in them and they are feeding your GHA outbreak. Manually pruning seemed to work best for me, it took about 6 months for everything to leech out of the rocks.

digital-audiophile · #3 03-18-2008, 02:35 PM

Are you running a phosban reactor or have the ability to run one?

michika · #4 03-18-2008, 02:39 PM

Another thought, are you sure its hair algae and not bryopsis? You can try algaebase.org for a clear ID. There are different proceedures for dealing with each.

dsaundry · #5 03-18-2008, 03:24 PM

See if you can borrow a sea hare, just make sure you cover all your filter and pump intakes with sponge. They are great little lawnmowers...

michika · #6 03-18-2008, 03:27 PM

Long spine urchins, and lettuce nudibranchs work too, again assuming it is GHA and not bryopsis.

mseepman · #7 03-18-2008, 04:19 PM

Sorry to go off topic here but Landshark, where did you get the T5HO 18"? I've been looking for them and haven't found those short ones anywhere.

landshark · #8 03-19-2008, 06:08 AM

Thanks for all the great advice! Checked calcium 480, KH 9, But I don't have a test kit for Magnesium. PH 8.3, nitrate 5, nitrite 0, ammonia 0 ,phosphate 0Spec. gravity 1.024-025 . I'll check on algaebase.org exactly what this stuff is. I havn't any access to sea hares or urchins, and not excited about purchasing said critters. Hmm. Rock theory possible, as I just moved some rocks around in my tank that were partially buried in substrate.( about three weeks ago).Wouldn't testing pick up leeching live rock? Sorry, I'm unaware of what a phosban reactor even does. STEVE

Myka · #9 03-18-2008, 05:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by landshark

I'll try to answer all your questions. Lights are nova extreme,T5HO 18" . Current 10000K and actinic, 38watts total. I've cut back to 6hrs daily. I am using r/o. Rocks are Fiji C/W lots of coraline algae from well established tank.

Do you have a photo of your tank that you could post? What are your water parameters? Ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH, temperature, salinity, and phosphate. Calcium, alkalinity, and magnesium if you have kits for those. Those last 3 can be bigger contributors than many people are aware.

mseepman · #10 03-18-2008, 05:26 PM

When you say bigger contributors...what do you mean. I'm getting some hair algae for the very first time since I started my tank over two years ago and my Calcium and Alk are very high. Mag is normal.