HA is getting me down

Koresample · #1 10-07-2009, 05:41 AM

thanks guys, i've tried both of those methods...Scopa died (then subsequently my clown skunk) and the boiling water didn't do much, even after trying it for several weeks (bottle method, not turkey baster)

tlo · #2 10-07-2009, 05:45 AM

you could always get a sea hare. Hair algae is all they eat, so once it's gone -you;ll have to pass it on.

Koresample · #3 10-07-2009, 05:50 AM

the root problem must be coming from somewhere though...i have taken rock out and scrubbed it clean with a wire brush while changing the water and poof...one week later its right back again!

I was feeding my corals nutra kol nutra plus liquid food (about 15 drops/day) plus phytofeast (about 20 drops/day) for about 2 months. I haven't fed them that stuff for two months now and i only feed them about 1/4" x 1/4" of either flake or fresh mysis shrimp (minus the juice), once per day.

tlo · #4 10-07-2009, 05:57 AM

It may be leaching out of your rock. Did you get your rock from another reefer? It may have been soaking up all those phosphates from your previous feeding regieme and is now feeding the algae.

michika · #5 10-07-2009, 02:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tlo

It may be leaching out of your rock. Did you get your rock from another reefer? It may have been soaking up all those phosphates from your previous feeding regieme and is now feeding the algae.

And we have a winner!

I also did battle with hair algae, and ultimately the source was that phosphates were leaching from the rock and feeding the algae. The two options you have are a) let it cook in your tank, or b) remove and swap and either cook elsewhere, or dry it out.

I personally ended up letting it cook in the tank. I just did weekly maintenance of removing the hair algae and doing a regular waterchange shortly there after.

The best clean up crew I had, and still have, is a long-spine urchin. Great choice for a clean up crew, but they do grow very large.

Just so you have an idea of how bad it was in that tank:

noirsphynx · #6 10-07-2009, 02:46 PM

a blue tuxedo urchin is working awesome in my tank (which is almost the same size as yours).

Pier Pressure · #7 10-07-2009, 02:51 PM

I, too, am having a brutal hair algae outbreak. We bought a sea hare but he died before he got even halfway through the algae. Our tank is only 28 gallons so a tang is out. What is the best small fish for eating this stuff? We could turn him shark-size with all the hair algae in the tank!

Koresample · #8 10-08-2009, 01:43 AM

i just did another 50% water change (oh my aching back!) and i noticed the algae came loose much easier this time, so maybe i am making progress. I think you and Mindy are right, its probably leeching from my rock. My tank looks very similar in algae growth to what you posted. When you say 'cooked in tank' what did you mean by that?

I want to post a big THANKS! here to Mindy as well, you have been a huge help in trying to understand what is going on and your articles were great to get a handle on things!

Quote:

Originally Posted by michika

And we have a winner!

I also did battle with hair algae, and ultimately the source was that phosphates were leaching from the rock and feeding the algae. The two options you have are a) let it cook in your tank, or b) remove and swap and either cook elsewhere, or dry it out.

I personally ended up letting it cook in the tank. I just did weekly maintenance of removing the hair algae and doing a regular waterchange shortly there after.

The best clean up crew I had, and still have, is a long-spine urchin. Great choice for a clean up crew, but they do grow very large.

Just so you have an idea of how bad it was in that tank:

michika · #9 10-08-2009, 04:22 AM

I just let it stay in the tank and I waited it out. It all vanished in about 3-4 months. Bigger water changes don't help, FYI.

Myka · #10 10-08-2009, 01:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Koresample

I want to post a big THANKS! here to Mindy as well, you have been a huge help in trying to understand what is going on and your articles were great to get a handle on things!

You're very welcome.

You can probably cut back on the water changes since the algae is growing so well, it will be absorbing all the nutrients that are leaching out anyway, and you're removing it with your scissors.

EDIT: Ooops, michika beat me to it. Bigger water changes do help if you're dealing with high nutrients in the water column, but your readings are all low, so the algae is eating it up well for you.