Hair algae question

[bboytius]

Hi everyone, i recently started a 10 gallon reef tank. I have 2x36 pc in there. one 6500k and one actinic with one no 15w actinic. i have a skimmer, 10lbs of liverock, 2 damsles, 1 coral banded shrimp, 2 hermit crabs, 1 emerald crab, and blue mushrooms. i do water changes every week, and ammonia and nitrite are 0 with nitrate at 10. only thing is i don't have a phosphate test kit, so i don't know if i have phosphates or not, but i use ro/di water, so i don't think that is a problem. the thing is i have hair algae all over my rocks. i've had the tank for 8 weeks now, and was wondering is the hair algae part of the maturation process and will go away, or is there something wrong with the water? i feed very little, and the thing is i can start to see areas where my emerald crab is eating the algae, but i've only had him for a week and don't know if he can keep up with the growth. should i just go in there and manually remove it or should i wait a little while longer to see if the algae goes away?

 

[cat23]

What kind of clean up crew do you have? Snails, etc? You didn't mention any. Phosphates and silicates may be the problem too. RO/DI water is a must with at reef tank

 

[bboytius]

i don't have any snails because i've heard that they don't eat hair algae. all i have for cleanup are the hermit crabs and the shrimp. i used this pink samoan aquarium sand i got at the lfs. do you think i could still get phosphates because i use ro/di water for makeup and water changes?

 

[bboytius]

also i think my calcium may be a little low at 350. could that be the cause of my hair algae problem?

 

[Henry1]

tius,

You are right. It's part of the maturation process as the system cycles.
You are doing the right thing to keep the bioload and feeding low.

You may consider the following:
1) Raise your SG to 1.024 - I'm assuming your SG is lower.

2) Increase your water circulation flowrate.

3) Install a UV Sterilizer.

Yes, you can let it grow till its full then rip them off at one go.

Cheers

[ November 19, 2001: Message edited by: Henry ]</p>

 

[bboytius]

well the thing is my salinity hovers between 1.023 and 1.024 (deep six hydrometer), and do you really think a uv sterilizer would help? i know my crab is eating it, its just i don't think he can keep up with it. i don't wanna add more of them because i heard when they get big, they can get aggressive. any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated. thank you for all the help so far

 

[Henry1]

Try increasing your water circulation and manually remove as much of the algae first.

Give it some time, perhaps one week, to see any improvement.

If improvement is marginal, then consider installing a UV steriliser. Get one that is rated suitably for your tank size.

UV radiation is capable of destroying bacteria, parasites as well as algae spores.

It works well for me.

Happy reefing

 

[mariner]

Get a yellow tang tang. They are cheap, rather haredy(as far as tangs go)and will eat the macro. Take care of it as soon as possible. I let the problem go in my tank and it got so bad that it took over the tank and I had to bleach about half of the live rock in my tank to get rid of it.

 

[bboytius]

i don't know if i want a yellow tang though because they get pretty big and i don't want to put a heavy bio load. do you guys think turbo or astrae snails will eat the algae? i've hear conflicting sides to these critters. and if they did, where would be the best online place to get them? thanks

 

[mariner]

The snails won't eat macro algae. Go to www.reeftopia.com and they have different packages available for your needs. I ordered from them multiple times and have received great service.

[ November 19, 2001: Message edited by: mariner ]</p>

 

[Hippocampus]

I feel your pain. After a tank crash, my tank is going through new tank syndrome again and hair algae has pretty much taken over. Someone told me to try to pull it out in tufts, but every time I try to get any of it, it just breaks up and I end up with a tank full of hairy water. Yuck.

Despite the continuing debate over crabs in a tank, I recently added several emeralds. I know they're eating the stuff -- I saw one guy attacking a spot of it yesteray and today there's no hair algae in that spot.

Someone recommended to me that I do a lot of water changes, reduce my photoperiod, run carbon and a phosphate sponge, and quit dosing calcium. I'm gonna give it a try. If you come up with a miracle cure, please do share.

Donna

 

[ToddinAtl]

I agree with Henry...increase your water flow or move your power head(s) to increase the circulation over your DSB. This worked for me also I have noticed my fighting conchs eat the stuff...Good luck
Todd

 

[mweber]

How much are you feeding? 1/4 teaspoon per day could be too much at this stage.

Get some type of cartrige filter and pump with very small media size. say 10 to 100 micron. vacuum the stuff right off the rocks and put the filtered water back in as you go.

Then test your PO4. I'll bet it is over .2 Then do what ever it takes to keep your Phosphates low. IE good regular water changes, very small feedings, good skimmer, macro algae refugium ect.

 

[reefhope]

You could also try cutting back on your photo period for awhile (week or so). If they are new bulbs they are probably feeding the nutrients int he tank, maybe cut back a few hours per day and slowly increase the photo period. By the way how long are you keeping the lights on?

 

[bboytius]

i have new pc bulbs. i keep the actinics on for 8 hours a day while i keep the day light on for 6. i feed my fish flake food right now, and i only feed a very small pinch. probably bout 7-8 flakes.