HAIR ALGAE SCRUBBING, WET/DRY CONVERSION

[mikey98]

I want to clean the hair algae off of my live rock. I have heard of people scrubbing it off but I am not sure what that will do to my rock. Also If I can scrub it off, do I need to keep it in salt water while I scrub. Should I use salt water to rinse it. I assume I do. If not it would be easier to do, but again, I don't want to hurt my live rock. I am also going to convert my wet/dry to a sump to help with cutting down the amount of algae that grows. What should I put in the sump? Aragonite, M.M., rock, plants, carbon? I am still a beginner. Right now I want a FOWLR tank. The wet/dry I want to convert is an Aqua Clear Aquatics pro 150. You can see a pic of it here http://aquaclearaquatics.com/wet_dry_pro.shtml. Do you think it will be big enough? I have a 55-gallon glass tank with 2, 175 MH and 2, 40 NO actinic lighting, and I’ am not sure of the size of pump. If you need to know the pump size I can get it later. If you need more info, or have any suggestions on how to clean the rock without killing it, or what to put in a sump, and how to convert my wet/dry please let me know.

Thanks

 

[Ryan22]

When I scrubbed my rocks, I did it during a water change, I filled a 5 gallon bucket about half way and scrubbed each rock with a toothbrush in the water, then i rinsed it in another 5 gal bucket of new salt water. It didn't do anything detramental to my rock at all.
As far as the sump converion, I would slowly take out the bioballs, a handfull or so a week until they are gone, and I would remove the sponge in the bottom. I'd move your heater down there, maybe some live rock.

HTH

 

[mikey98]

^^

 

[Anonymous]

Trouble with scrubbing it off is that it will grow back. Do you have any herbivores in there? Like snails, foxface, hermits etc? Also, a skimmer?

 

[mikey98]

As for the algae growing back, that is why I plan to convert my wet/dry to a sump. I have been told that a wet/dry makes lots of food for all types of algae. So, I want to scrub off the algae, and convert the wet/dry to prevent it from growing back. As for a skimmer I am using the one that was built into the wet/dry by Aqua Clear Aquatics. I plan on modifying it to make it perform better. I mainly want to know, if I scrub my live rock with a brush in salt water will it kill it?

 

[Modo]

I would have to suggest against scrubbing you LR. Your not only scrubbing off the algae but everything else that is beneficial and decorative. If you do decide to go this route DEFINATELY do it in saltwater. If you scrub it in fresh H2O you will kill everything including the denitrifying (sp. ) bacteria. If you do this to all your LR you may have a mini cycle and do alot of damage. Plus the fresh water may kill all your Coraline and you'll have a pile of nice white rocks.

The same goes for your wet/dry, like Ryan mentioned, remove the media about 1/4 at a time and allow your tank to stabilize. If you remove all the media at once you could have some problems. But, you are definately on track! What you need to do is reduce your nitrates to out compete the Hair. Most people do this with DSB/LR/Macro-algae export as you already mentioned.

IMHO I would just leave the Hair be. I don't know how old your tank is but hair algae is like the "Terrible Twos " in newly established aquariums...It's normally just a stage. But it can also be a sign of something out of whack...like nitrates, etc...

I know nothing about your set-up but if your bioload isn't too high another "quick-fix" is a Red-lip Blenny. I have one that is one ferocious algae eater. I had a patch of Hair Algae when I put him in about 2 yrs ago and he decimated it!

 

[mlundstrom]

Scrubbing your rock is not a bad thing necessarily. It will get rid of a large portion of the hair and as long as you are not going overboard, i.e. using a wire brush or all your strength, it can help.

BUT it will only help if you eliminate the cause of the nitrate build up. Removing the bioballs is a good start, and adding a refugium with caulerpa is another good idea.

Here is a link to another thread on the topic.
http://reefs.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=6997