Chemistry question:

[Anonymous]

Ok... I've had my 55 up for many years now. I continually pull out hair algae on a routine basis, and run/change the Phosban when I pull out the algae. I've been doing this now once every 2 weeks. I've decided to live with the hair algae, because NOTHING has worked. I've noticed every time I do this, my coraline algae takes off, then turns white - which, for me is a sign to start pulling algae and change my phosban.

While the hair algae grows at an annoyingly constant rate. There is a corralation between me pulling algae and changeing the phosban and the drastic quick growth of my coraline algae.

I don't have many corals - some frogspawn, shrooms, and an encroaching gregorian (sp?). NONE of the corals are effected in any way - whether or not I pull algae or change phosban.

So, which is it? The pulling? or the changing of Phosban?

I dare not stop one or the other, because I'm enjoying the coraline growth when it does grow.

TIA!

 

[Anonymous]

Best to get some tangs, snails and possibly hermits to eat the stuff if you can.

When you pull it out, you remove the excess nutrients, so this is an advantage, but it isn't a pleasant thing to have to do.

 

[Anonymous]

How old is your sandbed?

 

[Anonymous]

Changing the phosban is reported to possibly have an effect on pH and it can remove PO4 really quickly. So if it is exhausted and you change it, you can crash your PO4 which might be the cause of the whitening.

Sound to me like there is a nutrient issue. I would pull the algae more often and figure out what the nutrient issue is.

Or, you could add UV... :wink:

 

[Anonymous]

I had a minbow 7 in my office for over a year and a half. Never added a single speck of nutrients in that entire time, and even did water changes with good RO water, but always had tons of algae.

Lots of snails is my best answer.

 

[Anonymous]

Pull the rocks and scrub then with a wire brush + lots of snails like Dan said, and look to your sand bed for possible nutrient build up.

I agree with Rich, not enough UV.

 

[brandonberry]

Have you checked your alkalinity lately. Often algae growth increases with a decrease in alkalinity. It sounds like you are doing what you need to to control phosphate, however you may want to change it before your coraline algae turns white. This is likely due to the phosphate "poisoning" the calcification process. If it is doing this to the coralline algae, it is possible it could be affecting your calcareous corals as well. You may also want to consider what the source of the phosphate could be. Could it be inferior live rock or sand, or possibly overfeeding. Are you using a skimmer? Nitrate could also be a possible cause of the algae. Have you tested nitrates lately? No media effectively removes nitrates. The best thing for this would be heavy skimming, water changes, and/or a macroalgae refugium. A deep sand bed and live rock will help as well.

 

[Anonymous]

Pull the rocks and scrub then with a wire brush + lots of snails like Dan said, and look to your sand bed for possible nutrient build up.

I agree with Rich, not enough UV.

Yup, that and shake off the rocks real good in saltwater in a bucket.

And you should add a super charged hybrid UV/ozone/CO2 reactor.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks Guys!!!

Oh, and for the record... My UV is turned off, because I haven't added anything new for well over a year now. All my fish are happy!

 

[Anonymous]

Look up 'cooking' live rocks. There is an enormous amount of organic matter trapped in your average live rock upon arrival and it can take a long long time to shed out , even years. Add to that in an established tank you have this endless supply of nutrients for hair algae to grow.

You have to have a nutrient source somewhere - do you have a sandbed?

How often do you feed?

What is the bioload fish wise?

I'd avoid hermits and snails - pick one or the other and I'd go with a few trochus, a few nassarius and maybe a couple of ceriths to get some semblance of biological control but remember adding cleaners adds to your bioload too. Those animals will consume then excrete waste and at some point need something to feed on. If you are trying to eliminate algae then you may just be setting yourself up for another boom and bust cycle by adding cleaners.

 

[Anonymous]

I agree with Goldstein completely.

A lot of people kill the organisms in their live rock by letting ammonia climb too high while curing it. This leaves a whole bunch of dead organisms in the rock that can leech nutrients for a long long time.

The coraline probably grows better when the phosphates are reduced, ie. you change the phosphate absorber.

 

[trido]

I find that when I feed processed foods like formula 1 and 2 I get algea blooms. Mix up a blender batch of clams prawns, rinsed mysis, rotifiers and cyplopeze to feed the tank. I feed dirty and the hair algea I did have slowly died back witout an effort. Its worth a shot.

 

[Anonymous]

If your levels are in check and you are doing regular significant water changes then I would add some snails. I dislike hermit crabs. Turbo grazers really mow through stuff, but get large. Astera are good all purpose snails.

 

[Anonymous]

If your levels are in check and you are doing regular significant water changes then I would add some snails. I dislike hermit crabs. Turbo grazers really mow through stuff, but get large. Astera are good all purpose snails.

But very few snails eat hair algae. Urchins mow through it pretty good though. My favorite Hair algae munchers are Limpets.

 

[Anonymous]

Turbos actually do eat hair algae; I've watched them. You are right mostly though, that snails keep clean rocks clean and stop trouble spots from spreading.

I'm in favor of lots of cleaners. Astreas and turbos has worked for me. Nasarius are fine but I feel that worms and pods etc from the rock will do that job as well.

 

[Anonymous]

All great suggestions - Thanks!

I don't feed too often - maybe 2 a week - but I do use Formula 1&2, and I do use a clippy for some nori (almost every day).

I only have two fish - a clarkii clown and a hippo tang. They're buddies. I have ~20 nassarius snails, tons of small night grazing snails (like 200 or so... they've been breeding like rabbits for the past 2 years).

I like the idea of an urchin. I've never had one, so perhaps that might work out.

I have a shallow sand bed (less than 1 inch). Also have a sea cucumber for years too - a very long tiger tail.

Also I've had a cleaner shrimp for well over a year now too, along with 2 serpent starts - green, and... (forget the other type).

 

[Anonymous]

how bout a picture of the algae?

I would look at a blenny long before snails or hermits for typical hair algae, they really own the stuff, provided you remove the long long stuff they cant rip out

 

[Anonymous]

Blennys eat hair algae?

 

[Anonymous]

Blennys eat hair algae?

Look up "Lawnmower Blenny".

 

[Anonymous]

My lawnmower only ate film algae. At that's only if I didn't feed the tank for a few days.