Hair Algae issues

[Mattl22]

I agree with duke get the basics down first!
Basics IMO

10% water change every week if u wanna do a few large ones to get parameters back on track and remove built up organics that's a good idea just make sure u match temp etc....
Carbon and Gfo in a reactor changed every 3-4 weeks
Good water flow
Good test kits r Important also!

Get a tds meter b4 u start Lg water changes tds meters r cheap!

 

[ENB]

Okay so assuming my salt is instant ocean (I believe it was a box with a purple stripe on it) I don't remember I bought in in a very large bulk when I set up my tank and am just now running low I think I have 50g left
And I am doing 10% water changes every three weeks I am in the process of getting a phosban reactor I am hoping to get one from JohnnyJ and I am gonna buy some salifert test kits and a TDS meter.
Does anyone have vortech/radion setting suggestions to help me get rid of algae?

 

[lnevo]

Dont worry about your lighting. Reduce your nutrients, get nitrate and phosphate under control and the rest may follow. You will probably need to try some manual removal for a while or get some grazers in your tank to help keep under control.

As far as high alk thats gotta be an error...red sea kits dont measure in ppm and that would mean an alk of 13.44dkh which is more than a little high.

 

[Dan_P]

my water parameters are
Salinity 1.024
nitrate 20
nitrite between 0 and .5
alkalinity 240
Ph 7.8
phosphates .25
Mag 920

Red sea Mag titrate test
Mardel 5in1 test strip
API phosphate test

I had a hair algae issue a few months ago and was told to switch to RODI and add magnesium which long story short killed all my corals and all the algae.
Now the algae is coming back. I only use RODI and I dose with Kents Essential Elements in addition to a w/c every three weeks
I do 20G w/c at a time.
And I dose Vodka to keep my skimmer filled with waste (this officially works so i do it)

There also seems to be slight red patch of alage but its not the cyanobacteria slime type i used to see when i cycled my tank.
ENB

Nice aquarium! If It was mine, here is what I would think about.

I would get the phosphates and nitrates down, although this might not be your issue. So, it is one thing to consider doing.

Dosing with vodka is suppose to encourage higher populations of denitrifying bacteria, thus reducing nitrate levels. I wonder why your nitrates are so high. Is the test kit results off? I also wonder why you are still seeing nitrites a year after cycling. Again, test kit issues? Might not be contributing to algae growth but something to resolve.

A possible nitpicking thing. Your skimmer should be collecting a stiff foam and gunk if it is properly adjusted (water height, flow rate through skimmer). It should not need vodka additions to work. This might be a contributing factor to look into, not the root cause of hair algae growth.

I would make sure water changes are not adding nitrate or phosphates (test for nitrates and phosphates in the fresh saltwater).

Hungry snails would help reduce algae levels.

Hope these ideas are useful for your investigation.

 

[ENB]

the alk is part of the merdel 5 in 1 which is apparently not reliable at all

 

[ENB]

@Dan_P thanks :division:
The skimmer collects stuff without the vodka too I just read up on it and it was supposed to help reduce nitrate and phosphates.

 

[rkaragozler]

Their is a bunch of guys in staten island that will gladly test your water for you, just ask.
If you need to borrow a reactor till you get one, I have a spare.

 

[ENB]

Thanks a million.
I am currently waiting for the test kits they are ordering them for me at ocean gallery in nj but it might take a week.

I read the thread about your tank and would love to see it sometime it am glad you were able to stay in the hobby.

 

[rkaragozler]

Thanks a million, my door is always open, stop by one day. and bring some of your water to test as well.

 

[JSully526]

did you ever get rid of the algae"?

 

[ENB]

Wow this is a while ago, yeah Rkaragozler helped me out and I setup some GFO and got a sea slug.
I have since moved and work much harder to maintain my tank (got a little out of hand when baby was born but Reeflobster helped me get it back on track.

 

[JSully526]

Think that is where I got it I stopped gfo and put in a algae scrubber it's working just not fast enough ...putting my gfo back in and I started dosing with a pump a 2part c balance...

 

[ENB]

Maybe it just needs time to get it off the ground? If you run them both maybe it'll build up on the scrubber and then you can shut off the GFO

 

[JSully526]

Yea I didn't wait for it to grow on the scrubber

 

[ENB]

Keep us posted.
lots of great guys on here in case you need any help.

 

[Michaeljconn72]

Get a gfo reactor. I got a 2 stage reactor from bulk reef supply and it came with the pump although I heard 2, 1 stage reactors working independently are more efficient. I don't run gfo but I fill one stage with carbon and the other with phosban. I change it every 2 weeks and after the first time doing it, it's less than 5 minutes of work. Leaves my tank spotless. I haven't done a water change in months and haven't cleaned the glass in almost a year. I don't have any snails or crabs, my tank is over stocked and I feed a lot to make sure my fish stay fat.

 

[salpet]

stop wasting your time with witchdoctor recipes do a 25:waterchange and then do a 15 percent on a weekly basis and your algae problems will go away

 

[Mattl22]

I would def try a lower po4 but also get some Mexican turbo snails I had for some reason decided I wasn't gonna waste $ on hermits and snails because idiot need to treat tank for red bugs u can kill them long story short I got po4 down but I'd still have algae a friend mine said of course u have no snails to eat it bought like 200 when pw had there sale and 50 hermits and tank looks 10 x better no nuisance algae snails keep up there work I can feed bit more keep fish and coral happy