purple hairy algae

[kento]

i got this purple algae (velvet in nature and the color of barney) that is growing on a piece of rock i bought off a guy. the rock has pink zoanthids on it. the hair like algae is growing tall and looks like it has air bubbles underneath it. can someone tell me what it is and if it is good or not.

the other thing i got growing is some patches of brown hair like algae growing. my snails are not eating it. how do i get it off my rock? i have no green algae growing.

 

[ChrisRD]

The first one sounds like cyano. Can you describe your setup a bit and tell us how old it is?

 

[ChrisRD]

BTW, Kento...

 

[kento]

Chris,

thanks for the reply. the system is about 6 months old. i got the small piece of rock with the pink zoanthids about a month ago. last night i took the piece of rock with the purple hairy algae and i rinsed it under regular tap water. the purple stuff came right off. i put the the zoanthids back into the tank and it looks as if they are doing alright.

i have a 55 gallon tank with 100 lbs of live good quality Fiji rock. i have about 60lbs. of various size aragonite. i have some mushrooms, polyps, zoantids, anenome and some hard corals. my lighting is a pc set up with 4 x 65 watts. 10k and blue actinic, it also has moon lights built in. i bought a cleaner pack that is suppose to be for 55 gallon set ups. snails, crabs, sand sifter star, fancy brittle star, etc. i also have fish, two clowns, two damsels, one dotty back and 7 green chromises.

what about the other algae. it is a brownish yellow color and is only in patches.

let me know what you think.

 

[ChrisRD]

Sounds like a nice setup.

It sounds like you just had a bit of cyano on that new piece - may or may not come back depending on your tank conditions. It's common to have a bout with it in a tank that's less than a year old, and it can even be a reccurring problem in mature tanks where conditions favor it. Lower nutrient levels and strong circulation generally keep it at bay or eliminate it.

As for the hair algae - again not uncommon, especially in the first year. My guess is that since you have a fairly heavy fish load you've got a bit of excess nutrients (that combined with the fact that there's probably nothing eating it).

Do you have a skimmer on the tank? If so, what kind and how does it seem to be working?

What do you use for source water? You should be using something very pure like distilled, RO, RO/DI, etc.

Also, Mexican Turbo snails (the large ones) can be good hair algae grazers IME. Conchs too (although Queen conchs get too large too fast for my taste).

 

[kento]

Chris,

great info. thanks, i do have a protein skimmer (prizm pro) with a surface skimmer, i am not sure it is working the way that it should. if i adjust the unit for more bubbles i get more water in my collection bin. if i adjust for less bubbles i get no gunk in my collection bin.

should i back off on my additives. i have been putting in 2 capfuls a week of zooplankton, phytoplanton, coral vite, essential elements and two drops of lugols solution. all kent products. i feed omega one flakes twice daily, frozen mysis shrimp twice a week (one cube each time) and i fed the anenome 3 or 4 frozen krill shrimp about every other day.

i have a fluval 404 as my filter. i haven't changed anything in that yet. should i change the foam filters, carbon and bio media? i would like to get more information on refuiguims but have not found much written matterial on how to set up a system. any advice on that

again thanks for your time and consideration.

 

[ChrisRD]

I don't have any experience with the Prizm Pro, but you should be collecting some dark skimmate every day with that amount of bioload and feeding. If you're not, something's up...

Personally, I'm not a big fan of additives - just Ca/Alk supplementation. You need to be careful about what you're adding - especially when it comes to invert foods, phytoplankton, etc. as too much of this stuff can result in excess nutrient levels (and therefore nuisance algaes).

Also be careful feeding twice a day too - the feedings should be very light. IME once a day is plenty, but if you can maintain your water quality, I'm sure the fish won't complain about two feedings! Just remember that the foods you're adding to the tank are a source of phosphate and phosphate is algae fertilizer.

The canister filter really needs to be kept clean or it will negatively effect your water quality. If left too long, stuff can collect and rot in there, leaching nutrients into your tank water (thus creating nitrate and/or nuisance algae problems). IMO/IME you don't need to run this type of filtration on a reef tank at all, but if you want to use it for running carbon, etc. run it periodically, or at least clean it frequently.

HTH

 

[kento]

Chris,

i am not sure what you mean by IMO/IME i don't need to run a filter like this. are you suggesting that i do not need a filter such as the canister filter? I have read a 100 books on this hobby before i got into it. they all said i need a filter. i'll clean my canister filter tonight. thanks again for your help. also what does BTW mean.

 

[ChrisRD]

IMO = In My Opinion
IME = In My Experience
BTW = By The Way

This might help: http://www.reefs.org/library/abbreviations.html

...and yes, I'm saying that's it's not necessary to run your canister filter. I haven't used a canister filter since the mid 90s...

Power filters are OK if you clean them a lot. I just don't like using them on a reef tank because I don't find it necessary (I prefer to rely on a skimmer and live rock for filtration) and I don't want any other maintenance tasks...

HTH

 

[Anonymous]

HTH=hope this helps
I agree with chris, sounds like a small bout with cyano...and you do have filters..LR,LS protein skimmers are all forms of "filtering" the water...It doesnt hurt to have RO/DI units (Reverse Osmosis/Deionized).good water quality, low nutrients and stable pH will help keep the nuissance algae away

 

[kento]

i buy my water from a water company. it comes in 5 gallon containers and they use it for water coolers. is this RO/DI water? and i cannot possible imagine not running a filter. everything i have read says have a filter. and as far as additives go. the catalogs always say it is good for my system. i am really confused now.

 

[ChrisRD]

There's no telling what's in the water you're buying from that company unless they can provide you with some sort of test report, or you test it yourself.

My advice would be to invest in an RO or RO/DI unit as it will probably be a lot cheaper per gallon in the long run and the quality of the water will likely be better and more predictable.

As for running without a power/canister filter... ...do a search on this board, and the internet for "berlin method" you should find plenty of information. What books have you read?

As for additives - the additive manufacturers are going to tell you need additives and that they do great things for your tank. They are, afterall, in the business of selling additives. Don't believe advertising claims - there are plenty of reefkeepers out there with great tanks doing nothing more than supplementing Ca/Alk, feeding their critters and doing water changes...

 

[Anonymous]

Thats all i do... I supplement with Kalkwasser and Ca outta necessity...occassionally i use small amounts of iodine for stimulating molting among my inverts(crustaceans)..I dont run a Power filter/canister filter, i use a skimmer, live rock and Live sand for my biological filtration..I do run a Power filter in my 5.5 nano tank, but only for water movement. I do frequent water changes to keep my water quality good..I use DI water, although i dont have an RO unit, i do recommend one (ill get one eventually) It is more expensive to buy water then it is to invest in an RO, RO/DI unit..
Best of luck

 

[kento]

o.k. what about taking the foam and carbon out of my canister filter? would just running bio media ceramic rings and poly fibers in the canister filter be what i need? after spending a small fortune on additives i will lay off them. boy those marketing guys sure know how to hook ya! is there a way to add Ca / Alk without all the Co2, bubble counter and dosing equipment?

i am very grateful for all your help!

Ken

 

[ChrisRD]

o.k. what about taking the foam and carbon out of my canister filter? would just running bio media ceramic rings and poly fibers in the canister filter be what i need?

Actually, if you're going to use it for anything, IMO you're better off using it periodically to perform some mechanical filtration and to run carbon (and/or poly filters if you like those as well).

You really don't need to run it for biological filtration. Your live rock and sand should be providing more than enough bio-filtration already.

is there a way to add Ca / Alk without all the Co2, bubble counter and dosing equipment?

Sure. First, you can start topping-off your evaporation with kalkwasser. Kalkwasser provides both Ca and Alk in balanced quantities. For some folks, just using the kalkwasser provides all the Ca and Alk they need.

If the kalkwasser isn't enough, you can use a 2-part additive like B-Ionic or C-Balance to help supplement Ca/Alk as well. You can use the 2-part by itself too, but kalkwasser is very cheap and if you use both kalkwasser, and the 2-part you'll find the combination is cheaper (because you don't need as much of the expensive 2-part additive).

If you have a tank with high Ca/Alk demands, ultimately IMO a Ca reactor is easier and less expensive in the long run (although a lot more expensive up front).

HTH

 

[ChrisRD]

after spending a small fortune on additives i will lay off them.

I bet you won't see any change, good or bad, by not using the additives. Of course you will be saving time and money though...

A good rule-of-thumb many reefkeepers use it to never add any supplements/chemicals into your system you're not testing for...