Hair algea during cycle???

[RaSooch]

I am hoping someone can come up with something for me to resolve my problem with some ease.

My tank has been cycling for 3.5 weeks now and over the weekend I had a hair algea explosion. First came the diatom algea which went away on it's own then the hair algea started cropping up.

I started the cycle with two jumbo shrimp and left them in there for roughly 5 days until it started to stink pretty bad. I also used an onld filter pad from my current tank.

The Amonia has spiked and gone down to 0ppm the Nitrite is coming down right now and the Nitrate is starting to rise. So my cycle is doing exactly what it is supposed to do.

My light cycle was roughly 8 hours a day and I recently cut it back to 4 hours due to the hair algea problem. My alkalinity is 9 right now and my calcium is running in the 200 range.

Please let me know what i can do to resolve my hair algea problem.

 

[dubs]

ur calcium is a little low

 

[Awibrandy]

What's your magnisium like?

 

[anthony27]

Run carbon in the tank and also check levels again what is the phosphate levels in the tank

 

[RaSooch]

Re-checked calcium levels and I definetly read the test wrong. My calcium level is 430 not 200's. No magnisium test kit and very old phosphate test kit which I haven't had the chance to replace yet. I plan on getting them both this weekend.

The good news is that my tank has finished cycling and that it is not hair algea.
The really bad news is that I think it is Bryopsis.... So I guess I am in for a really long haul of fighting this thing. I purchased a Foxface and a larger clean up crew to start the battle. I may try and pick up a tuxedo urchin.

Does anyone have a recomendation for a UV that might fit into the back of a RedSea Max 250?

 

[ZANYMASTER]

Short answer,yes,it's normal.Just add your clean up crew to take care of the rest if there is any left.

 

[LongIslandAndy]

Bryopsis

Hi
If it is bryopsis I would take everything out of the tank and pretty much start over. It has been the one pest in a tank that has given me the most problems. In my experience the only thing that ate it was a lettuce nudibrach. I tried urchins,foxface,tangs,sea hares,etc. The problem with the nudibrach is that mine kept going over the overflows and into powerheads.I have also had some success setting up a refugium and starving it.Was anything put into the tank that had it on it?
I guess you could shut the lights off or raise your magnesium and try that route. If it were me I would start over. It is a difficult enough hobby without starting with a major problem from day one.

Good Luck

 

[RaSooch]

I have no idea where it might have come from becasue that all of my rock was dry when I started and so was my sand. I put in an old filter pad form my current tank along with two jumbo shrimp to cycle with. My current tank does not have any algea problems whatsoever. So it beats me where it might have come from. I think I will try and remove the rocks one peice at a time and do a toothbrush scrub in salt water to remove the bulk of it so my livestock can keep it under control.

If anyone else has any ideas it would be much appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[jackson6745]

I have been doing a little researching on MG's effect on HA and bryopsis. From what experiences that I read it seems that only Kent tech Magnesium is effective in stunting the growth of HA. Supposedly there is some sort of algaecide in it???

I have been fighting HA and bryopsis for the past few moths and it has been a tough battle. I tried keeping nutrients very low by feeding fish only 3 times per week, phosban changed often, weekly 30% wc's etc... I did successfully starve the tank of nutrients since my SPS colors became very pale and it took almost a week before I saw any diatom haze on the glass. The HA was still growing though. I tried sea hares, various snails and crabs, tang and foxface........HA still grew.

After manually plucking algae and keeping up with a low nutrient system I became frustrated and decided to try Algaefix Marine by API. A few guys on various reef boards reported some success with this product and no side effects. It's been 15 days since i dosed this product and I have noticed a difference. It didn't kill off the HA and bryposis but the growth has stopped and it the algae has loosened its grip on the rocks. So far whatever algae I was able to pluck off hasn't grown back.
On top of this I began dosing Kent tech Magnesium yesterday, keeping my MG levels around 1450-1500. I'll report back in a week or two to post progress.

 

[Keith P]

I used the Kent MG to eradicate bryopsis. It did worked, but months later it slowly came back (at the same time that the HA started growing).

I'm curious about this Algaefix Marine by API you speak of. Does any one know what is in it or how it works?

 

[ZANYMASTER]

AlgaeFix Marine
Active Ingredients: Poly[oxyethylene(dimethyliminio)ethylene(dimethyliminio)ethylene dichloride]: 4.5%
Other Ingredients: 95.50%
Directions for Use:
It is a violation of federal law to use this product in a manner inconsistent with its labeling.
Add 1 ml (1/5 tsp) for each 10 gallons or 5 ml (1 tsp) for each 50 gallons or 50 ml (10 tsp) for each 500 gallons of aquarium water. Repeat dose every 3 days until algae is controlled. Siphon or scrape any dead algae from aquarium. Once algal growth is under control, add one dose per week. Weekly doses of AlgaeFix Marine will control algal growth and reduce aquarium maintenance.
Benefits:
AlgaeFix Marine effectively controls these types of saltwater algae: Green algae (Cladophora), "Red Slime" (Oscillatoria/Spirulina major), "Brown Algae" (Cyclotella) in marine aquariums containing live corals, invertebrates, and fish. When used in saltwater AlgaeFix Marine will not harm snails, clams, scallops, shrimp, anemones, sea cucumbers, feather dusters, coralline algae, soft corals, hard corals, and other invertebrates. Does not discolor the water or cause foaming.

 

[RaSooch]

All of this is very helpful. Thanks all for sharing your knowledge and experiences with me.

I know starting over right now is probably the easiest way to get rid of the problem, but I am in no rush right now and I feel that this is a good oportunity to learn how to get rid of a pest incase I run into it later on down the road with a fully stocked tank.

Rich & Keith, good luck with your tanks and I hope everything works out for you guys.

I will keep you posted on my progress as well along with any remedies that I may try that work.

 

[roc5288]

algaefix its garbage with the problem i had i removed all rock scrubed with a brush used ro never had problem again

 

[E.intheC]

i removed all rock scrubed with a brush used ro never had problem again

That problem is a good temporary fix, but it's only temporary. There are still spores that will grow back.

"Melev" has a great article on how to beat hair algae.

http://www.melevsreef.com/gha.html

 

[jackson6745]

I'm surprised that Melev didn't mention elevated MG treatment.

 

[E.intheC]

I'm surprised that Melev didn't mention elevated MG treatment.

I think the article was written a while ago, possibly before the MG treatment? Not sure why really I guess.

Do know that HA is a beast though.

 

[jackson6745]

You got that right. HA has been the toughest problem I've encountered in reefkeeping. It's a PITA!!!!

 

[RaSooch]

So far I have removed alot of it by pulling and scrubbing the rocks and my critters along with my Foxface are doing quite a job on it. I have now removed roughly 75 - 80% and it seems to be getting under control, but I will be keeping my fingers crossed.

 

[Eznet2u]

During the cycle of my first tank, I had a terrible Hair Algae problem.

I "Borrowed" a Tuxedo Urchin from the LFS and it cleaned it out in 4 days.
I then took the urchin back to the store for partial credit. The difference in
the price and the credit was about $5.00. A lot less than any chemicals.

 

[Eznet2u]

Oh, and it never came back...That tank is now 7 years old. Still no Hair algae. :tongue1: