jordyboy1989
Member
is there any kind of supplement that will help stop bad algea growth. i have had a really big algea problem the last week or two. i have done water changes and everything.
algea
- Thread starter jordyboy1989
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jordyboy1989
Member
whos the maker and where can i get it
who dey
Active Member
hard to find - LFS. www.twolittlefishies.com
rickb29
New Member
I am also having a similar problem.I used phosban for 24hrs and then removed it from the tank is this going to work soon ?Because it does not seem to be doing anything or should I do it again?How are you suppose to use this product because instructions are not very good?Help use out please
Y
yeffre kix
Guest
What kind of water are you using for you changes. Tap water frequently is loaded with phosphates. (Which the phosban will help remove). Algea blooms caused by excess nutrients in the tank or too much lighting. Have you made any changes recently to the tank ? ( adding fish / changing bulbs / or duration of light ) How long have you been running your current set-up? Lots of factors to consider.
rickb29
New Member
I am kinda wondering if it is the new bulbs I got a month ago to replace ones that were about 6 months old.I have three 65 watt pc ,1 20 watt vhoand 140 watt vho.Now the ones I just replaced were 50/50 coral life pc and so I wanted to brighten up the tank a little so I got 10,000k daylight.Now what I have goes like this from front to back:
1-coral life actinic pc 65w
2-coral life 10,000k daylight pc 65w
1-20w vho actinic marine glow
1-40w vho powerglow
A week after getting the two new 10,000kdaylight I started getting small amounts of hair algae.NOW MY TANK IS A ALGAE SHRINE! But Is it that or is it because the new water store I buy my r/o water changed owners and is creating a conspiracy to sabatage my tank by not changing his filters.Hmm :thinking:
1-coral life actinic pc 65w
2-coral life 10,000k daylight pc 65w
1-20w vho actinic marine glow
1-40w vho powerglow
A week after getting the two new 10,000kdaylight I started getting small amounts of hair algae.NOW MY TANK IS A ALGAE SHRINE! But Is it that or is it because the new water store I buy my r/o water changed owners and is creating a conspiracy to sabatage my tank by not changing his filters.Hmm :thinking:
robchuck
Active Member
Water quality is the first thing I would look at. You mentioned that you use store bought RO water, but it's very possible that you are getting phosphates from this source. I would recommend purchasing a phosphate test kit and a TDS (total dissolved solids) meter to test your source water. Both the PO4 and TDS readings should read 0 or as close to 0 as possible.
robchuck
Active Member
And to help clear up some of the confusion about phosphate removing media, it's important to note that there are two types of this media available: aluminum-based and iron-based.
The aluminum-based phosphate removers work quickly at pulling PO4 out of a tank, but will leach them right back when the media reaches saturation (typically this takes a few days). The Kent Marine phosphate sponge that was mentioned earlier is an aluminum-based product.
Iron-based PO4 removers take longer to pull PO4 out of the water, but won't shock a system as much as the water chemistry changes caused by aluminum-based PO4 removers. When I first started using Phosban (an iron-based PO4 remover), I didn't see any results for the first 2 months using the product. Iron-based PO4 removers are a great way to maintain low PO4 levels when used properly. Phosban, and ROWAphos are the two most popular brands of this type of medium and are typically used in a fluidized reactor.
The aluminum-based phosphate removers work quickly at pulling PO4 out of a tank, but will leach them right back when the media reaches saturation (typically this takes a few days). The Kent Marine phosphate sponge that was mentioned earlier is an aluminum-based product.
Iron-based PO4 removers take longer to pull PO4 out of the water, but won't shock a system as much as the water chemistry changes caused by aluminum-based PO4 removers. When I first started using Phosban (an iron-based PO4 remover), I didn't see any results for the first 2 months using the product. Iron-based PO4 removers are a great way to maintain low PO4 levels when used properly. Phosban, and ROWAphos are the two most popular brands of this type of medium and are typically used in a fluidized reactor.
57chev
Member
Jordyboy1989 and Rickb29 I'm gonna give you my advise on the nasty hair algae curse. Not everone will agree with me on all of what I have to say but I can asure you I've had a reef up for over eight years and I've been to hell and back with this stuff and I'll tell you what works, for sure, some of the time, part of the time, and non of the time. It is true that hair algae loves phosphates and silica, and ofcourse light, and eliminating or reducing these things will help curb it to a degree, but here's the thing a perfectly healthy reef with good water quality can grow hair algae, especially if your reef has ever had it before. Water changes are the quickest way to get your PO4 under control assuming your using RO water or a water source that has no PO4 in it. Here's the hard part and the part that always pisses me of when people pipe off and say it, that is, all you have to do is worry about water quality and get it right and the hair algae goes away. Not true! The hair algae that is in your tank stores enough nutrients within itself to grow at an alarming rate with perfect water readings! Dont be fooled just because the test kits read zero. Its like a heart problem, once you have, you dont cure it, you manage it. So, here's my 2 cents on how to get rid of it including all the blatent obvious things that are repeated over and over again. Bigger and longer established tanks are harder to treat than smaller ones.
1) Do water changes ofcourse, but rig yourself up a rigid length of clear tubing to your siphon hose to control and vacuum up all the loose algae and reef debris.
2) To really get a head start take the rocks out of the tank and dip them into a bucket of salt water and scrub the algae off with a toothbrush.
3) Cutting your light time, and reducing your feedings are certainly helpful at least until you get it under control.
4) Get or make sure your skimmer is running properly! And replace your prefilter media constantly.
5) When selecting a clean-up crew, be careful not to over do it at first. Its great to have a snail for every gallon like some people say, and I dont totally disagree, but if you put a lot them in and some die off, you've now created more fuel for your algae.
6) Dump in some long spiny urchins, you cant kill hardly em, and they really mow! They can tip things over though.
7) The phos-ban products do help like Rubchuck mentioned but their expensive and with all the other factors they alone wont eliminate your algae only help manage it after you've gottin rid of a lot of it. I like the slower acting stuff for a long term preventative measure.
8) UV stearlization is good for some things, but worthless for hair algae.
The bottom line on all this is to get it under control you have to get a little drastic, or you wont get it under control. Then from that point on its prevention. Hope this helps.
1) Do water changes ofcourse, but rig yourself up a rigid length of clear tubing to your siphon hose to control and vacuum up all the loose algae and reef debris.
2) To really get a head start take the rocks out of the tank and dip them into a bucket of salt water and scrub the algae off with a toothbrush.
3) Cutting your light time, and reducing your feedings are certainly helpful at least until you get it under control.
4) Get or make sure your skimmer is running properly! And replace your prefilter media constantly.
5) When selecting a clean-up crew, be careful not to over do it at first. Its great to have a snail for every gallon like some people say, and I dont totally disagree, but if you put a lot them in and some die off, you've now created more fuel for your algae.
6) Dump in some long spiny urchins, you cant kill hardly em, and they really mow! They can tip things over though.
7) The phos-ban products do help like Rubchuck mentioned but their expensive and with all the other factors they alone wont eliminate your algae only help manage it after you've gottin rid of a lot of it. I like the slower acting stuff for a long term preventative measure.
8) UV stearlization is good for some things, but worthless for hair algae.
The bottom line on all this is to get it under control you have to get a little drastic, or you wont get it under control. Then from that point on its prevention. Hope this helps.
robchuck
Active Member
Originally posted by 57chev
...Here's the hard part and the part that always pisses me of when people pipe off and say it, that is, all you have to do is worry about water quality and get it right and the hair algae goes away. Not true! The hair algae that is in your tank stores enough nutrients within itself to grow at an alarming rate with perfect water readings! Dont be fooled just because the test kits read zero. Its like a heart problem, once you have, you dont cure it, you manage it. ...
This is the best advice I've heard about battling hair algae!
I've been through the hair algae battles and used most of the techniques in 57chev's post. One other thing that has helped keep the hair algae out of my tank is good flow. The flow prevents detritus from settling on the rockwork where it can break down and cause a hair algae (or other unwanted algae) outbreak.
57chev
Member
Thanks for mentioning that Robchuck, I cant believe I left that one out. Circulation is a big help for sure! Ive had even better luck with the reef circulation with a Wave Master Pro that varies the flow patterns to help kick up the reef dust. On a side note, and a little scary some of the reefs around have algae trouble and you'll never guess why?:notsure:
