anybody use ALGAEFIX?

[blazehok68]

the owner of my lfs told me it works pretty good at getting rid of hair algae. the additive has been out for a while for ponds and freshwater systems and it is safe for plants. now there is one that is out for marine systems that is supposed to be safe for all types of corals and inverts. has anybody ever used it and if so has anyone ever had any success with it?

 

[natclanwy]

I wouldn't add it to my reef tank, algaefix is only a bandaid over the real problem, excess nutrients and will contribute to the excess nutrients with the sudden die off of the hair algae. You will be better served in the long run if you beef up your cleanup crew and identify and control the source of nutrients in your tank.

 

[blazehok68]

yeah i just replaced all the filters in my ro/di unit last week and bought a sea hare yesterday to try to eat some of the algae. after christmas i am gonna buy a huge clean up crew with my christmas bonus. we will see what happens.

 

[rotarymagic]

You still aren't addressing what is causing the algae though.

 

[blazehok68]

well i am at a loss....i dont over feed, i use ro/di water, my cheato grows like mad. i do water changes pretty frequently, i dont know what else to do. i can only pull the rocks out so many times and scrub the heck out of them.

 

[anonome]

Lights on too long? or are old? Something is contributing to the growth.

 

[blazehok68]

i cut my lights out to 6 hours for about a month now. i am getting new lights after christmas, they are about 9 months right now. but the hair started before i put those bulbs in.

 

[natclanwy]

Your lights aren't causing the algae growth, there are excess nutrients in your tank that are feeding the hair algae. The light will accelerate the growth rate but it won't cause the problem. What are your parameters (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, phosphate?) What size is your tank and what does your stocklist look like for fish?

 

[blazehok68]

tank is 120 gallons
100lbs lr
100lbs ls
1 hippo tang
2 false perc clowns
1 royal gramma
1 cherub angel
1 small fish i dont know what it is
various snails and hermits
sea hare
queen conch ( which i havent seen in a while)
took some water to the lfs and had them test it recently b/c all my test kits are old. ammonia nitrate and nitrite are all good. they did not test for the
po4 but i have a feeling that it is a little high because doesnt hair algae feed off of po4? but what causes it? i have some chemi pure bags with phosphate and silicate remover in my sump to try and combat it, but it does not seem to be helping b/c the algae keeps growing.
i dont over feed. the only thing i feed is 1/4 of a sheet of seaweed every other day and all 6 fish devour the entire thing.
recently my impelor broke on my skimmerbut that is only recently, i have been having this problem for a long time before this.

 

[subielover]

I think you need more live rock. Maybe another 50 pounds or so.

 

[tdog7879]

Originally Posted by BLAZEHOK68
http:///forum/post/2874628
tank is 120 gallons
100lbs lr
100lbs ls
1 hippo tang
2 false perc clowns
1 royal gramma
1 cherub angel
1 small fish i dont know what it is
various snails and hermits
sea hare
queen conch ( which i havent seen in a while)
took some water to the lfs and had them test it recently b/c all my test kits are old. ammonia nitrate and nitrite are all good. they did not test for the
po4 but i have a feeling that it is a little high because doesnt hair algae feed off of po4? but what causes it? i have some chemi pure bags with phosphate and silicate remover in my sump to try and combat it, but it does not seem to be helping b/c the algae keeps growing.
i dont over feed. the only thing i feed is 1/4 of a sheet of seaweed every other day and all 6 fish devour the entire thing.
recently my impelor broke on my skimmerbut that is only recently, i have been having this problem for a long time before this.
how often are you doing water changes and how much? I have been having the same problem. Everthing you done i have done except i got a phosphate reactor and i have been removing it by hand or turkey baster. I only have a couple of patchs here and there but with keeping up with wter changes and removing it myself it has started to die off a little. I have the ALAGEFIX if it get worse then better. My LFS has a small tank that has hair alage in it and they have been using the alage fix on it and the hair alage is dying off really fast. Im just trying to do it without any chemicals. More of a challange plus it might not be a long term fix.

 

[blazehok68]

i do 15 gallons every 2 weeks.

 

[mkzimms]

just laying the phosphate remover in your sump will not help, it needs to tumble and expose all the surface area to flow. i suggest a phosban reactor, i hooked mine up and a few days later all my algae started dying off. you will get a tiny diatom bloom after the first few days because of the algae dying.
you should definitely get that skimmer operational again.
how old is the tank?

 

[natclanwy]

What do you have for flow? If you do not have enough to keep dietrus suspended it can create a source of nitrates where it collects it does not get efficiently processed by the bacteria and filtration in your tank. Also are you running a canister or wet/dry filter? If so how often do clean them.

 

[blazehok68]

Originally Posted by mkzimms
http:///forum/post/2874781
just laying the phosphate remover in your sump will not help, it needs to tumble and expose all the surface area to flow. i suggest a phosban reactor, i hooked mine up and a few days later all my algae started dying off. you will get a tiny diatom bloom after the first few days because of the algae dying.
you should definitely get that skimmer operational again.
how old is the tank?

the 120 has been set up for 2 years, it was transferred from a 55 that was up for 3 years.

 

[blazehok68]

Originally Posted by natclanwy
http:///forum/post/2874806
What do you have for flow? If you do not have enough to keep dietrus suspended it can create a source of nitrates where it collects it does not get efficiently processed by the bacteria and filtration in your tank. Also are you running a canister or wet/dry filter? If so how often do clean them.
i have a ton of flow.
2 koralia #4s 1200gph each
1 seio 650gph
1 quiet one return pump @ 750 gph
1 no name return pump @ 600 gph
4400 total gph
i do not have a cannister or a wet dry filter. instead i have a 20 gallon fuge with a ton of cheato, a dsp and some live rock rubble.

 

[natclanwy]

Sounds like you have enough flow so just be sure you are getting good flow across your sandbed and through your rock. Get a test kit for phosphate and check your levels to be sure they are zero, but even if they come up as zero you could still have a nitrate or phophate issue but the algae is using all of the available nutrients in the water column.

 

[jbird0420]

I had the same problem with GHA. I used ALgaefix twice and have not used it since. I don't recommend it as the others have mentioned, it only acts as a "bandaid"! I had to change out the MH bulbs, cause they where old. I replaced all my Rodi Filters and Membrane as a precautionary. Did 10% weekly water changes. I as well had my MH's and VHO's running way to long. Cut them back to 6hrs MH and 9hrs VHO. Seemed to work. I also took out all the rocks with bad algae, put em into my 225 FO and let my tangs/angels go to town. Problem cured in 2 weeks. Good Luck! I know it can be frustrating!!

 

[tdog7879]

here a question.....if your running a refugium would the alagefix kill the macro-alage in the fuge??

 

[mkzimms]

Originally Posted by tdog7879
http:///forum/post/2874884
here a question.....if your running a refugium would the alagefix kill the macro-alage in the fuge??

from what ive read other on another board... according to dave at API, algaefix, if used as directed will only effect the rate at which macro will grow during the treatment period. your macro will grow slower.
i dont trust it, i would rather spend months trying to identify the source than dump a chemical in and have to deal with the problem later. when you think about it, whatever is causing the algae growth is also affecting other things in the tank. treating the symptoms of the algae growth doesn't treat any other side affects of the tanks current condition.