First Tank Pic
- Thread starter ford81502
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monalisa
Active Member
Originally Posted by FORD81502
what does hair algea look like. there is a lot of brown algea on it.
What Reefnut is referring to is the green hairy stuff on the rocks...hair algae...pretty hard to get rid of, especially when you have livestock in the tank. I agree, turn the lights off, then re-acclimate the tank to the lights to prevent future growth.
I LOVE your rock work, BTW. That's gonna be a really cool looking tank!!
Lisa :happyfish
what does hair algea look like. there is a lot of brown algea on it.
What Reefnut is referring to is the green hairy stuff on the rocks...hair algae...pretty hard to get rid of, especially when you have livestock in the tank. I agree, turn the lights off, then re-acclimate the tank to the lights to prevent future growth.
I LOVE your rock work, BTW. That's gonna be a really cool looking tank!!
Lisa :happyfish
monalisa
Active Member
Originally Posted by stephish
the purple pink stuff is coralline algae, very good you want it around. hair algae means phosphates normally.....
Yep. Look at your lighting schedule and cut it back...is the tank in direct sunlight? Also, are you feeding the tank? Are you using tap water? All sources of phosphates...
Once you have the hair under control, the coraline should be able to take off.
Lisa :happyfish
the purple pink stuff is coralline algae, very good you want it around. hair algae means phosphates normally.....
Yep. Look at your lighting schedule and cut it back...is the tank in direct sunlight? Also, are you feeding the tank? Are you using tap water? All sources of phosphates...
Once you have the hair under control, the coraline should be able to take off.
Lisa :happyfish
monalisa
Active Member
Originally Posted by FORD81502
no sunlight ro water maybe to much light what do you suggest??? no feeding either
What kind of lights are you using on your tank? It probably isn't going to be much of a schedule change actually. When I did my tank switch 2 weeks ago, I had very established rock in my tank that I transferred. I also did a light upgrade at that time and unfortunately (without thinking) I kept my timers at the same time I had on my other tank which was 8 hours for the 150 mhs, 10 hours for white lunars, and 23/7 for the blues (no actinics on my Sunpod).
Since then, I've noticed a slight bloom in the tank and 2 days ago I switched my 250mhs to 6 hours, blue actinics to 8 hours, and lunars 24/7. In that little bit of time, I'm seeing a difference...not a huge difference mind you, but nothing in this hobby is overnight.
I hope this helps. For the record, I battled hair algae in my first tank as well. I introduced it on a rock that had tons of tiny featherdusters. If nothing else, pull the rock out and scrape the hair off with a new soft toothbrush...that'll learn 'em!!
Keep us posted on your progress.
Lisa :happyfish
no sunlight ro water maybe to much light what do you suggest??? no feeding either
What kind of lights are you using on your tank? It probably isn't going to be much of a schedule change actually. When I did my tank switch 2 weeks ago, I had very established rock in my tank that I transferred. I also did a light upgrade at that time and unfortunately (without thinking) I kept my timers at the same time I had on my other tank which was 8 hours for the 150 mhs, 10 hours for white lunars, and 23/7 for the blues (no actinics on my Sunpod).
Since then, I've noticed a slight bloom in the tank and 2 days ago I switched my 250mhs to 6 hours, blue actinics to 8 hours, and lunars 24/7. In that little bit of time, I'm seeing a difference...not a huge difference mind you, but nothing in this hobby is overnight.
I hope this helps. For the record, I battled hair algae in my first tank as well. I introduced it on a rock that had tons of tiny featherdusters. If nothing else, pull the rock out and scrape the hair off with a new soft toothbrush...that'll learn 'em!!
Keep us posted on your progress.
Lisa :happyfish
emilytompkins
Member
beautiful rockwork!
reefnut
Active Member
Well yes but not well... that's one thing that makes it such a pain. I have not found any inverts that do a really good job eating hair algae except for a Sea Hare... and even they are not an efficient means of control IMO. Also your tank is to small to maintain one.
The main way to deal with hair algae is through nutrient control. Adding your clean up crew will help because they will comb the tank for excess food and debris.
So... nutrient control...
Do not overfeed
Use RO/DI or Distilled water for water changes and top off water
Do regular water changes
Do not overstock the tank
Good Skimmer
Add a refuge
Good Circulation (so debris does not collect in an area and rot)
Clean Up Crew - Including Hitchhikers
Using LR and LS
I'm sure I'm missing something...
The main way to deal with hair algae is through nutrient control. Adding your clean up crew will help because they will comb the tank for excess food and debris.
So... nutrient control...
Do not overfeed
Use RO/DI or Distilled water for water changes and top off water
Do regular water changes
Do not overstock the tank
Good Skimmer
Add a refuge
Good Circulation (so debris does not collect in an area and rot)
Clean Up Crew - Including Hitchhikers
Using LR and LS
I'm sure I'm missing something...