Could someone please give me some advice on what to do if my live rock is full of hair algae? Should I do some kind of treatment, or totally cook it, or sell it (if anyone is willing to buy at all)? I went to a LFS and the guy said that I can buy a lettuce nuddibranch and it will eat all the hair algae, is this an option? Thanks.
Hair algae on live rock
- Thread starter demifelix
- Start date
- Messages
- 3,454
- Reaction score
- 0
If you buy an animal to take care of it, the animal will finish it off, die, and then it'll grow back. Best get take care of the problem and do some manual removal and water changes.
- Messages
- 1,043
- Reaction score
- 0
Taking the liverock out will not help your system at all, you stand to biological bacteria, sponge growth, microbrittles ect...Findng the source of fuel for the algae and correcting it is the only way to get rid of it totally. What are your phosphate and mag levels? Are you using RO water or tap? Does this algae look a little like a fern?
I use RODI, run a BRS reactor with Filter Floss (getting dirty need to change it), Purigen, and Chemi-Pure elite.
I do weekly 15% water changes, I feed every other day (Rod's Food, Mysis). I have a pretty large snail clean up crew with a few hermits. Lights about 6-8 hours a day.
I am starting to get rocked by hair algae on 2 of my LR pieces. It's really frustrating. I can't figure out where it's coming from.
I do have a lot of junk in my AquaFuge (HOB CPR Aquatics), not sure if that is contributing. Nitrates read 0, but the algae is probably eating them all.
I don't test phosphates, guess I should?
Mine isn't bryopsis (little fern), it's definitely GHA. My concern is that the algae is too long for the snails to eat. I've been manually removing some but it just grows right back.
Thought about getting a turbo or 2 and an emerald but wanted to attack the problem of nutrients at the same time.
Will raising Mag help?
I do weekly 15% water changes, I feed every other day (Rod's Food, Mysis). I have a pretty large snail clean up crew with a few hermits. Lights about 6-8 hours a day.
I am starting to get rocked by hair algae on 2 of my LR pieces. It's really frustrating. I can't figure out where it's coming from.
I do have a lot of junk in my AquaFuge (HOB CPR Aquatics), not sure if that is contributing. Nitrates read 0, but the algae is probably eating them all.
I don't test phosphates, guess I should?
Mine isn't bryopsis (little fern), it's definitely GHA. My concern is that the algae is too long for the snails to eat. I've been manually removing some but it just grows right back.
Thought about getting a turbo or 2 and an emerald but wanted to attack the problem of nutrients at the same time.
Will raising Mag help?
Manually remove as much of the HA as you possibly can. try to avoid having it travel around the tank as it will seed new areas for growth. Reduce feedings as much as possible and knock your light cycle back as well. Not knowing what you have for corals, I would try 6 hours a day. Clean nutrient free water is key. Perform several water changes over the course of a week....perhaps 3. Phosphates probably will not register since your HA is taking care of that piece for you. Just raising the mag will not help it. You have 2 products will will work based on the ingredients. Kent's Tech M is choice number one. Number 2 is Brightwells Magnsion. Both are formulated simular. Raise the Mag slowly..not to shock the inhabitants. Around 1600-1650, you should start to see die off. Keep raising it to 1800 and hold it there for around 3 weeks.
Like anything, one thing always affects another. There are some potential side effects. Be prepared for possible bleaching of your softies/leathers, invertebrates not surviving and some corals going downhill not saying any of this will happen. The overall result is quite positive.
I am speaking through my experience as I have just beat a bryopsis outbreak which I battled for two months. My tank is now better than ever. It can be frustrating. See thread...
Like anything, one thing always affects another. There are some potential side effects. Be prepared for possible bleaching of your softies/leathers, invertebrates not surviving and some corals going downhill not saying any of this will happen. The overall result is quite positive.
I am speaking through my experience as I have just beat a bryopsis outbreak which I battled for two months. My tank is now better than ever. It can be frustrating. See thread...
Eh I think I'll skip that route then for now.. I don't want any adverse effects on the corals. I'll manually remove and step up the WC's, cut the feeding and light a bit.
I went out of town 3 or 4 weeks ago and left the lights off for 4 days, came home to the cleanest, algae free tank I've ever seen and all my corals were fine.
Thanks for the input.
I went out of town 3 or 4 weeks ago and left the lights off for 4 days, came home to the cleanest, algae free tank I've ever seen and all my corals were fine.
Thanks for the input.
Definitely feel your pain. Here's my experience so far with GHA... haven't won yet, but the tide is turning...
- In my nano, using turbo snails has been a bust. *IF* they find the algae on the rock and eat it, they mow down big patches... but mostly they just head for the glass, even if I place them directly on a feast. Surprisingly, I have some Astreas that are true GHA warriors. I may add more of those guys.
- I keep reading that low nitrates and phosphates are the key, but I've used RO/DI from day one, and my water tests have always read 0 on both. My skimmer collects very little. Even without any fish to feed the stuff grows. Is it possible that nutrients are taken up quickly by the algae? Yes. Is it possible my rock is leaching phosphates? Yes. I've pulled my rock and scrubbed off the GHA several times, essentially exporting nutrients in the process. It's worth the effort I think, and it sure looks better.
- A refugium or http://www.algaescrubber.net">algae scrubber</a> is probably a good idea. I'm a firm believer that algae, even GHA, is *beneficial* to a healthy system. I've had some challenges setting up either successfully in my system, but not giving up.
- Quite surprisingly, [IMG]http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1602494">vitamin C dosing</a>, which I was doing to address problems with unhappy zoanthids, has put a huge dent in my GHA problem. I dosed for about two weeks, and then stopped. My zoas have never looked better and continue to improve. However I stopped because my Xenia suddenly got real skinny... less to "eat" perhaps. They're starting to bounce now, but the good news is the GHA is much less robust. It's not growing in new places, the bright green is gone, and it's easier to remove. I plan to pull/scrub rock today and see what happens.
- In my nano, using turbo snails has been a bust. *IF* they find the algae on the rock and eat it, they mow down big patches... but mostly they just head for the glass, even if I place them directly on a feast. Surprisingly, I have some Astreas that are true GHA warriors. I may add more of those guys.
- I keep reading that low nitrates and phosphates are the key, but I've used RO/DI from day one, and my water tests have always read 0 on both. My skimmer collects very little. Even without any fish to feed the stuff grows. Is it possible that nutrients are taken up quickly by the algae? Yes. Is it possible my rock is leaching phosphates? Yes. I've pulled my rock and scrubbed off the GHA several times, essentially exporting nutrients in the process. It's worth the effort I think, and it sure looks better.
- A refugium or http://www.algaescrubber.net">algae scrubber</a> is probably a good idea. I'm a firm believer that algae, even GHA, is *beneficial* to a healthy system. I've had some challenges setting up either successfully in my system, but not giving up.
- Quite surprisingly, [IMG]http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1602494">vitamin C dosing</a>, which I was doing to address problems with unhappy zoanthids, has put a huge dent in my GHA problem. I dosed for about two weeks, and then stopped. My zoas have never looked better and continue to improve. However I stopped because my Xenia suddenly got real skinny... less to "eat" perhaps. They're starting to bounce now, but the good news is the GHA is much less robust. It's not growing in new places, the bright green is gone, and it's easier to remove. I plan to pull/scrub rock today and see what happens.
- Messages
- 145
- Reaction score
- 0
how do you dose for vit C ?
There's a http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1602494">big thread</a> on Reef Central about it. I used [IMG]http://reefcentral.com/forums/showpost.php?p=14658240&postcount=15">this chart</a> from that discussion as a guide. From my limited experience, I'd suggest starting a 10 to 15ppm dose twice a day for two weeks and then stopping. The benefits seem to last for a while.
Use sodium ascorbate powder, which is properly buffered. Ascorbate acid or other typical vitamin C compounds will crash your pH. You can find it [IMG]http://www.iherb.com/NutriBiotic-Sodium-Ascorbate-Crystalline-Powder-16-oz-454-g/10178?at=0">online</a>, or locally at [IMG]http://www.lifegrocery.com">Life Grocery</a>.
Discontinue any carbon filtration. Watch your skimmer, it may collect more than usual... and socks may clog more easily. If your water clouds or you see whitish "algae" on your glass, reduce or stop dosing.
- Messages
- 3,454
- Reaction score
- 0
I started out at 2ppm (recommended b/c of my VSV dosing) and upped it to 3ppm on Friday. I'll be going to 5ppm very soon, and maybe even higher for a bit. Positive results so far.
Similar threads
