New Years resolution: GHA Annihilation

[acroholic]

Your live rock is not Bulk Reef Supply Pukani, is it? Their dry Pukani has been known to leach phosphates into the water. If you have not checked out your rock for phosphates, you can take a small piece and place it in RODI and see if the phosphate levels go up after a few days.

Just looking for another possible cause of your hair algae problem.

 

[jdwells]

No it's the bulk stuff from marcorocks. I've never thought to check that but I will. Thanks for the tip.


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[picoreefguy]

JDWells;923336 wrote: I'll have to try the peroxide when/if this stuff comes back. That would worry me. Any effect on corals?

none that i have seen ive even taken frags that had some on it and dipped them in straight peroxide with no harm to the coral but you have to keep those dips short like a minute or less. but other than them being pissed off for a little while there hasnt been any problems with anything i used it on.

 

[jdwells]

That's great! Another thing I'll have to try.


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[snowmansnow]

iMO REPLACE that rock
sit the old rock on the deck for a few weeks to clean and bleach / save for later

once GHA gets a hold like that its nearly impossible to rid yourself of

Edit:

Acroholic;923379 wrote: Your live rock is not Bulk Reef Supply Pukani, is it? Their dry Pukani has been known to leach phosphates into the water. If you have not checked out your rock for phosphates, you can take a small piece and place it in RODI and see if the phosphate levels go up after a few days.

Just looking for another possible cause of your hair algae problem.

I've heard of this, but haven't had any issues in my tank over the last year or so with the Pukani

 

[jdwells]

SnowManSnow;923500 wrote: iMO REPLACE that rock

sit the old rock on the deck for a few weeks to clean and bleach / save for later



once GHA gets a hold like that its nearly impossible to rid yourself of

Edit:



I've heard of this, but haven't had any issues in my tank over the last year or so with the Pukani

I'm gonna give this a bit and see what happens. If it doesn't work I might very well replace it all. I feel like I'm doing the right things and it's not working. It's really killing the joy ya know?


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[acroholic]

SnowManSnow;923500 wrote:
I've heard of this, but haven't had any issues in my tank over the last year or so with the Pukani

There are tons of references to pukani leaching phosphates on Reef Central. That does not necessarily make it true, but lots of smoke for there to be no fire. I have 150# of MarcoRocks Key Largo that are the bases of my aquascape in the 465. I have not heard of issues with PO4 and Marco products, but plenty regarding Pukani from BRS.

What most folks claiming this do is do a Muriatic acid bath on the rocks they think are leaching the PO4 if they keep them. Otherwise, they sh*tcan them and start new.

 

[xyzpdq0121]

I am going to come out of retirement for this post... I suggest Hydrogen Peroxide to help correct the problem. You can either try a spot treatment or a dip if you wish. Do an internet search to find out more info or you can send me a message and I will try to help out.

 

[jdwells]

I keep testing po4 and getting nothing. I think it's because of the algae. Now that it's gone I'll keep an eye on it to see if it rises. If so then I know it's coming from the rock because there aren't any other sources.
As for the peroxide, I'll definitely try that when/if it comes back before I replace everything. Thanks for the tips guys!


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[hiimsean]

I'm starting to battle with GHA in my new tank. I started with all new dead rock from BRS and after 3 weeks I got his with a huge outbreak of algae.I've been pulling it out for a week or two but seems like it comes back stronger. I added some purigen and matrix recently. Something I'm considering is vodka dosing. I'm going to start researching the dosing process in the coming weeks if I'm not able to solve the problem.

 

[acroholic]

Haninja had a really bad HA problem for a pretty long while. You might PM him for some tips on how to beat it. His tank looks great now. Not sure what he did about it.

 

[jdwells]

Haninja. Is that for "hair algae ninja"? He would definitely be the one to ask huh? lol
I will though and see what he did.


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[jdwells]

HiImSean;923531 wrote: I'm starting to battle with GHA in my new tank. I started with all new dead rock from BRS and after 3 weeks I got his with a huge outbreak of algae.I've been pulling it out for a week or two but seems like it comes back stronger. I added some purigen and matrix recently. Something I'm considering is vodka dosing. I'm going to start researching the dosing process in the coming weeks if I'm not able to solve the problem.

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I'm running gfo an carbon in BRS reactors so I think that should do it. I'm staying away from vodka dosing for now at least. Thanks or the tip though.


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[ringo®]

I'm about to give a Sea Hare a shot at munching some caluerpa in one of my displays. When it's done/if it doesn't take, I can forward it your way.

 

[jdwells]

Well I physically removed almost all of it but if it comes back I might take you up on that. Thanks a bunch!


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[hiimsean]

JDWells;923583 wrote: I'm running gfo an carbon in BRS reactors so I think that should do it. I'm staying away from vodka dosing for now at least. Thanks or the tip though.


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I tried GFO for a while. For me it did very little, not sure if I wasn't using enough. Plus it became a hassle to change the media out ever couple weeks. I may also give it a shot again.


[QUOTE=][B]Ringo®;923589 wrote:[/B] I'm about to give a Sea Hare a shot at munching some caluerpa in one of my displays. When it's done/if it doesn't take, I can forward it your way.[/QUOTE]

If JD passes I'll give it a loving home ;)

 

[jdwells]

I just started it a few months ago so I don't know yet. And with all the good reviews I'll stick with it for a while at least.


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[ringo®]

HiImSean;923612 wrote: If JD passes I'll give it a loving home

Might be a little while, had caulerpa prolifera that I let get a little out of control. This guy was going to town on it last night, but seems to take a bit of a siesta in between mowing the rocks. It may be too early to tell, but from what I've seen, these guys are worth their weight in gold.

 

[jdwells]

So 20 days later and the GHA is coming back. It seems like it's in some pretty specific spots. A couple of rocks and some sprouts in the sand bed. Curtismaximus said what a couple others have mentioned, that the rock I have might be saturated with nutrients but I really don't want to tear it all down again unless I know for sure. So how do I find out for sure?
In the meantime I'm going to build an upflow algae scrubber. People seem to have good results and I have a big area in my sump to do one. Can anybody chime in with LONG TERM experience here?


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[mcphock]

The problem is NO3 and PO4.... Like you mentioned, if you don't remove the root cause, you'll never cure the problem. I'd personally looking into carbon dosing.

ANECDOTAL EVIDENCE WARNING:
I've found it to be much much more effective than GFO. Carbon dosing cleared up a small bit of cyano I had a year ago, and its never returned. I get a 750ml bottle of **** vodka for $3.50. It lasts me 3 months. That's $14 per year. Much cheaper, for me, compared to GFO. Plus, thats one less reactor running. My NO3 and PO4 both hover around .02. Your mileage may vary