Vodka or Vinegar?

[lant]

Try getting the largest turbo snail you can find. They will clear up your HA really fast. Some of the big ones will even eat bryopsis. You will only need one or two of these. Make sure it's a really big one. The small ones won't work. You need the big ones to mow down long strands and tufts of HA so that other smaller CUC can eat the rest.

The rest of your cleanup crew should be colonista snails, mini bristle stars, and the good kind of asterina. These three are great because they only multiply when there are excess nutrients. You won't have to worry about them running out of food.

Dosing vodka is a PITA. I'd try anything else before I go that route.

 

[jeffmuse]

MarquiseO;971357 wrote:

-Next, keep lights off for 3 days and do not feed the tank.
-Next, on day 4 do about 45% water change to remove the dead free floating algae and dissolved matter in the water because your tank should have booming nitrates from die off.
-Inspect your tank and you should see 75-99.99% of the algae gone and resume a shorter lighting period for while with reduced feedings to the tank.

If that doesn't work, repeat till 100%.

Marquise is right on about the hair algae control. I had an outbreak last year and followed an almost identical treatment strategy... Been HA free for over 7 months now.

 

[bulkrate]

Keep in mind when doing a blackout - ANY ambient room light can at the very least keep the hair algae alive. The one time I had to do one I fashioned a blackout box out of cardboard/cardstock and used it to cover all sides of the tank & lid with a couple of air gaps.

Surprisingly effective after 36 hours... corals were ticked off but recovered fully within a day.

Another option would be to peroxide treat a couple of your worst rocks (there's threads for systemic dosing with good success, but some livestock handle it worse than others - like skunk/fire cleaner shrimp).

 

[porpoiseaquatics]

You could also try a Sea Hare but once the HA is gone....the Sea Hare needs to go too otherwise it eil die. I tried one about 3 years ago and it did a GREAT job.

I did mechanically remove as much as possible using a toothbrush or even a small detailing wire brush (I used a brass one). Pull the rock out of the tank and do it in a bucket of saltwater...perhaps water from a water change.

Another option on the refugium is to run the lighting on an opposite cycle of the tank. Turn the fuge light on at night for 6 hours and off during the day.

I've also done the blackout method with success. Luckily...I've not had a recurrence in 3 years.

 

[feelthepower]

I have a question. When I do blackout would the fish be ok ? I only have one clown fish. Thanks

 

[chefrepo]

Yes. The fish will be fine.

 

[camellia]

Yes fish will do fine with a black out. You can even feed them a small portion of food in the dark, they find it.

 

[feelthepower]

Thank you, Camellia !