racefan Posted June 3, 2009 Share Posted June 3, 2009 It seems to have started this past Saturday. I'm getting brown hair algae.I will vac it up & sure enough it's back the next day.My water params are good my Nitrates are 5 my Phospates are about 0.02. I got a little lax with changing my filter media (the blue on one side white on the other) I run a mesh bag with a small amount of carbon in it(change it about every 2-3 weeks) I did a 10 gal water change on Saturday (29 gal bio cube) & on Sunday sure enough it was back & I've been vacuuming when I get home from work & the next day it's back again. As far as a clean up crew I have one large turbo-2 Nasarius-3 Trocus Snails 1-Red Fire Shrimp 1-Small Peppermint Shrimp(had a small aptasia outbreak) 3-small hermit crabs. At the suggestion of a LFS I was dosing 1ml a week of Iodine(I have since stopped) I am assuming that judging by the Nitrate & Phosphate levels I am not over feeding so I am ruling that out.Could the Iodine dosing be a cause? I was doing weekly 3 gallon water changes & was told to go to every 2-3 week changes of 10 gallons.Could THAT be the cause,could it be a combination? I'm also getting what seems to be oxygen bubbles on the substrate where there will be algae tomorrow.Sorry if I seem like I'm rambling I'm just trying to throw as much info out as I can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael7979 Posted June 3, 2009 Share Posted June 3, 2009 What is the age of your light bulbs? Are you do for new ones? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racefan Posted June 4, 2009 Author Share Posted June 4, 2009 Both the atinitc(sp) & the white are new.They burned out within weeks of each other. I'm guessing the Atinic was replaced May 2nd & the white was replaced about May 23rd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowpunk Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 usually when hair algae is present and you have phosphates still registering it is bad. Hair algae thrives on it so if their is still a trace even after it is done feeding on the phosphates then you probably need to run some phosban or a similar product in a reactor to help eliminate it. Other things that have worked for me in keeping mine from taking over(still haven't kicked it completely) is Sea hares first off. They love the stuff and do the best at cleaning it up IMO. I have seen the scarlet hermits, emerald crabs, and blenny's help also(not a lot). What ever you do just try to hit it hard and fast or it will linger on and on F O R E V E R! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! (flame) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowpunk Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 I guess I should also say that the above is just a good way to get rid of what you have, you still need to find the source too. I'm sure you new that though:p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePremiumAquarium Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 I would definatley suggest more inverts! That is always the answer. I would probably toss in about 10-15 more small hermits(get a variety), another 6-10 nassarius(also a variety of species), a few more astreas, a few more margaritas, 6 or so more ceriths, a couple more trochus, a couple of emerald(mithrix crabs also can be found in shades of brown and red), and if it is still out of control I would add a couple of money cowrys and maybe a small sally light foot crab. As snowpunk mentioned, a blenny helps and so do sea hairs. Just make sure you have a good home for it when it is done doing its job as they eat a ton! Also, try and go with one of the smaller blue spotted variety as the big ones will eat you out of algae in no time. Sounds like alot but really a large clean up crew keeps tanks spotless and any extra food is consumed right away which means you will have a healthier system in general. Overfeeding slightly wouldn't hurt a thing and you would have some happy fish. Also a bit of chaeto or other macro(razor, feather, grape caulerpas) would help to eliminate any source phosphate and nitrates and can make for a nice supply of micro fauna if you have the room for it. I would get a small clip on light and add it to the back of your tank if you have room. Garrett Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finch6013 Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 I had your exact same problem a few weeks ago. I added chaeto, a healthy clean up crew of snails and hermits, and started dosing sugar for about 3 weeks. brown hair algae is gone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowpunk Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 I had your exact same problem a few weeks ago. I added chaeto' date=' a healthy clean up crew of snails and hermits, and started dosing sugar for about 3 weeks. brown hair algae is gone.[/quote'] ohh, intrigued much about the sugar, do tell(in stewy voice) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finch6013 Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 hit up dsoz for better info on this. He has a link to a RC thread that goes into great deapth. I dosed a quarter Tsp per day, but I think you are suppose to do more than that. I cant say that the sugar did it, but I think it could have helped and Dennis has used this method and refered me to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowpunk Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 As snowpunk mentioned, a blenny helps and so do sea hairs. Just make sure you have a good home for it when it is done doing its job as they eat a ton! Also, try and go with one of the smaller blue spotted variety as the big ones will eat you out of algae in no time. To give you an idea of how bad my tank was/is, I had a blue spot and he grew about 5 times his size then spawned and died. I now have the "brown turd" sea hair and he is still having a hard time keeping it in check. I have a lot of work to do to figure my issue out, that is for sure. I am able to keep it from being evasive though and that is the main thing because it can quickly grow over corals if you allow it to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowpunk Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 hit up dsoz for better info on this. He has a link to a RC thread that goes into great deapth. I dosed a quarter Tsp per day' date=' but I think you are suppose to do more than that. I cant say that the sugar did it, but I think it could have helped and Dennis has used this method and refered me to it.[/quote'] ok thanks... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePremiumAquarium Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 Snowpunk, Are you running any macro algae? More citters maybe? Sounds like you have a feast for those sea hairs. I love those critters so much. I also keep a couple of tiger cowries in the tanks. Might try one of those guys some time as they are pretty sweet and eat algae like a giant sea hair! Garrett Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowpunk Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 Snowpunk, Are you running any macro algae? More citters maybe? Sounds like you have a feast for those sea hairs. I love those critters so much. I also keep a couple of tiger cowrys in the tanks. Might try one of those guys some time as they are pretty sweet and eat algae like a giant sea hair! Garrett Yea I have a fair amount of macro in the sump, and it has somehow leaked into the tank too. I just picked up another almost 30 snails/crabs to add to it but I have a pistol shrimp that is picking them off slowly so I never know what is exactly in there at any given time. Is the cowry reef safe? I thought they weren't... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsoz Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 Don't get a tiger cowrie. I caught it eating my acans. http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=169006&hl= As for the sugar. Look for it on Reef Central. It helped me beat hair algae. I think the magic formula is 1/4 teaspoon (the small one for those that don't cook) for every 25g of water. Start with about half that amount and work your way up to it. It will make your skimmer go nuts-o so make sure the skimmer is cleaned out and turned up, ready to make lots of thick, brown, smelly, goo. After a few weeks the nitrates and phosphates drop off the ability to measure. Soon after that the algae mostly dissolves away. Oh happy day! Pledosophy is another with a story to tell about sugar. He uses the packets that he picks up from bar-stucks... I mean Starbucks. I don't remember his schedule. Use the real sugar, not the artificial sweetener (stories of tanks all dying after using this). dsoz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowpunk Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 Don't get a tiger cowrie. I caught it eating my acans. http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=169006&hl= As for the sugar. Look for it on Reef Central. It helped me beat hair algae. I think the magic formula is 1/4 teaspoon (the small one for those that don't cook) for every 25g of water. Start with about half that amount and work your way up to it. It will make your skimmer go nuts-o so make sure the skimmer is cleaned out and turned up, ready to make lots of thick, brown, smelly, goo. After a few weeks the nitrates and phosphates drop off the ability to measure. Soon after that the algae mostly dissolves away. Oh happy day! Pledosophy is another with a story to tell about sugar. He uses the packets that he picks up from bar-stucks... I mean Starbucks. I don't remember his schedule. Use the real sugar, not the artificial sweetener (stories of tanks all dying after using this). dsoz Thanks for all the good info Dennis. I am gonna try this out. I have a hob skimmer so I am gonna do a good cleaning on it first so I can use it to the fullest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePremiumAquarium Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 That is good to know about the tiger cowrie Dennis. I have never seen them touching any of my corals(accept occasionally knocking them over with their shells). I guess I have been lucky so far. I guess they will stay in tanks without acans for now lol. Money cowries are much smaller and I have also never seen them eating anything but algae and occasional chunks of leftover food. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsoz Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 Thanks for all the good info Dennis. I am gonna try this out. I have a hob skimmer so I am gonna do a good cleaning on it first so I can use it to the fullest. I have a coralife super skimmer 125. It is not the best skimmer in the world, but it gets NASTY when I add sugar. d Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theJenchild Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 Would the sugar method work in my tank considering that I don't run a skimmer at all? I just rely on good tank maintenance and a low bioload. That being said, I do have a couple of spots of green hair algae that I would LOVE to get cleaned up. Maybe just some more inverts? My clean up crew is a little light..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rugbyfish Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 ah, this sugar idea is new to me. I am going to give it a whirl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsoz Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 Would the sugar method work in my tank considering that I don't run a skimmer at all? The skimmer seems to be an essential part of the plan to use sugar. The sugar feeds bacteria, the bacteria grow and take up the nitrogen and phosphorous. Then the skimmer removes the bacteria. dsoz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePremiumAquarium Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 Would the sugar method work in my tank considering that I don't run a skimmer at all? I just rely on good tank maintenance and a low bioload. That being said, I do have a couple of spots of green hair algae that I would LOVE to get cleaned up. Maybe just some more inverts? My clean up crew is a little light..... When in doubt add more inverts! Go for as many kinds as possible assuming they are reef safe of course lol. Garrett Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racefan Posted June 4, 2009 Author Share Posted June 4, 2009 Here's a couple of pictures I took today.It may not even be hair algae? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
undrtkr_00 Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 Looks more like slime algae to me (cyanobacteria). Sea hare wouldn't do too much for that. There are a few inverts that will go after this stuff, but not as many as with GHA. Doran (dfigart) told me he's had good success with blue leg hermits for cleaning up cyano. A larger, more diverse cleanup crew will help with all kinds of nuisance algae and general tank cleanliness, even if they aren't all cyano eaters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racefan Posted June 4, 2009 Author Share Posted June 4, 2009 Isn't Cyno red? It's kinda hard to tell from the pictures but this stuff is all brown,there is no red to it at all.After I took those pics I reached in the tank & picked it up with my fingers & it was almost like picking moss.When I grabbed it there was clean substrate underneath. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rugbyfish Posted June 5, 2009 Share Posted June 5, 2009 I have had cyno in the past and I am convinced that it came from the food I fed. I was able to wipe the cyno out with "ultra red slime remover": http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewItem~category~Ultralife_Red_Slime_Remover_Red_Slime___Cyanobacteria_Remover_Medications~vendor~Ultralife~idProduct~UL1311~idCategory~FIMERM.html This stuff kicks butt, but be sure to turn off your protein skimmer, otherwise it will go nuts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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