Zoolander Posted October 24, 2008 Share Posted October 24, 2008 I had surgery and have been out of it for a few weeks. In that time, my tank has started to fall victim to a lot of hair and bubble algae. Last I checked there were a couple of emerald crabs in there but they don't seem to touch any of it. How do I get rid of all of this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsoz Posted October 25, 2008 Share Posted October 25, 2008 Do you have a phosphate reactor or something that will remove phosphates? Do you use RO/DI water for making your salt and top-off waters? Do you only feed every few days? These are things that I have found to help win the war on hair algae. dsoz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missionsix66 Posted October 25, 2008 Share Posted October 25, 2008 I had surgery and have been out of it for a few weeks. In that time' date=' my tank has started to fall victim to a lot of hair and bubble algae. Last I checked there were a couple of emerald crabs in there but they don't seem to touch any of it. How do I get rid of all of this?[/quote'] There are actually a few types of bubble algae. Some aren't enticing to emerald crabs. Can you describe the type you have? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrgreenthumb Posted October 25, 2008 Share Posted October 25, 2008 i personaly have had great luck with tangs, rabbit fish and mainly hermit crabs. That said I would make sure all you water parameters are ideal, got to get rid of the source that is feeding the algae. I always post this link for hair algae victims, i found it to be very informative http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2008-07/nftt/index.php hope that helps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kriswaters Posted October 25, 2008 Share Posted October 25, 2008 Two words...lights out! It really does work wonders. I had a huge outbreak of cyano...for a 4 week period, I ran 3 consecutive days with NO lights. For the entire month, I used only actinics in between the lights out periods. It did the trick and the corals and fish didn't suffer a bit. People will say water changes as well...but if you are changing out bad water with nasty water (no RO/DI, or old filters in RO/DI, etc. )...it won't make a bit of difference. Kris 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy Posted October 25, 2008 Share Posted October 25, 2008 +1 on the hermit crabs. GHA eating machines.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lowman Posted October 25, 2008 Share Posted October 25, 2008 You are going to get a hundred different answers to this problem and they all will probably work. If you are using good RO/DI water, then I feel the best thing to do is get your magnesium level up to about 1300 or higher for a few weeks. This seems to help get rid of the hair algae for me any way. The bubble algae, I've never had to fight, so I'm not sure. Emerald crabs are good also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missionsix66 Posted October 25, 2008 Share Posted October 25, 2008 Two words...lights out! This is great advice. Works really well and often overlooked. Not to be used for "putting on a bandaid" though. There are many things that need to be looked into as the cause and source. Here's some good reading on "bubble algae". I currently have Ventricaria ventricosa (I think it's also known as sea pearl). I have found that the best way to control it is to manually remove it (without popping). For valonia and smaller types, a siphon tube works well to suck them out with water changes. Also helps remove spores if popped while you are removing them. http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-02/hcj/feature/index.php Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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