is it possible to completely get rid of hair algae

[bgr]

not sure its possible

[Eel Freak]

Yes. My tank was completely overrun with it last year. Now, you won't find a single strand of it.

[old salty]

No. I have no hair algae in my tank, but the reefer down the road still has hair algae in his tank. I can't get rid of it all. Even if I could help him, there is someone in Alabama who has hair algae.



Just keep up on your system and the hair algae will go away. It can always come back if conditions are right; the trick is to prevent those conditions.

[Eel Freak]

No. I have no hair algae in my tank, but the reefer down the road still has hair algae in his tank. I can't get rid of it all.

I would suggest that he gets a Blue Tuxedo Urchin. Mine worked wonders with my hair algae. It voraciously ate the hair algae and yet never has touched my coralline, the only issue I have with it is that if I have a frag that is not glued down, it is almost guaranteed to pick it up and use it as cover.

[dpmatty]

I've been wondering the same thing. The only sure fire solution, it seems, and this is based solely on internet research as I have no first hand knowledge, is to cook the rocks. I'm hoping others will chime in and say otherwise, but so far I'm not sure if it is possible.

Many people talk about masking solutions such as buying a sea hare or more cuc (or as was suggested here a tux urchin - I have one and he does eat the stuff, but not nearly enough to stay ahead of it), but to really purge the system of the stuff I don't know. Right now I'm doing the traditional things to try and rid my system of the devil weed. I've gotten an RO/DI unit, I do twice a week water changes (if not more) I scrub the rock, added flow, rinse food and don't over feed and am dosing with AlgaeFix Marine. Yesterday I put a GFO reactor on-line and am running RowaPhos. I will probably get a second reactor for my activated carbon. I also put a filter sock on my return line and am considering adding a UV filter and a mechanical filter (which I was given with the system, but it's not hooked up) but I'm not sure if that will be a benefit or not. It looks good after I scrub the rock, but then the next day it starts back, albeit a bit less perhaps.

I plan on doing a custom build 65 out of these parts and am designing the stand for it now. If I knew that the only real way to fix the problem was to cook the rocks I would start doing that now, as I would really hate to spend three months battling this only to then have too cook the rocks for another two.... If not for the fact that I like the aquascaping and my anemone, I would probably do that now anyway.

I hope more experiences souls will chime in.

Here is a shot of my tank the day after a scrubbing. You can still see the green tinge to the rocks, as well as some of the spots I didn't hit (I scrub every other day and try not to disturb too much at once).

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=786&pictureid=4509

[old salty]

I would suggest that he gets a Blue Tuxedo Urchin. Mine worked wonders with my hair algae. It voraciously ate the hair algae and yet never has touched my coralline, the only issue I have with it is that if I have a frag that is not glued down, it is almost guaranteed to pick it up and use it as cover.



I was just trying to be funny...:bum:


I did have a hair algae issue after a tank crash. Rather than add this, dose that, turn the lights out, and whatever, I just went back to the basics. About six weeks later, there was no trace of it. In all honesty, I believe most hair algae outbreaks last way longer than they should as a result of the reefer trying to do too much.

[dpmatty]

Old Salty,

I about chocked when I saw your location. On two other internet sites I have listed my location as The Island of Misfit Toys. You are the only other person I've ever seen do that!

[old salty]

Old Salty,

I about chocked when I saw your location. On two other internet sites I have listed my location as The Island of Misfit Toys. You are the only other person I've ever seen do that!


My view on life and the world around me makes me one of the toys; I'm the Charlie in the Box.



Back to the topic:


Here is one method of tank cleaning that I use which devastated the hair algae in my setup. It's a Mag 12 pump with a modified coke bottle in the intake. Add filter floss (not the stuff in a bag, but the stuff that comes on a roll.) I've posted this picture before, but it's a simple way to quickly give a tank a deep cleaning.


http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a129/olsaltybastard/Powervac.jpg

[dpmatty]

Very interesting Charlie in the Box... What is filter floss? Would a filter sock work?

If I get this right, you're sucking into the floss coke bottle and then you stir up the system/brush getting as much into the water column as possible so that this sucks it up?

Do you think a mag 7 would work? I have one of those in a box that just needs to be rebuilt...

[sedor]

Hair algae can easily be eradicated...through the use of either a refugium or a carbon supplement such as vodka. At some point any reefer needs to decide between the two. A fuge is, in essence a way to trap all the algae in one inconspicuous place in the system...so there is algae, just not in the DT, and the macro algae you use in to fuge such as cheato consume the NO3 and PO4 in your system, which are what cause algae problems.

Vodka basically does the same thing except with the help of bacteria as opposed to algae. Instead it feeds bacteria cultures, which consume the NO3 and PO4 and then die off and are removed with a skimmer.

If you haven't employed either of these, choose one and go with it. You'll be glad you did.

[dpmatty]

I don't have room for a fuge right now, but when I build out the new stand and sump I will. Perhaps I should look into dosing vodka now?

[kermit_criminal]

my sea hare eradicated all the hair algae in my tank in less then a week. seriously, i was shocked at how fast this sucker did the job. He/she does however poo a crap load, but its a good quick fix until you can get your water parameters in check

[old salty]

Very interesting Charlie in the Box... What is filter floss? Would a filter sock work?

If I get this right, you're sucking into the floss coke bottle and then you stir up the system/brush getting as much into the water column as possible so that this sucks it up?

Do you think a mag 7 would work? I have one of those in a box that just needs to be rebuilt...


Here is how I do this:

First, turn off the main pump. You want to catch all that junk, not let it settle in the sump (no fuge here.) Put the pump with the floss in the center of the tank and turn it on. You can either use a hose on the pump outlet (which is a bit difficult as 3/4" vinyl tubing doesn't bend as easily as you would like it to) or use a powerhead. I blow off the left side of the tank, and then walk away for 1/2 hour. Then the right side, then the left, then the right; how ever many times it takes. After a few hours, the filter floss becomes so filled with junk that the pump begins to slow. If you have hair algae, get in there with a toothbrush and brush it off. Each time you move from one side to another, you should notice the water getting less and less dirty. Change out the floss and turn the main pump back on. Let the pump run overnight and it will continue to catch all kinds of junk. In the morning, remove the pump. A few days later, I do a water change.

Here is a link to filter floss; you have to scroll down a bit, but it's the stuff that comes on a roll. The floss that is not on a roll (like the stuff sold in pet shops) will not hold up well under all that suction and may get caught up in the impeller.

http://www.easypropondproducts.com/form/Filtermedia.htm


A Mag 7 would be a great pump; just about any pump would work. I use a Mag 12 because it allows me to have a spare main pump on hand; ever have a main pump go out and not have a spare pump on hand??? I did!! Once...


I also think it's important to understand that the hair algae is consuming things you don't want in your tank to begin with. If you find that some of it is quite stubborn, let it be. When you get the water clean enough, it will begin to die back due to a lack of nutrients. This is how you get rid of the remaining stuff.


I had to post this picture:


http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a129/olsaltybastard/282px-CharlieBox.jpg

[dpmatty]

LOL!

Yes, I know about getting rid of the nutrients. My biggest concern is that I'm dealing with phosphate locked in the rock and/or sand. That's why I'm considering breaking the system down and cooking the rock. I don't really know which way to go...

[sedor]

I wouldn't dose vodka solely for the purpose of getting rid of HA, although its a nice perc. If you are out to achieve an ULNS which means undetectable NO3 or PO4 then vodka may be for you. Otherwise, go the natural route. A fuge can be very simple...get a container for sorts with holes all over it so that what can flow through it, weigh it down with LR rubble and add some cheato and a light bulb over the sump and your golden. It doesn't need to be extravagant, although when you build your new sump a separate compartment for the fuge would be a big help.

[tkeracer619]

How often do you change your gfo? If the rock is loaded in it then you will have to change that out often. Make sure your source water is 0tds, siphon out as much of the hair algae daily. Daily manual removal via siphon and regularly changing the gfo will take care of it. GFO can be used up within the first 24 hours on a tank that is loaded.

You need to increase export and decrease import of nutrients. Vodka is one way of doing this. How long has the tank been running? Some systems go through a real bad hair algae stage.

[kwws]

check out this thread I had a problem with hair aglae a few months ago after a few weeks of this I have not had a problem since
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=1595003

[lordofthereef]

Here is one method of tank cleaning that I use which devastated the hair algae in my setup. It's a Mag 12 pump with a modified coke bottle in the intake. Add filter floss (not the stuff in a bag, but the stuff that comes on a roll.)


What exactly does this do? I don't understand? Just rapidly pulls spores out of the water column?

EDIT: nevermind, you explained in another post on page 2 :)

[dpmatty]

I wouldn't dose vodka solely for the purpose of getting rid of HA, although its a nice perc. If you are out to achieve an ULNS which means undetectable NO3 or PO4 then vodka may be for you. Otherwise, go the natural route. A fuge can be very simple...get a container for sorts with holes all over it so that what can flow through it, weigh it down with LR rubble and add some cheato and a light bulb over the sump and your golden. It doesn't need to be extravagant, although when you build your new sump a separate compartment for the fuge would be a big help.

Yeah, I'm going to go the natural route. I did some reading and it appears that the vodka might not be very friendly to my anemone. Plus, I like the idea of making as natural a state as possible.

[dpmatty]

How often do you change your gfo? If the rock is loaded in it then you will have to change that out often. Make sure your source water is 0tds, siphon out as much of the hair algae daily. Daily manual removal via siphon and regularly changing the gfo will take care of it. GFO can be used up within the first 24 hours on a tank that is loaded.

You need to increase export and decrease import of nutrients. Vodka is one way of doing this. How long has the tank been running? Some systems go through a real bad hair algae stage.

I've limited import as much as possible. Good RO water and very light feeding with no waste. I've been changing the GFO after about three weeks as the Rowa is so expensive. I'm going to make an order from BRS and then will start changing it more frequently. Based on what your saying, maybe every couple of days? I'm using it in a reactor if that matters.

[dpmatty]

check out this thread I had a problem with hair aglae a few months ago after a few weeks of this I have not had a problem since
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=1595003

I'm dosing AlgaeFix now (after having read that thread actually). I don't see it eliminating the algea so much as making the existing algae easier to get out. Ultimately it is the phosphate in the rock, I fear, that is fueling this. New rock was added to the tank and I don't think it was fully cured, in addition to that, I know the person who was running the tank before me switched to tap water for two or three months until I took the tank over. That is how, I believe, the rock absorbed the phosphate.

[sabien]

Phospate reactor cleared mine up in less than a week. That and adding the refugium helped a ton too.

[dpmatty]

I also have a UV filter and a mechanical filter that came with the tank, but I don't have it plumbed in. Do you think I should clean that up and install it?

It's this:

http://reefcentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=717&pictureid=4393

[lordofthereef]

I also have a UV filter and a mechanical filter that came with the tank, but I don't have it plumbed in. Do you think I should clean that up and install it?


That will do little (if anything) to your algae.

[old salty]

LOL!

Yes, I know about getting rid of the nutrients. My biggest concern is that I'm dealing with phosphate locked in the rock and/or sand. That's why I'm considering breaking the system down and cooking the rock. I don't really know which way to go...


The rock in my system was "cooked" for six months. The lids are removed for picture purposes:


http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a129/olsaltybastard/215tank1016.jpg


To be honest, I don't think cooking rock really does all that much. It does not prevent further outbreaks down the road (as you can see in the pics) because the algae can be fed by some other means (in my case, a serious overdose of store bought fish food a few weeks after removing three tangs.) As for sand, there are a thousand debates on that issue; I prefer bare bottom. It's one less area to worry about in terms of providing algae with nutrients.

As for UV sterilizers, there are good and bad sides to them. Algae growing on a rock is not going to be eradicated by a UV filter in the sump. UV bulbs with quartz sleeves are regarded as the proper bulbs to use; the bulbs themselves tend to lose up to 50% of their killing power in 6 months time.

[Rodrigo_BG]

what you guys means for "cook" the rock? what is to cook?

[old salty]

what you guys means for "cook" the rock? what is to cook?


"Cooking" is a misleading term used to describe keeping the rock in a low light situation for extended periods. Every week, the rock is given a vigorous swirling to remove anything that falls off and then the water is replaced with new water.

[cindre2000]

Don't discount urchins. If you change your ways and remove the factor that causes the explosive growth of the hair algae, you still have the hair algae. And it is very good at trapping organics to fertilize itself. Urchins will eat the algae and thus allow you to know if what you are doing is working. This is exactly what I did in several tanks.

[dpmatty]

Ok, here's what I'm contemplating.

Rebuild the mag 7 and make one of your coke bottle filter suckers. Run the output of that to the UV/Mech filter and then return to the DT.

Overkill?

[mavykins]

I have had a massive outbreak of hair algae for the past 3 months, done pretty much everything i could think of, increased the amount of snails, hermit crabs, lawnmower blenny, added a sea hair, replaced all the bulbs, increased water flow, tried leaving the lights off for a week, manually removing it, i do a feed everything 4 days now, and still no luck.

Until about a week ago when i bought a tuxedo urchin, which seems to be plowing through all the hair algae, and you can see a massive patchs of rock now where he has been, so couldn't recommend urchins more.

[bgr]

I think im gonna dose vodka to starve the algae and put in an urchin to eAt it.
im thinkin macro algae just doesnt grow fast enough to compete with the hair algae plus it chaeto cant survive on low enough phosphate levels to starve the gha. i got bare bottom with disblay with a dsb sump so hopefully this wont inter fere with the carbpn/ mb7 dosing. thanks for the advice

[fishguy84]

In addition to more frequent water changes and increased filtration...adding a refugium and a ton of turbo snails worked for me. Thats also in addition to manually ripping out some of it by hand. Cooking the rock works great, but all you need to do is get a frag with a teeny tiny amount and BOOM! If conditions are the same, you're back to square one and frustrated because you wasted time to cook your rock.

[fishguy84]

http://www.melevsreef.com/vodka_dosing.html

[sharky334]

I have had problems with algae as well! I have tried snails, sea hare, and urchin. All seem to be somewhat affective, but nothing has gotten rid of the algae.

[dpmatty]

I have had problems with algae as well! I have tried snails, sea hare, and urchin. All seem to be somewhat affective, but nothing has gotten rid of the algae.

Have you tried a fluidized GFO reactor? This along with aggressive manual removal seems to be working in my system. At the current rate I should have it beaten in about another six weeks. As it stands now it's at least under control so that the clean up crew can do its thing.

As far as vodka dosing goes, I'm hesitant to try it because I house an anemone.

[dpmatty]

Check out my build of the Old Salty VacuSuck

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1753283

[sharky334]

Good info here. I am currently battling algae too! Grrr, I hate that stuff in my reef tank!