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jamest0o0
06/05/2011, 01:52 PM
I'm getting a little on my rocks, is this because the tank is new or am i doing something wrong? and what is the most effective way of getting rid of it?

shifty51008
06/05/2011, 02:22 PM
alot will be because it is a new tank.

the best ways to get rid of it is keeping your phosphates, and nitrates as low as possiable. using rodi, and removing as much by hand as you can.

jamest0o0
06/05/2011, 02:26 PM
yeah I use RO/DI, run carbon and purigen, and do fifty percent water changes weekly.... I don't think I"m overfeeding either. Thanks

boombox3
06/05/2011, 02:51 PM
You can buy a good cleanup crew, do weekly water changes, and use a phosphate remover like chemipure elite.

bnumair
06/05/2011, 03:21 PM
nitrates and phos are biggest issues for hair algae growth. clean up crew and water changes nitrate and phos filters will help reduce the algae.

zach_24_90
06/05/2011, 04:09 PM
all the above advice is really goo. if your levels are right and in balcnce everything will work itself out

jamest0o0
06/05/2011, 04:34 PM
Thanks everyone, right now my CuC consists of a nerite snail, a nessarius snail, 2 cerith snails, and 2 hermits... think i should add anything?

stovenut
06/05/2011, 05:22 PM
A few astrea snails would help. Adding more live rock can help the tank stabilize. A phosban 150 reactor would do wonders in reducing phosphates as others suggested and can hang on the back of a nano.

jamest0o0
06/05/2011, 05:24 PM
I have a phosban reactor too, sadly where I have the tank it won't really fit : /... astreas will help though you say? and i also have a good amount of lr already

stovenut
06/05/2011, 05:58 PM
I'm sure someone in the DIY section can help you rig up a way to add the phosban reactor. You'll see the difference in how often you have to clean the glass within a week. New tanks will go through hair algae stages. You can get through it faster if phosphates are eliminated.

Angel*Fish
06/05/2011, 08:31 PM
Your tank will go through many stages of bloom and die off. The hair algae helps increase your pod populations. Of course you can interfere with that and buy something that will out compete your pods. Not a great choice, in my opinion.

jamest0o0
06/06/2011, 09:49 AM
See my glass never needs cleaned though, it will get very small spots of unnoticeable algae on the bottom, but for the most part it's crystal clear. My rocks seem to be the only thing getting and algae.

canrio
06/06/2011, 12:29 PM
I added a phosban reactor to my new tank 175g 1 month old and my phospates went from 2.0 to .5 in 24hrs. Great product but more maintenance I feel its worth it.

Sk8r
06/06/2011, 12:31 PM
You're doing everything right: it's just process---there'll be many nuisance algaes, and the main thing is not to import any that are really hard to get rid of (caulerpa.)

jamest0o0
06/06/2011, 02:57 PM
Yeah don't worry I don't plan on introducing caulerpa. I might add a few more snails though. I have a bunch of specs on my tank galss, kind of seems like it might be flatworms? They are white kinda clear with like a white yellowish circle inside of them... They are too small to get a good picture of, should I do something about this?

Lastly a little off topic, but I feel my tank needs more flow and I was going to get the vortech mp10 ES, do you think that'd be a good idea? http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/store/vortech-mp10-es-propeller-pump.html that's the link for it.

thanks!

Sailorgirl32489
06/06/2011, 03:07 PM
If you are going to try and remove some of it by hand, remove the rock from your tank before doing so if you can. If you leave it in the tank, when you pull it off those little pieces that you miss float around and attach elsewhere, further spreading the problem. If you can get the rock out, scrub it with a toothbrush and rinse it with some tank water before adding it back. If you can't get the rock out, an alternative that I've seen is to zip tie a hose to the back of a toothbrush and siphon out the water as you scrub in the tank.

One other thing, I noticed you said you were doing 50% water changes weekly. IMO that's a bit high. I do a 10% water change weekly on all my tanks. If you change too much water at once you run the risk of recycling your tank and changing your parameters too drastically.

pmark
06/06/2011, 08:02 PM
If you can get the rock out, scrub it with a toothbrush and rinse it with some tank water before adding it back. If you can't get the rock out, an alternative that I've seen is to zip tie a hose to the back of a toothbrush and siphon out the water as you scrub in the tank.

Sounds like a very nifty idea. ;)

firebirdude
06/06/2011, 08:32 PM
Sounds like you're doing everything right. Just manually remove/siphon out of much as you can and stay on top of it. Once it catches hold and starts to spread, it gets out of hand quick.

Not much livestock will touch it. Certainly not astreas. A tang is probably best, but would depend on tank size obviously.

muffe
06/06/2011, 09:22 PM
A few astrea snails would help.

Not much livestock will touch it. Certainly not astreas.

:headwallblue: Seems like searching for a solution to the problem in reefkeeping is often more frustrating than the original problem itself.:headwallblue:

firebirdude
06/07/2011, 06:57 AM
Sorry. No snail is going to touch hair algae. Once it gets past "film" length, they're not touching it. People have had mixed results with a lawnmower blenny, but in my experience, they won't touch it when it gets past about 1/4" in length. Sea hares are another popular recommendation, but from what I've heard it's hit or miss. Some destroy it, while others don't touch it (My blenny nor hare would touch mine). Tangs, being herbivorous, probably ravage anything green.

But I wouldn't try to rely on livestock for this one. Like was said, phosphate, light and nitrates fuel algae. Take as much of that from the equation and starve it out. Meanwhile, manually remove what is already grown.

Angel*Fish
06/07/2011, 07:50 AM
Interfering with the normal maturation processes in a young tank may delay maturation. Or worse create more problems.

canrio
06/07/2011, 01:33 PM
What does that mean? Should us newbes not do water changes?

muffe
06/07/2011, 02:33 PM
I think he means some hair algae is expected early on.

Thisseemsfishy
06/07/2011, 02:39 PM
What does that mean? Should us newbes not do water changes?

WC is the most important thing remember

Angel*Fish
06/07/2011, 02:50 PM
What does that mean? Should us newbes not do water changes?
Lol - no. It just means if you let the natural course of events proceed and don't fight it, maturation will happen. Read post #9 http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=249112

TXSea
06/07/2011, 04:05 PM
My turbo snail actually does eat the hair algae. I had red and green hair algae growing and my turbo snail mowed that stuff down. I actually encourage it to grow as it keeps my crabs and snails well fed. If I didn't have a clean up crew, then I would probably feel a bit different about it but since I have a bit of an ecosystem going, I love that it is somewhat self sustaining.

saltydogs
06/07/2011, 04:30 PM
alot will be because it is a new tank.

+ 1

the best ways to get rid of it is keeping your phosphates, and nitrates as low as possiable. using rodi, and removing as much by hand as you can.