why oh why oh why !!!!!

[tisso]

ok, now im really getting peed off with my hair algea and cyno . ive changed my T5's, put an external filter full of marine grade carbon onto my system, increased flow and water circulation in the tank, lost count of the number of water changes ive done and still the damn stuff wont budge ? ive increased my alkalinity upto 11 dkh dont know if this is too high but i read that the algea dont like a high alk ? ph is 8.0 cant get this any higher even tried selling my soul to the devil but it stayed at 8.0 !!! phosphates and nitrates are 0. sg is 1.023. any help would save whats left of my hair on my head and my sanity !!!!! thank you..............

[Cutiewitbooty]

have you cut down the ammount of time your lights are on? Do you have alot of corals? If not i would cut them down to like 3 hours a day, that might help. Also your prams are showing 0 only because the algae is using them up before you can detect them.

[afishyonados]

Cutiewitbooty is right.
What is your Magnesium testing out at? If it is low it could affect the pH. What is your source water? Have you tested it for phosphates before and after mixing in salt?

[reverendmaynard]

What size tank is it? If it's large (100+gals) and you have room for another fish, try a foxface. Best algae eater I've seen or heard about.

Do you have a fuge with macro? This would help to out-compete the hair algae for the nutrients available.

As for PH, how are you testing. If you're not using a calibrated meter, you might want to get one, or have someone who has one test your water for you. If it truly is low, you probably have either inadequate gas exchange (try an airstone) or excess CO2 in the tank area (ventilate with outside air). You can test this by aerating a cup of tank water with an airstone for about 30 mins, both inside and outside. If it rises inside, you need to increase aeration of the tank, if it only rises outside, you need to supply fresh, outside air to the tank room. If it doesn't rise in either case, it's most likely a testing problem.

Another, virtually foolproof method of raising PH is to dose with Kalkwasser.

Much more info on PH problems in the reef chemistry forum.

[wahwoo]

Hair Algae - Pull out what you can to give the grazers some help. Get some algae eating hermits, a Sailfin Tang, Yellow Tang or a Foxface Lo. Run a phosphate removing media for one day.

Cyano - vacume out what you can by running a syphon tube through a filter pad into a bucket. The water can be reused in the tank. Dose with Chemi-Clean for two days then syphon whats left once more.

Both problems will be cleared up within a week. Then you can work on keeping Nitrates and Phos low.

[upstatedave]

are you using RO/DI water?....if not it is a losing battle

[JHEATH1969]

I have found that keeping 1.5 times the tank volume in reef janitors really cuts down and can eliminate algae problems. Try a good mixture of them as well. Cerith, Nerith, and turban snails are a good mix for snails. The Cerith will eat hair algae. The red legged hermit crab is a great addition as well for clearing hair algae and they even work great for cyanabacteria. The important thing is to understand that you have to have the numbers to cover the area in the tank. I have had good luck getting janitor packages from www.garf.org. The right mixture and types seem to come in and they go right to work. I just started a new tank also and I placed a package in right off and I have yet to see any algae at all.

[JHEATH1969]

Take a look at this article on PH and reasons for lower PH. This article says more than I ever could hope to.

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-09/rhf/index.php