Is this Hair Algae. I have it but this does not look the same.

[fittdog8848]

I have hair algae and I know that looks like hair but this is something different. It is hard to get rid of and I have been trying for a while. The Hair algae is starting to go away but this stuff keeps on comin.

Pleas echeck out my space here

http://spaces.msn.com/fittdog/photos/?_c02_owner=1

Ther are some close up shots of the algae. Also some shots of the tank throug its process.

[xtremedelta]

can you get a pic with the 10000k on?

[fittdog8848]

there are pics with the 10K on

[smleee]

I went back a couple pics and that does not look like HA to me.

eee

[fittdog8848]

Exactly I am thinking it is something else but I can't get anything to eat it. You can see that i have the infamous yellow (i do not eat algae) Tang.......

I am hoping someone can tell me what this is and how to get rid of it.

[fittdog8848]

Oh and everyone else you will have to click back to get to the algae pics on the site.

[larryl]

I used to have something that looked exactly like that, as far as I can tell from your pics. I could never find anything that would eat it - none of my various hermits or tangs or foxface would touch it. Eventually I got rid of it by pulling as much as I could by hand whenever I'd see it, and really concentrating on my water quality and keeping detritus cleaned up. Might also want to consider replacing your bulbs if they are old and the spectrum may have shifted. It's pretty tricky to pull by hand though, since it holds really tight to the rocks and the runners(?) are fragile - when you grab it a lot of it just breaks off and leaves bits and pieces on the rock.


Larry

[xtremedelta]

sorry, did'nt look at all the pics, yeah that is a type of green hair, plus I saw some bubble algae in there

[fittdog8848]

yeah the bubble is there....Bubble is easy to deal with. My yellow seems to like the really small bubbles. As far as the so called hair algae I have been pulling it out a couple times a week.

My bulbs are only 4 months in and I really dont think that is it.

[fittdog8848]

?

[fittdog8848]

bump

[fittdog8848]

No one else has seen this or has a comment. threads on this issues usually get pretty big.

[smleee]

I agree.....

eee

[socalreefer73]

At work, myspace blocked..

Why don't you put in your gallery and link?

[fittdog8848]

Pics are too big and if I resize the resolution is not that great.

I will keep bumping to see if someone has any thing to add. If anyone has trouble viewing the link please let me know and I will fix it.

Just have alot of people that I know of dealing with this type of algae.

[Anemonebuff]

Use some carbon and ROWAPHOS and skim aggressively. Algae like that, whether it be Derbesia or or Bryopsis, feed off of nutrients. Remove by hand and remove the nutrients and they should subside.

[fittdog8848]

I do have a phpsphate reactor running on the system. I will be replacing the media next week as it will be running for a month on the current media.

I will try carbon to see if that will help as well.

Anyone else.

[fittdog8848]

^

[Anemonebuff]

Wet skimming for a while.


What is your RO water's TDS?

[ANNIESREEF]

I had for a couple of months. Set my timer for 6 hrs a day(was 10-12) and cut feeding in half. Still pulled as much as I could out but within 3 weeks it was gone. definetly to many nutrients IMO and IME.
The fish wont starve. They will feed off the pods, etc. I was told they only should eat an amount equal to the size of theirs eyes-I have no proof on that but mine are all healthy.

[Anemonebuff]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7369033#post7369033 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ANNIESREEF
I had for a couple of months. Set my timer for 6 hrs a day(was 10-12) and cut feeding in half. Still pulled as much as I could out but within 3 weeks it was gone. definetly to many nutrients IMO and IME.
The fish wont starve. They will feed off the pods, etc. I was told they only should eat an amount equal to the size of theirs eyes-I have no proof on that but mine are all healthy.

I have heard that too. Sounds like a good amount, unless it is a squirrel fish. I feed my fish every other day. The amount is pretty close to the size of all their eyes combined.

[fittdog8848]

.. yeah I have cut back the feedings to every two days and cut the photoperiodto 6.

AMbuff I am testing with my brand new TDS meter today after work and will let you know what the reading is.

Thansk guys

[fittdog8848]

Was hoping to get some more people looking at this algae. i ahve followed all the threads and have been attacking this head on for aawhile with only worse results. The algae is growing with a vengence. I need some help here.

I have cut photoperiod, cut feeding, tested with multiple testers...no nitrates, nitrites, ammonia, phosphates. Calcium and Alk is fine. meaning Cal 400 and Alk is at 10.

I hav ebeen runnning a phosphate reactor....AND BEFORE ANYONE SAYS YELLOW TANG NOTICE I HAVE ONE.

I am desperate here. My corals all look great except for the GSP that are getting over grown not to worried though as they are fast growers.

I have Macro algae (Chaeto) in my refugium that I have been trimming and it has been continuing to grow. I am at a losss because if I have good growth in my Chaeto WHAT THE #$%^!

Hopefully someone that hasn't seen this post will have something to say about the algae I have.


Thansk everyone and happy posting

[melev]

Email me the picture, because I can't access your link. melev@swbell.net

Have you checked my ID page yet? http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=354760

[socalreefer73]

It looks like diatom bloom... they usually take care of themselves.. Usually happens with new bulbs. Have you done anything to change anything in your system soon before this problem? any dead livestock?

[melev]

I just logged into MSN with my old hotmail account. I have that same algae in my son's tank. It is a form of caulerpa. Caulerpa verticillata. Teeny delicate little thing, pretty invasive. Theres a thread in the macro forum about it. http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=723698&highlight=caulerpa+verticillata

[bkbailes07]

i have had horrible outbreaks of hair algae alot like this in my 20 gallon. then i took a coral out of my 20 and addded it to my 46. i have a rainsfordi goby that has eaten most of the algae away.

hows it in MT right now?...gonna be in flathead area for the 4th then north of great falls(chester) later

[fittdog8848]

melev looks like this one is not on your site but I will email the pics to you right now.

[fittdog8848]

Montana is beautiful as always. Fishing just took off and has been keeping me busy along with my tank. I just won't give up on this stuff. I have started talks with some biologists that deal with Marine algae. I have been bumped around a little bit but I think I might have found someone that knows what is up.

[fittdog8848]

Well thanks for the read Melev even though it makes me sick to think that I will never get rid of this stuff.

I am wondering now if I should just pull everything out and buy new rocks and sand and start over.

[larryl]

I am wondering now if I should just pull everything out and buy new rocks and sand and start over.

I feel for you fittdog, like I posted earlier I battled the same stuff for a long time. If you can, try to hang with it a while longer and just keep pulling the stuff out the second you see it show up. I never figured out what exactly did the trick in my tank but eventually it just crashed and I have not seen it since. Good luck!


Larry

[fittdog8848]

well that is encouraging but it is literally everywhere. The pics on myspace look nothing like my tank now. I am pulling out half a gallon full everyweek of algae and it just comes back with a vengence. I have been keeping up with my water changes and test all water parameters before I add anything.

SIGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! I am going to give 4 more months and then I will give the rock to my lfs and buy new rock. and start clean again.

[melev]

If you want to keep the rock in a covered bit with a heater and powerhead, lack of light will kill it off. Or if you have no livestock to worry about, wrap the tank in black plastic and turn off the lights for a few days.

[socalreefer73]

You may be adding a nutrient the stuff needs with your water changes.
Many species of algae don't feed on the normal stuff.. Some feed off NH3, NO2, and not just NO3.

I might hold off on the water changes and reduce my feeding for a while. If your fuge isn't cranking out enough macro, maybe look into that. Carbon helps pull out chealating substances that make iron available for consumption... If I remember correctly.

[fittdog8848]

Yeah I am actually getting ood growth in my fuge. I also only feed my fish dry flake ocean nutrition every 4 days.

I have been skimming pretty wet and get a full container on my ER 6-2+ every two days.

I am adding saltwater to accomodate for the water being pulled out. I have literally tried everything.

Melev - even if you get it to disappear in darkness or have other creatures that eat it still comes back. I have already tried this and was excited to see it all gone but just weeks back in tank and explod-a-alagae.

[melev]

You may need to try "Cooking liverock" then, which is a method that removes all the nutrients from the rock over time. You can remove half the rock in your tank, and cook it for 12 weeks, then remove the other half and replace the first half that are nice and clean. Another 12 weeks later, you'll have nice renewed LR.

Of course, your bioload has to be small enough that you can do this safely, but it will save you a lot of money compared to buying all new LR.

[fittdog8848]

I might have to look at that option.

Mark - How small should the bioload be in order for me to do this affectivly.

[melev]

If your tank is lightly stocked, you should be able to pursue the rock cooking method. (For those of you that don't know what it is, please don't put some in a pot on the stove, that is NOT what I'm talking about)

If your tank has a few corals that can be moved to one side of the tank, and a few fish with room for plenty more, that would be lightly stocked. If you have friends come over that ask if you need a shoehorn to squeeze in just one more coral or fish, you're overstocked. ;)

The reason it matters whether or not you are lightly stocked is because if you pull out 50% of your LR from the tank at once, you just cut your biologtical filtration virtually in half (there is some in the sand bed as well, though), and your bioload may be too much for it to handle.