AlgaeFix Marine to control Hair Algae

[tmz]

I've tried sea hares in past years. They just don't survive very long(more than a month0 in a reef tank. They need a calm environment with plenty of natural food.I've never heard an an acxtual report of one actually toxing a tank.

[ctenophors rule]

yo, i will get a bottle this week and try it in my tank, will post results, later.

i am also getting some other macros, should i be worried about them?

[Retzius]

Just to post my results for insight.

I used chemi-clean and for the first time in maybe 5 years I finally saw my live rock with no bacteria. I did two doses of chemi-clean and it wiped most of my bacterial bloom within 48 hrs.

I now have a GHA problem and I am relying on a phosphate reactor to kill it off. If this doesnt work I will try Algaefix.

I also want to report that its been about 2 weeks and the bacteria has not come back.

I am using zeobak and vodka and so far so good.

-Retzius

[HighlandReefer]

tmz,

Thanks for the info on Sea Hares.

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ctenophors rule,

Glad you will be sharing your results.

As far as your macro, most hobbyists have not had problems. There are a couple that I know of that have. The manufacturer stated to me, that AlgaeFix will retard their growth, but will not kill them. IME, my chaeto did fine, until after around the 10th dose, when it started dieing off. Most issues will be resolved before that many doses. That said, you may want to keep your macro in a separate lighted storing container, until you are finished dosing.

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Retzius,

Thanks for the update on Chemi-clean. It appears it has its uses and can be beneficial.

[dazed]

Originally posted by HighlandReefer
Chris,

I have read some threads about Sea Hare toxicity, if they die in your system. Some hobbyists claim there was no effect when they die in the system and could not be found. Others stated the opposite. I only say this, because I am somewhat concerned for you and I am no authority on them.

Cliff thanks for the concern i was a bit concerned at first as well, but it has been over a week now and i don't think he is still alive in there as i have not seen him, before he was out & about and you could easily tell where he had been due to the path of cleanliness left behind. This one was the second one that i have tried as i would prefer to use one over a chemical compound in my tank. The first one i had was huge and starting laying eggs in the tank which i thought was neat but after doing some research found that they lay eggs towards the end of their rather short life cycle. The last one that i tried was much smaller only about 2" total, and was a blue spot:http://www.seaslugforum.net/display.cfm?id=19545

I did loose my cleaner shrimp last week but it's hard for me to say if it was related with the sea hare as i have had him for about 5 years now so it may have just been his time.

[HighlandReefer]

Chris,

Thanks for the link. I found it very informative. I am happy there are not ramifications from the death of your Sea Hare.

[sanababit]

I am on my 3rd dose, and i am happy to report that everything is still alive, i dont see algae on my glass anymore, i used to clean it everyday, i havent cleaned it in like 4 days now, hair algae is still there, it kind of looks bad tough, its clumping up and looks whitish, i removed as much as i could, i will try getting some photos for you of before and now......

Sana

[ctenophors rule]

alright, i added my first dose today,( i am sooooo excited)

also when i added the stuff, i noticed a strange clear ooze onm the top of my water.

when i touced it, it was clear, rank smelling hari algae!!!!!!?

completely clear, gooey, adn very hard to handle(kept breaking apart much more than normal)


any ideas???????

[static69static]

Quick question for everyone dosing as I just started.

Are you running carbon or discontinued it?
I'm assuming you're running skimmer, and probably wet. Please confirm.

For the removal, are you removing during a water change? Still doing water changes?

[sanababit]

i am running carbon, rowaphos, denitrifier and skimmer, no ill effects and i am on my 3rd dose, algae is still there but is whitish looking and clumping up...

sana

[HighlandReefer]

Sana,

I love pictures.

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ctenophors rule,

Clear ooze might be bacteria. Chlorophyll has a color (algae).

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static69static,

Thanks for sharing your experiences with AlgaeFix Marine.

Randy has some concerns about anything negatively charged in a system, as the AlgaeFix active ingredient will be attracted (Carbon, GFO, Rock & Sand, possibly carbon dosing bacteria).

That said, most of the hobbyists have not discontinued their use and are still achieving good results.

[jrw]

I still skim,
I'm in the early stages of vodka dosing and have not discontinued.

I don't run carbon routinely.

My nitrates and phosphates remain undetected.
Cyanobacteria is building as GHA is being eliminated.

[HighlandReefer]

Jrw,

Have you been siphoning and physically removing as much of the cyano as possible?

[jrw]

Originally posted by HighlandReefer
Jrw,

Have you been siphoning and physically removing as much of the cyano as possible?

It is just now getting to be enough to siphon. Plan is to do that tomorrow with a water change. It is no where near bad enough for me to even think of Chemi-clean or any of the other "Red slime removers".

I first noticed the cyano forming on the tips of the wasting green hair algae and it is just now starting to show signs on a few rocks and some on the sand bed.

[sanababit]

I really dont want to toot my horn, but this thing really is working, hair algae IS dying off and clumping togheter, i know i am on my 3rd dose and everything but it really is working, i am spraying the chemical directly on the hair algae, and like i said this is my 5th day without having to clean my front glass from algae...man if its working this soon, i cant wait till my 6th or 7th dose, lol...

sana

[edandsandy]

Glad it is working for you sanababit

[mtb888]

HighlandReefer did you get any red slime algae? Sounds like a few hobbyists stated above that they developed red slime after dosing. Just wondered if you noticed any?

[HDFATB]

HighlandReefer

since you started dosing Algaefix have you gone back to carbon dosing.

The reason I'm asking Is I've been dosing carbon to keep my hair algae problem in check for about a year now and the results have been ok.

I started to dose Algaefix about a month ago and my tank is spotless. I would love to start up my fuge again and get back to a normal system just do some maintenance dosing of Algaefix once a week.

I glanced through the thread but didn't notice if you have restarted your carbon dosing.

[HighlandReefer]

mtb888,

I had some of the red slime algae (cyanobacteria) before I started AlgaeFix and I still do have some. Does not seem that AlgaeFix works very well on it. I believe that in most cases the cyano was already there in the hobbyists aquarium before starting the AlgaeFix and once the algae disappears their is no competition for the cyano.

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HDFATB,

After seeing the good results that many hobbyists are achieving with AlgaeFix while dosing carbon sources and running GFO + GAC, I don't believe it is a big issue in controlling the algae.

[THE ROOK]

That's good news. I've been dosing vodka for a few weeks & my tank looks better. I have a bottle of the Algaefix but was unsure if I could do both. I'm going to try dosing both this week.

[HighlandReefer]

Rook,

Keep us posted on your results with Vodka.

[rtecanoe]

I've been using vodka for quite some time now. Never thought of wasting it on my tank though

[HighlandReefer]

[sanababit]

Hi, today was my 4th dose and here are some pics as promised, this is the first photo i took when hair algae started, it got really bad in that particular spot, i wish i had a pic of when the strands where about 4-5 inches long


this is when i tried blocking the light off of it using some aquamend putty


so i started dosing algaefix and it is receding and clumping,


I know you almost cant tell from the photos, but hey i can tell, lol, i will keep posting photos on the progress....i was suppose to change my rowaphos today (every 3 months) but i havent seen any algae on the glass and i believe this thing is probably getting biding phosphates somehow, anyways, i am really happy

sana

[HighlandReefer]

sana,

Thanks for the pics.