API Marine Algaefix Is it safe?

[Jasoncav123]

API Marine Algaefix Is it safe? I have seen so much conflicting information. Wanted to use this in my IM 40. Looking for advice on dosage so I dont end up killing fish, shrimp, and an urchin.

 

[blaxsun]

If you've been following any of the Vibrant controversy, the main component is supposedly an algaecide and folks have been losing corals, clams, etc.

The best answer I can give you is "maybe", but there's so many other factors and variables that myself I wouldn't take the risk.

 

[mdb_talon]

I think the above "maybe" answer is the best you are going to get. You can find plenty of examples of people who say they dose 10g a day and never an issue and others that say a single drop killed their entire system plus the family dog (i may have some slight exaggeration in there but you get the point).

 

[shakacuz]

i have used vibrant...although YES it did help with algae, it also threw my system out of balance. killed a few SPS/LPS along the way. killed my macro algae which then caused a nutrient spike which caused other issues.

algaefix is an algaecide, just how vibrant was found to be. i would not recommend anyone use this product.

 

[Eagle_Steve]

To add to the above, depending on what you are looking to get rid of, you could use something along the lines of reefflux or similar, but it comes with it's own risks. Some have used it with no issues and others have had issues.

In addition, @Jasoncav123 what are you wanting to get rid of? It may just be a better CUC is needed, manual removal and then correction of nutrient issues could be a simple and easy fix. Escpecially if it is a smaller tank (90 gallons or less).

 

[nick0206]

I had a problem with hair algae for about six months. Many people told me that the best remedy for them is "Blue Life Flux RX. I used this product 3 times with strict adherence to the instructions for 3 months, but without a visible effect. In addition to hair algae, there was a little dino and cyano.
When I was already desperate, one of the guys in our hobby in our LFS advised me "API Algaefix", saying that he had a similar situation. And a miracle happened. Within 2 weeks, absolutely everything disappeared: hair algae, dino, cyano, and even the green coating on the glass.
Because of the problems, I rarely populated my tank. Of the living creatures, there were 5 fish, one sea urchin, a Lismata shrimp, about a dozen LPS and several SPS. Neither the fish, nor the corals, nor the urchin and shrimp had any problems. Now this drug is mandatory for me. I add it once a week to control the algae.

 

[lawnerd]

I had a problem with hair algae for about six months. Many people told me that the best remedy for them is "Blue Life Flux RX. I used this product 3 times with strict adherence to the instructions for 3 months, but without a visible effect. In addition to hair algae, there was a little dino and cyano.
When I was already desperate, one of the guys in our hobby in our LFS advised me "API Algaefix", saying that he had a similar situation. And a miracle happened. Within 2 weeks, absolutely everything disappeared: hair algae, dino, cyano, and even the green coating on the glass.
Because of the problems, I rarely populated my tank. Of the living creatures, there were 5 fish, one sea urchin, a Lismata shrimp, about a dozen LPS and several SPS. Neither the fish, nor the corals, nor the urchin and shrimp had any problems. Now this drug is mandatory for me. I add it once a week to control the algae.

Nick,
How long have you been weekly dosing algaefix? I had a bad gha problem and used algaefix. My experience was like yours, it worked on the gha and also killed the film algae on my glass - tank is very clean. My worry is, will my snails and pods have enough to eat if I keep using it? What has been your experience, any starved snails and/or pods in your tank?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Nick,
How long have you been weekly dosing algaefix? I had a bad gha problem and used algaefix. My experience was like yours, it worked on the gha and also killed the film algae on my glass - tank is very clean. My worry is, will my snails and pods have enough to eat if I keep using it? What has been your experience, any starved snails and/or pods in your tank?

The person you are asking has not been on in a few months, so may not reply.

I personally would not regularly add a chemical herbicide to a reef tank. For regular issues, I believe a clean up crew is a much better way to go.

 

[lawnerd]

The person you are asking has not been on in a few months, so may not reply.

I personally would not regularly add a chemical herbicide to a reef tank. For regular issues, I believe a clean up crew is a much better way to go.

Thanks Randy.
I agree, but I had a green hair algae problem that the CUC wasn’t touching. Going forward I’ll avoid chemical solutions.

I saw your bio. Before recently retiring I worked as a scientist and then as an IP attorney in biotechnology (Millennium Pharma in Boston; and Genentech and BioMarin in the Bay Area).
Best,
Andy

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Thanks Randy.
I agree, but I had a green hair algae problem that the CUC wasn’t touching. Going forward I’ll avoid chemical solutions.

I saw your bio. Before recently retiring I worked as a scientist and then as an IP attorney in biotechnology (Millennium Pharma in Boston; and Genentech and BioMarin in the Bay Area).
Best,
Andy

Cool. I have worked with a lot of biotech patent attorneys, and currently with folks from Bryan, Cave, Leighton Paisner is San Fran.

 

[FishLvR]

Algae Fix works EXTREMELY well. Like it cleared up a small QT tank of ALL algae in a matter of weeks. Everyday more clumps of dead algae. Very satisfying. HOWEVER it will kill shrimp, some snails, and all macro. It also cleared up a neglected 500 gallon pond in three days.

 

[tharbin]

I used AlgaeFix on a 100 gallon mixed reef when my GHA/bubble problem got too advanced for my CuC and manual removal. I followed directions and did a total of eight applications before I halted because things had improved to the point that the CuC could handle it as long as I still plucked the occasional bubble (my Pitho perished and I haven't gotten another yet). It worked very well on the GHA and on a turf algae and to a lesser extend on the bubble. All of the coral and fish were fine throughout although the hammer corals clearly were stressed. It did seem to take out most of my Nassarius Snails but all of the others were fine. I also have an inline fuge with Red Pom Pom Gracillaria. It did die back some but did not die off completely.

I used Flux RX once in a different tank that had an amalgam of Bryopsis, bubble, GHA and turf. It worked extremely well on the Bryopsis and did eventually take out most of the GHA but only impeded the bubble and turf. It also seemed to stress the LPS corals but nothing else was affected.

If you have Bryopsis, Flux RX is a game changer. If you have GHA I think AlgaeFix is a better solution but it is last resort before a partial tear-down because it is an algaecide.

 

[Pat's Reef]

API Marine Algaefix Is it safe? I have seen so much conflicting information. Wanted to use this in my IM 40. Looking for advice on dosage so I dont end up killing fish, shrimp, and an urchin.

I don’t recommend any algacides. All photosynthetic animals depend on various “algae” species for their energy needs. The negative effects are far worse on the system overall than the algae. Algae is always a nutrient issue, unless it’s Bryopsis which can fix its own nitrogen. If it’s Bryopsis, no algacides work anyway. It requires the antifungal drug Fluconazole to eradicate Bryopsis and that is the only algae treatment I recommend. The rest can be managed by cleanup crew and nutrient management. This is Bryopsis. It grows in tufts of hairs as it matures. True GHA does not branch.

 

[robwcormack]

If you are going to use AlgaeFix, should you turn off your reefmat and skimmer? I have seen conflicting info on the skimmer but nothing on the reefmat fleece roller. Also, correct me if I'm wrong but you ARE supposed to remove GFO from reactor, turn off UV, and no carbon right?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I don't think the reefmat or any particulate filter matters, nor does the UV matter. The chemical may bind to GFO and GAC. It won't be appreciably skimmed unless bound to something else (and hence not useful) and I would not turn off a skimmer.

 

[robwcormack]

I don't think the reefmat or any particulate filter matters, nor does the UV matter. The chemical may bind to GFO and GAC. It won't be appreciably skimmed unless bound to something else (and hence not useful) and I would not turn off a skimmer.

Wow! Thank you so much. I know you have quite the reputation for sound advice on this stuff and I really appreciate you taking the time to answer that for me.

Would it be a terrible idea to run algaefix and fluxRx at the same time?

I have had an absolute nightmare of a time with what I have thought is GHA, but honestly I don’t know. I’ve seen a few pics that have led me to believe it might be bryopsis too. I tried the fluxRx one time before and it didn’t get rid of it. I’ve got a 100 gal tank and have at least 25-30 trochus snails as well as a bunch of nassarius, bumblebee, ceriths (big and small), blue leg hermits, some nerites, and a pitho crab. I’ve put a hefty amount of pods in twice and occasionally dose phyto but not nearly like I should. Also have a fairly large lawnmower blenny, fox face, and whitetail bristle tooth tang. Even tried a sea hare which ate very little of it and died within 2 weeks. Nothing is touching this stuff. I’ve done multiple 3 day blackouts, 2 weeks of dr Tim’s refresh followed by a week of waste away, about a month of that professor polyp coral bath dosing, and the previously mentioned fluxRx on top of running the reef mat, skimmer, uv, and media reactor with GFO (recent addition). I’ve manually removed as much as I could every week or two, and even scrubbed the rocks last time with brushes before I started the refresh/waste away. That actually gave me a couple weeks before it started back. My water parameters are always good except my nitrate and phosphate have read mostly 0 which I have read could be false readings due to the algae. Cyano is in there too, but not terribly bad and mostly under the sand bed at the glass. I had finally thought I figured things out about a month ago when I found that my water going in had a good bit of phosphate in it and I replaced all the filters on my RODI system. I’ve been thinking since then that maybe the phosphates had been absorbed and were leaching from my rock which started as base rock and was seeded once with dr Tim’s one and only and once with the fritz turbo start 900.

Then yesterday I had a revelation. I had been using a submersible pool type pump which I thought was saltwater safe to pump water from my mixing station in the garage into my living room. I stupidly has been using brass fittings to connect a hose to the pump and then a brass quick connect and brass shut off valve where I connected that hose to my long tube to go into the house. The quick connect and valve were getting fairly corroded and when I saw that I knew I had probably messed up. I took them off, dumped all the water from the mixing station, cleaned/scrubbed the brute, and started new water. Then as I was taking the fitting off the connection on the pump I saw that I had used a stainless steel hose clamp and it has a small rust spot on the screw even though it is only used for short periods in the water to pump into the house during water changes. Then I realized the true screw up. I had used the same hose clamp for my uv pump which stays submerged in my sump. Went to check and I probably shouldn’t type the language I used. The screw on it was completely rusted and corroded to the point it pretty much disintegrated when I took it out to take off. Then I read that rust is mostly iron which apparently is like gasoline on a fire for hair algae. So I put some activated carbon in the basket under my reef mat and had to wait for rodi water to rinse some new GFO that I’ll replace in the media reactor this evening. Hoping that I got the source of the problem finally figured out, I wanted to go ahead and manually remove the algae again and do a dose of the fluxRX and a round of algaefix just to ensure the majority of whatever it is will be eradicated. Also ordered some cuprisorb in case there’s copper from the brass fittings and considering some of that poly filter stuff that changes color. I also have another Fritz turbo start and a bad of AF Life Source mud for when this is all over to get my good stuff back.

Sorry for the book but it’s been going on for a good 6 months. Tank is a little over a year old.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Thanks. :)

I don't know if the combo is good, bad, or otherwise, but I'd personally only use one chemical treatment at a time.

Brass is definitely a no go!