Best Way to Nuke a Tank of Hair Algae

Aclman88

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Morning! I am moving in a couple weeks and taking down a tank. It has no inhabitants, coral, livestock, nothing.... just a ton of hair algae.

What is the easiest way to nuke the tank and kill off the hair algae so I am not stuck scraping and syphoning tons of the stuff?

I was thinking of dumping a bunch of hydrogen peroxide and letting it do its thing and then draining and cleaning the tank. Thoughts? There is no rock, just sand at this point.
 

vetteguy53081

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Reduce or turn off white lights. Pull as much as you can by hand and add cleaner snails such as astrea
Turbo
Trochus
Cerith
Nerite

is tank at or near a window?
Liquid vibrant Will also help
 
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Aclman88

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Reduce or turn off white lights. Pull as much as you can by hand and add cleaner snails such as astrea
Turbo
Trochus
Cerith
Nerite

is tank at or near a window?
Liquid vibrant Will also help
I don't want to add any livestock since I'm taking the tank down permanently. Just was curious if h202 would kill the algae to make removal a bit easier. I have a bunch of vibrant, but again seems like a waste since I'm not trying to save the tank.
 

vetteguy53081

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I don't want to add any livestock since I'm taking the tank down permanently. Just was curious if h202 would kill the algae to make removal a bit easier. I have a bunch of vibrant, but again seems like a waste since I'm not trying to save the tank.
It would
 

JPM San Diego

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If the rock is going to be thrown away, why clean off the algae? Just dump them.
If the rock is going to be given/sold to someone else to use, then keeping the bacteria would be beneficial.
I had an amazing green hair algae farm once :)
I took the rocks out one by one and went to town with a stiff plastic brush. When I was done there was no visible hair algae but the bacteria were safe and sound down in the pores. I then put the rocks into the dark but kept them circulating in sea water. I created what my son dubbed as my "algae killing box". Black plastic box with intake holes in the bottom and a small power head for outflow. It took weeks but the rocks were spic and span and ready for use again. Without loss of the important bacteria.
 

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Lost in the Sauce

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I don't want to add any livestock since I'm taking the tank down permanently. Just was curious if h202 would kill the algae to make removal a bit easier. I have a bunch of vibrant, but again seems like a waste since I'm not trying to save the tank.
What are your plans when you take it all down?
 
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Aclman88

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If the rock is going to be thrown away, why clean off the algae? Just dump them.
If the rock is going to be given/sold to someone else to use, then keeping the bacteria would be beneficial.
I had an amazing green hair algae farm once :)
I took the rocks out one by one and went to town with a stiff plastic brush. When I was done there was no visible hair algae but the bacteria were safe and sound down in the pores. I then put the rocks into the dark but kept them circulating in sea water. I created what my son dubbed as my "algae killing box". Black plastic box with intake holes in the bottom and a small power head for outflow. It took weeks but the rocks were spic and span and ready for use again. Without loss of the important bacteria.

Rocks are being picked up by someone else.. they only have some xenia and gsp. Hair algae is relegated to the glass and the back wall.
 

Lost in the Sauce

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Rocks are being picked up by someone else.. they only have some xenia and gsp. Hair algae is relegated to the glass and the back wall.
The point was if you're throwing them away, do nothing obviously.

If you're trying to sell the rock or giving it to a friend, I'd personally give it a good few scrubs with a brush and get as much off as possible.

I wouldn't even list LR for sale if it has gha growing on it.
 

MnFish1

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I don't want to add any livestock since I'm taking the tank down permanently. Just was curious if h202 would kill the algae to make removal a bit easier. I have a bunch of vibrant, but again seems like a waste since I'm not trying to save the tank.
I would use bleach. it will remove the algae, etc - you will still in all likelyhood need to scrub. H2O2 will not be as affective.

EDIT. I first would remove the rock that contains things you want to keep - and scrub them - you can also use H2O2 'locally' on those rocks. I was thinking you were referring to the 'whole tank' - and that there was nothing living in the tank
 
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Aclman88

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The point was if you're throwing them away, do nothing obviously.

If you're trying to sell the rock or giving it to a friend, I'd personally give it a good few scrubs with a brush and get as much off as possible.

I wouldn't even list LR for sale if it has gha growing on it.
Live rock is being given away, there isn't hair algae growing on the rock itself since it was mostly coralline or coral growing on it. The algae was only growing on the sides of the tank.

There was one small piece (size of a golf ball) that actually had a little algae that I am not giving away and am nuking with the tank.
 
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Aclman88

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I would use bleach. it will remove the algae, etc - you will still in all likelyhood need to scrub. H2O2 will not be as affective.

EDIT. I first would remove the rock that contains things you want to keep - and scrub them - you can also use H2O2 'locally' on those rocks. I was thinking you were referring to the 'whole tank' - and that there was nothing living in the tank
Thanks. Still planning on using some elbow grease, just wanted to make it easier overall.
 

MnFish1

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Live rock is being given away, there isn't hair algae growing on the rock itself since it was mostly coralline or coral growing on it. The algae was only growing on the sides of the tank.

There was one small piece (size of a golf ball) that actually had a little algae that I am not giving away and am nuking with the tank.
Sorry - that clarifies it - I would bleach the tank and remaining rock. H2O2 will not work IMHO unless you completely fill the tank with it
 

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Time . It took me over 2 month of picking at it with tweezers and syphoning I just took my time then I added turbos to it I don’t like adding anything to my tank
 

brandon429

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the best way is this and no way is better :)

take out one ugly test rock, do what you will to it only causing it to be clean. set it back in the tank, wait two weeks eval before you upscale. Dont use your whole tank as a one off experiment with any doser, be it peroxide or vibrant or reef flux or chemiclean. assess your % win first.

if you want to use peroxide dont use it in the way you planned thats too diluted.

if what you are planning on doing to the rock involves a doser, then do it in a paint bucket 5 gal setup at the right dilution, a test rock only or two. leave your tank as is as you evaluate, and only upscale what seems to actually work that you've seen in your tank.

if you can find a work thread on your chosen control method that is beyond 20 pages, consider using it. if you can't, don't.


also critical

lets assume you find a nice kill agent and it works and sustains. any of the ones with 20 page work threads are likely to work

Do you want to run that on your tank if its really dirty, or do you want to run the method on a clean tank?

meaning if your sand and rocks are full of pent up waste such that disturbing them in the water leaves a big cloud, should that condition remain ideally? is it helping or hurting your gha?
 

MnFish1

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the best way is this and no way is better :)

take out one ugly test rock, do what you will to it only causing it to be clean. set it back in the tank, wait two weeks eval before you upscale. Dont use your whole tank as a one off experiment with any doser, be it peroxide or vibrant or reef flux or chemiclean. assess your % win first.

if you want to use peroxide dont use it in the way you planned thats too diluted.

if what you are planning on doing to the rock involves a doser, then do it in a paint bucket 5 gal setup at the right dilution, a test rock only or two. leave your tank as is as you evaluate, and only upscale what seems to actually work that you've seen in your tank.

if you can find a work thread on your chosen control method that is beyond 20 pages, consider using it. if you can't, don't.


also critical

lets assume you find a nice kill agent and it works and sustains. any of the ones with 20 page work threads are likely to work

Do you want to run that on your tank if its really dirty, or do you want to run the method on a clean tank?

meaning if your sand and rocks are full of pent up waste such that disturbing them in the water leaves a big cloud, should that condition remain ideally? is it helping or hurting your gha?
He does not want to save anything except couple rocks. which he will take out before treating. he wants to kill everything and get rid of the tank, rocks, etc. He does not need a rip clean, etc. He wants to kill everything - agree with you totally, H2O2 will not work better than bleach
 

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