BRS Pukani - how long with algae? Attack plan?

[ps2cho]

so I started my tank 3 months ago with dry sand and dry Pukani.

Just started getting heavy brown hair algae and a carpet of brown algae over everything.

My test kits show 0.04 PO4 and I've been dosing NO3 because it hits zero and my corals have been dying.

Is it just a waiting game? Anything else I can do to help at all?

 

[pondman]

Some add bacteria to boost the cycle I'm old school I just wait it out. It's amazing the diff things that happen in a tank.

 

[cpschult]

so I started my tank 3 months ago with dry sand and dry Pukani.

Just started getting heavy brown hair algae and a carpet of brown algae over everything.

My test kits show 0.04 PO4 and I've been dosing NO3 because it hits zero and my corals have been dying.

Is it just a waiting game? Anything else I can do to help at all?

You can biospire to help a little but unless you use liverock it can take up to 6-12 months to get your tank completely dialed in (diatoms, algae, etc.).
What corals have been dying on you?

 

[ps2cho]

I'm losing my LPS and some SPS as I think they are starving from near zero nutrients since the Algae is consuming everything

 

[brandon429]

Pros and cons with all rock choices

If someone elects against purple aged live rock which excludes algae via direct space competition in favor of white reflective surfaces and lighting ran as in full production mode, then more manual control is needed to prevent algae. You need to feed the corals more, and just disallow the algae

Don't run lights on full power unless you have that many corals demanding it by growing. Otherwise it's algae fuel

Purple real live rock can have various bad hitchhikers, a clean start is no bad hitchhikers, but the requirement for hand guiding, extra cleaning, the substrate is required till this rock becomes purple

You'll find that in the end, people are not permitted on the forums to be algae free by tomorrow, they accept a long phase of the tank looking bad. They'll simply leave the algae in. No matter what, it will be there after tomorrow. No matter any angle presented or threads of this much volume, people will leave their algae in and wait for natural die back, but they never like that wait. We sped it up here

http://reef2reef.com/threads/reef2reef-pest-algae-challenge-thread-hydrogen-peroxide.187042/

 

[ps2cho]

Sorry, that post is difficult to read. Are you basically saying I should either chemically attack the rock, or focus on manual removal of the algae and let time do its thing?

 

[brandon429]

Am saying that you have the option to be free of it with cheats, or let it run its course. I opt out of algae at all times in that thread. The option to not have it in your tank via cheat can't be ruled out, some don't like that look where it's all invaded. Putting an additive in the tank and waiting to see if it works is against the intention of the thread, taking control is shown as just one way to be algae free.

 

[Slack Tide Reef]

When got back into the hobby earlier last year I decided to use dry rock as well. Just like you about 3 or so months in I got the long brown algae. Just beef up clean up crew as long as you are cycled, which I assume you are. I used margarita and trochus snails and blue leg hermits. They cleaned it up pretty well and once the tank stabilized it went away. The rock just needs time to grow coralline and such that will block this stuff out. For what it's worth even though my tank is stabilized now I occasionally put in a new piece of dry BRS branch rock for frags and such and it still initially grows that fuzzy algae. Clean up crew keeps it in check and then within a few weeks it goes away.
Hope this helps

 

[ps2cho]

I guess I will just let it run its course. I just added a Kole Tang as well, so maybe he will help out a little. I have a good mix of clean up crew and hermits.

 

[reefwiser]

Add a algae scrubber to out compete the hair algae. The problem with the whole dry rock aquarium rock is that you have the perfect clean slate for algae to grow on. It is like a piece of ground with no grass let it set and what to you get weeds. Thats what starting with Dry "live" rock gets you. You can all kinds of liquids to your tank to take care of the problem. But you need to have a balance of Input and output Feeding the fish put phosphate into your tank and you need to remove it from you aquarium with skimming and algae scrubbing. Once you get a balance of input to output the hair algae will disappear. It is all about balance.

 

[ps2cho]

I'm just afraid of doing too much export and effectively kill all my corals?

 

[reefwiser]

You will not kill your corals. You current set up is doing a good job at that.:) Getting a balance of input and output of phosphate is one of the most important task that you have to do for a successful reef tank. I have watch many tanks struggle with this balance and it causes many tanks to fail and hobbyist's quit the hobby. I would not add any more corals till you put in place the proper equipment to handle the algae issues.
Make or put a algae scrubber in your sump and watch closely how much food you put in your tank. I always spend the first year of a new reef tank getting my parameters locked in and under control. Once you have stable parameters and algae under control you tank will be successful.

 

[Slack Tide Reef]

FWIW the stuff I had, which I think the OP has, isn't typical hair algae. I just think it would be a good move to give it a few weeks to see if the tank will balance itself before investing in things that you may or may not need.