merkmerk73
Active Member
I wouldn’t use peroxide
It’s easy to overdose and kill stuff in your tank
Ask me how I know
Impossible to rid Hair Algea, S.O.S
- Thread starter ratzy82
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It’s easy to overdose and kill stuff in your tank
Ask me how I know
ratzy82
Community Member
Yep, that's why I'm doing a round of flux, then eventually removing the rock.
anthonymckay
Active Member
Pulling all that caribsea rock just to replace it with someone else seems VERY extreme. I would be shocked if your rock is the root of the issue. Silicate isn't what's causing your hair algae, otherwise all those people who dose silicates at super high levels to battle Dinos would be INFESTED with hair algae.
Randy has mentioned this as well: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/silicates.891832/post-9887125
Battling algae is about management, as you'll always have algae in the tank. People with low nutrients get it, people with high nutrients get it. Because algae is really good at living. The real root of the issue here is you need a better CUC. Add more snails–you mentioned you only have 3 turbos, get some more, get a bunch of astrea snails, get a sea hare, and get to work scrubbing with a brush. Most things that eat algae wont touch it if it get's long.
Randy has mentioned this as well: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/silicates.891832/post-9887125
Battling algae is about management, as you'll always have algae in the tank. People with low nutrients get it, people with high nutrients get it. Because algae is really good at living. The real root of the issue here is you need a better CUC. Add more snails–you mentioned you only have 3 turbos, get some more, get a bunch of astrea snails, get a sea hare, and get to work scrubbing with a brush. Most things that eat algae wont touch it if it get's long.
ratzy82
Community Member
I've added CUC and that did not put a dent in it. Only grows and consumes my nitrates. I have much more than 3 turbos. I have 3 urchin's a plethera of hermit crabs, emerald crab, nasarious snails, astera snails...they just don't seem to eat this stuff. I even had a sea hare...thinking he would eat it and he ended up dying not eating it. I'm 99% sure this is not hair alea. I'm not sure there is another option. Have you read up on turf algea? Most CUC does not eat it. Others have had the very same issue with the carib sea rock and removing it resolved it. If it was as easy as adding more CUC, I'd be all in, but I just don't see that as the case. I would rather not tear out this rock, but it seems to be rooted deep within. Not willing to let all my Acros die off.
merkmerk73
Active Member
CUC and tangs etc. help keep algae from becoming a problem.
They won't solve it once it becomes a problem
Sea Hares are a temporary measure and they function like a time bomb - it's better to have one of those to eat up all the GHA that you're wiping out using Vibrant, then take it into the store.
They won't solve it once it becomes a problem
Sea Hares are a temporary measure and they function like a time bomb - it's better to have one of those to eat up all the GHA that you're wiping out using Vibrant, then take it into the store.
ScubaSkeets
Well-Known Member
99% of my rocks are CaribSea Life Rock. When I first started, I didnt know better, and the prices were good, so I went with that. Whether or not they are the cause of your issues are another debate, but I am relatively happy mine. Could it have been better if I used "real" live rock? Perhaps, but I'm not going to change it all out now.
I had bad algae problems too. Here's what I did:
During a water change, I saved some of the dirty water. I then took several rocks out at a time (the ones without coral/anenomes attached to them) and I pressure washed them. I then soaked them in the old tank water for several minutes, and then returned them to my tank. I also started a DIY alage scrubber at the same time. 6+ months later, I still do not have algae in my DT, (well not the long hair and turf alage...my rocks are still greenish though, but I'm fine with that.) Are the herbivores and CUC keeping it at bay? Perhaps, but all I know is that I don't have long hair algae in my tank now
I had bad algae problems too. Here's what I did:
During a water change, I saved some of the dirty water. I then took several rocks out at a time (the ones without coral/anenomes attached to them) and I pressure washed them. I then soaked them in the old tank water for several minutes, and then returned them to my tank. I also started a DIY alage scrubber at the same time. 6+ months later, I still do not have algae in my DT, (well not the long hair and turf alage...my rocks are still greenish though, but I'm fine with that.) Are the herbivores and CUC keeping it at bay? Perhaps, but all I know is that I don't have long hair algae in my tank now
ratzy82
Community Member
Not only are 100% of my rocks Caribsea, but they were also second hand. I have no idea what issues the previous owner had, but from what I heard he dealt with algea issues. I should have just bleached the rock or started over, but that's moot now. I've been very discouraged mainly because I have done all the things everyone has suggested, CUC, algea scrubber, manual removal and none of it has helped. Flux Rx is the ONLY thing to put a dent in it and it comes back. I really can't demolish my rock scape and scrub it every water change. If I'm removing my rock work every 2 weeks I might as well just start a new scape without the previous owners issues. Also I don't have time for that sort of rock cleaning. Maybe if I was single and didnt have kids!
.ratzy82
Community Member
I have plenty of tangs, they will not touch the stuff, nor will my cuc.
VintageReefer
2500 Club Member
Your rocks are bound up with phosphate from all the time they have been in prior tank and your tank. When you kill off the surface algae more phosphate leaches out / unbinds and make its way towards the rock surface. When phosphate is unbound and exposed to light, water, current, it becomes / fuels algae
In this situation - You manually scrub. It will come back. You kill off with a chemical, it will come back. Nobody wants to eat it, it grows too fast. Bleaching rock won’t help that kills the surface and maybe a tiny bit under the surface. Not all the phosphates in the core of the rock that spent months or years soaking in
Scuba’s plan worked and I have done similar. You need something that is constantly, constantly working on stripping my excess phosphate from the water. As the phosphate is absorbed from water, more will leach out from rock. Until it runs out.
You can spend money on gfo and replace it every 2-3 days and it will work or you can run a scrubber and harvest algae for free every 7-14 days and throw it out
Eventually the rocks will leach no more and the algae problems will get better. It takes a few weeks to a few months with an scrubber to get this process completed. Not the fastest, but the cheapest and easiest
ratzy82
Community Member
unfortunately, zeroing out my nutrients is not going to be good for my coral. Months of 0 phosphates and nitrates for the coral to eat is not going to be good. I'd rather spend 100 on new rock vs 1,000s on dead coral. I'm not sure I have many options at this point. I've also been running a scrubber since I started this tank 2 years ago. If having a scrubber didnt work then for these rocks, I'm not so sure it's going to work now.
merkmerk73
Active Member
you don't need to do any of that, I already told you
Nuke it over 6 weeks with Vibrant, then start back up
If you have a refugium you should be good.
I haven't had algae issues in my DT in over 9 months since I nuked it all with Vibrant
My fuge has chaeto and GHA.
Nuke it over 6 weeks with Vibrant, then start back up
If you have a refugium you should be good.
I haven't had algae issues in my DT in over 9 months since I nuked it all with Vibrant
My fuge has chaeto and GHA.
anthonymckay
Active Member
Unless you want to starve your corals, you're always gonna have phosphates in your water, regardless of where it's coming from. It's been shown time and time again that algae is still gonna grow even in low nutrient waters, and there are many tanks with absurdly high phosphates/nitrates with no algae. I wish we'd all get past this notion that nutrients are the root issue and that you can solve algae by "starving" it out. Richard Ross's (Aquatic Biologist from the Steinhart Aquarium in San Francisco) video is a great resource on explaining all of this.
ratzy82
Community Member
that's not what I'm saying at all.... my point was that the aglea was consuming all of the nutrients, where there are none left for the coral. The turf algea is deep rooted and impossible to remove, unless I take all the rock out and scrub it or treat it with hydrogen peroxide out of the tank. If I'm removing over 100 lbs of rock every week or 2 I might as well start over...but just my opinion.
ratzy82
Community Member
I've used vibrant before and have about 1/3 of a bottle, didn't seem to be as effective as fluconozole. I think doing either one of those is just a bandaid, I'm 99% sure the rock is the issue. Either way I've done a flux treatment. Curious how you fuge survived the vibrant treatment?
merkmerk73
Active Member
It didn't, I threw out the chaeto, and started over when I was done with my vibrant treatment.
VintageReefer
2500 Club Member
Yes my corals are starving
Look, OP is in a situation where the typical things have not helped. I have not posted anything I feel is untrue. You may feel different, that’s your opinion. I did not say this would eliminate all his algae to zero
Both in high nutrient tanks and low, yes there are still phosphates. And algae and corals get them regardless.
A cleanup crew is not working for op
A clean up crew plays minimal part for me
Regardless of the cleaning method - the rockwork has phosphates bound up.
Yes, it can be starved out. I have done it and seen it many times. I still do get algae, but it’s significantly less than when I’m not “starving it out” Op scrubber may be undersized and additional tools/methods are needed but I bet it is helping keep things from being worse
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