Red hair algea nightmare

Nes80 · Dec 24, 2020

Hello all,
I run a 200 liters reeftank since about 2 years now. Since several month I try to fight againt red hair algeas which have slowly covered all my stones. Their grow stagnate now but I lack to find out something which can eat them. As my tank is not so big, I am limited in the choice of the algea eater. I have of course tried the mexican tubos but they dont' eat them in my tank, they die slowly, because of no food for them.

My PO4 is about 0.046 and my NO3 is about 1-2ppm. I doses both to maintain those values. Corals are healthy and grow well, they have a good coloration, also the Acros.

I plan to start another small tank in order to cut corals and make a restart of the tank but I am affraid about some of them which I will not able to eliminate this red algea such as my clam or some Acanthastrea which are small and have red algea very close to the polyps.

So if someone can give me some idea about maybe another red algea eater or how can I make cuts of my corals in order to no introduce the red algea in the other tank, I will be greatful.

Thank you for you help.

Nes80

Ron Reefman · Dec 26, 2020

#WelcometoR2R

More info might be helpful. What fish do you have? What do you feed them and how much? Have you tried any of the chemical methods of killing algae? Can you remove any of it by hand? Can you remove any rocks and treat them with hydrogen peroxide?

#reefsquad

Nes80 · Dec 26, 2020

Hello Ron,

I have, two amphiprion occelaris, one Nemateleotris magnifica, one hexatenia and one Zebrasoma flaversens.

I did not tried chemical methods to kill algae. I try to remove the longest by hand but it is small and well incrusted to the rocks. I am not able to remove the rocks.

Garf · Dec 26, 2020

Are you growing algae in a fuge or scrubber?

Nes80 · Dec 26, 2020

Hello Garf,

no, I have no sump.

Garf · Dec 26, 2020

I think you’ve got to get your elbows wet. Snails tend to graze the short stuff. I think you need to spend a few hours plucking it out. I’ve (the wife) has used a corner of MY credit card to great effect. You will need to continuously clean any mechanical filtration though. More snails required.

Nes80 · Dec 26, 2020

Maybe, if I redo all the aquascape ? Scrub all the rocks outside the tank, rinse and back to the tank ?

I have tried this a small area in order to see if it works but the algea has come again.

Can I erradicate this pest only by scrub and some snails ?

Does an UV filter will help as well ?

Ron Reefman · Dec 27, 2020

Nes80 said:
Maybe, if I redo all the aquascape ? Scrub all the rocks outside the tank, rinse and back to the tank ?

I have tried this a small area in order to see if it works but the algea has come again.

Can I erradicate this pest only by scrub and some snails ?

Does an UV filter will help as well ?

When you do this, bare rocks with algae and rocks with zoas or other soft corals can be dipped in 3% hydrogen peroxide that is available at most stores and is very cheap. You have to be careful of paly toxin when dipping zoas and palys. They bubble in the H202 and will put some of the toxin in the air. I'd suggest you wear a mask. And I won't suggest you dip lps or sps in H202, but you can use a turkey baster to pour H202 over parts of the rock and avoid the corals.

I ended up letting rocks with zoas sit in the H202 for up to 5 minutes. It doesn't kill the algae instantly, but over the next 24 to 48 hours it should lose it's color and dissolve away.

There are also lots of threads here about dosing H202 directly to your tank. IMHO the results are spotty and questionable.

Nes80 · Dec 27, 2020

Hi Reefman,

thank ouy for the interesting advice, I will search about it. Can be interesting to dip only the coral support in exemple. Do you think a clam will resist to such treatment ?

Thank you

Ron Reefman · Dec 28, 2020

I would not risk a clam, especially an expensive clam to hydrogen peroxide.

It might work, but I'd have to be REALLY desperate to try dipping a clam. On the other hand, using a small sponge dipped in H202 and used to CAREFULLY wipe the shell of a clam seems reasonable.

Dan_P · Dec 28, 2020

Nes80 said:
Hello all,
I run a 200 liters reeftank since about 2 years now. Since several month I try to fight againt red hair algeas which have slowly covered all my stones. Their grow stagnate now but I lack to find out something which can eat them. As my tank is not so big, I am limited in the choice of the algea eater. I have of course tried the mexican tubos but they dont' eat them in my tank, they die slowly, because of no food for them.

My PO4 is about 0.046 and my NO3 is about 1-2ppm. I doses both to maintain those values. Corals are healthy and grow well, they have a good coloration, also the Acros.

I plan to start another small tank in order to cut corals and make a restart of the tank but I am affraid about some of them which I will not able to eliminate this red algea such as my clam or some Acanthastrea which are small and have red algea very close to the polyps.

So if someone can give me some idea about maybe another red algea eater or how can I make cuts of my corals in order to no introduce the red algea in the other tank, I will be greatful.

Thank you for you help.

Nes80

The Mexican turbo snail seems to eat every kind of algae. It can grow big and push things over if not anchored down.

jjencek · Dec 28, 2020

I had the same problem and about as bad. 6 Mexican turbo snails took care of it for me within a couple of weeks in a 50G tank.

Nes80 · Dec 29, 2020

Ron Reefman said:
I would not risk a clam, especially an expensive clam to hydrogen peroxide.

It might work, but I'd have to be REALLY desperate to try dipping a clam. On the other hand, using a small sponge dipped in H202 and used to CAREFULLY wipe the shell of a clam seems reasonable.

@ Ron Reefman Thank you for the very usefull tips. If I summarize, I can dip rocks, soft corals and Zoa in a bath with 3% peroxyde for about 3-5 minutes or I can use it peroxyde pure to a local application (such as the shell clam example) ?

@ jjencek, I tried once 5 mexicans turbos and another time 9 mexican turbos, additonnaly with manual grubbing without success...

What I plan is to build up a small frag tank to frag my corals. I will try to clean up the clam and sponge the shell it with some peroxyde. Bath my soft. For the rocks, I will clean them all, rince them and let them in the main tank for 6 weeks without lights and restart my main tank.