How to get rid of green hair algae
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- Опубліковано 22 сер 2024
- A bowl of water, some hungry snails, a helpful product and time will get this problem under control. Hope you like the funny bits, those were intentional.
Getting rid of Green Hair Algae: www.melevsreef....
Phosphate Rx: www.melevsreef....
Phosphate Rx video: • How to dose Phosphate ...
Thanks to Frank's Tanks for letting me film there: franks-tanks.com/
I've been fighting this problem for months and can not wait to try methods shown on this video! Thank you.
Let me know how it goes.
His advice is spot on from my personal experience.
I'm guessing most people watching this already have a hair algae problem, but I think the most important part that needs to be brought up is that regular maintenance (water changes using rodi) will make it so the likelihood of having this problem is minimal. Good info here though. I do get nervous adding chemicals to my reef though! oh, and Emerald crabs are amazing hair algae eaters!!!
I use mollies converted to saltwater, excellent algae eaters, they work at the algae constantly.
I love mollies! How do you convert them?
@@karennation3580 Very slow drip method, I give mine at least 24 hrs to acclimate.
Frank -who owns Franks Tanks in fort worth is the most helpful person if you are setting up a aquarium ,if you live in dallas fort worth I highly recommend visiting his shop, he has the best looking display tanks set up for inspiration,the tanks are consistently spectacular ,corals growing and thriving .Quality livestock.I think he also does tank maintenance .I am setting up a reef tank and picked up some live sand out of his reef tank that helped speed up the cycle process.Very friendly and knowledgeable owner
I was at Frank's tonight. I am glad you are local. I need more snails!!
What a nice guy ..who is educating us in this amazing hobby
Great video Marc! I will have to look into that stuff.
I really like your videos I find them very funny and educational keep up the good work happy reefing
If I can squeeze out some funny into my videos, I'll do it every time. Did you happen to notice how expensive those snails were? ;)
Yes I did
Thank You! I have been out of town on business and my wife sent a rather discouraging photo of our system that is being overtaken by algae. I plan on using this stuff along with the recommended 1 cleaner per gallon method. I will probably post a video of the system too and monitor the progress.
I have subbed. Bob Escher recommend this video to me as I am suffering with hair algae and will be putting this exercise into action.
Thank you for supporting your LFS! Great video!
I have a 6' 125G with hair algae growing in the center of the tank. Wouldn't you know, the algae grows right under the glass panel the supports the middle of the tank? This makes it fairly difficult to reach many places. I can get to it, but most of it is rooted in a large rock that is covered in small pores, and it's difficult to get all of it out of the pores. I find using hemostats works better than my fingers. I will definitely give Phosphate Rx a try, because anything that will make it easier to pluck will be a great help. Nice video, by the way...
I hate those centerbraces. They are the worst. The 215g had that and I couldn't do much in the middle of the reef without twisting myself into a pretzel.
My tank was not as bad as yours but I needed a new CUC. I spoke to my LFS guy and suggested some large Mexican Turbos and some short spine urchins. In less than 2 days I saw a significant change in dropping of nuisance algae. I purchased another urchin cause I think they are cool, also added a serpent sea star to do some cleanup in the crevices. Total in my 90g is 3 Mexican Turbos, 3 Urchins, some other smaller snails (maybe less than 5) and the sea star. Another issue I have is lack of water flow, my pumps over the years have failed, I am going to buy 1-2 more pumps to move the detritus around.
I have mostly the loose brown hair type mixed with green hair algea. Would you recommend the same treatment shown in video?
I keep 2 lil puffers, a gsp and F8 in my 40 gal reef. This prohibits any clean up crew and I have even gone barebottom. Any other suggestions?
If you have room Get a Algae scrubber. It Creates a Ideal place for the Algae to grow and will Fight the algae in the tank for nutrients until it starves it out...
Yea absolutely I will, I've been thinkin bout it
Laughing so hard you keep coming back after the end screen 🤣
Glad you liked that. hehe
Marc, question for you. Love the videos this far, followed you for the past 10 years, and just starting to discover your videos. Now, I didn't hear you mention anything during your snail acclimation... I am not sure if this tank is tied to the main display or not, but snails can bring in bad disease, as you are aware. Ich, brook, etc, etc, fish store water right into your water... No dip, no QT, ?
I just want to hear your input on this issue... I've done it, most people do it, but I usually fill up a small container with tank water and shake the snails vigorously through my display water discarding the LFS water, then putting them into the display.... Just to eliminate any traces of LFS water that remain... Sure an ich cyst could still be on the shell, but that is a risk I am taking... Not bashing you in any way, I'm just curious to hear your response.
Have a good one,
-Luke
Hi Luke. Nice profile picture! I didn't discuss it, but new snails are acclimated to tank water, and then that water is poured down the drain. I don't shake them though like you describe, but they are rinsed in tank water. The damp snails are put in a bowl and carried over to the tank to be added where desired. I don't dip them in chemicals of any kind, and no they aren't put in QT.
This frag tank is part of the main system, and I've used this same method as long as I've been in the hobby.
Thanks for the elaboration, Marc. Appreciated! I was just curious on your methodology. :) Cheers!
Holy crap. Never thought I'd run across a UA-cam that went to the same fish store as me. Lol franks tanks is pretty cool lol.
Black Doughnut frank is cool as shit lol 💪🏼
Great video. I have a huge green algae problem. I have setup a reefer 350 a month ago. Moved live rock from my old 30g tank. Added dry rock which i bought from local fish store. The last two week algae is growing like crazy. The urchin and the snails are not doing much. I have tried phosguard and dosed phosphate rx but the algae keeps on growing.
AL uv filter in sump
I'm amazed at the coral growth in that tank! It's actually beautiful! I would have a hard time going to a different frag tank!
oh thank you I'm gonna try this method, I was just about to pull the rockwork to scrub it down. I'm off to find phosphate rx lol
Great advice, and although it sounds like an accident with your drum feeder, I think I've eaten a month's worth of food in a single weekend and survived. Good stuff and thank you.
Great video. Going to take care of my hair algae now.
My issue is actually the opposite lol ive had my tank for 3 months already with fish and everything, got lights on my tank 8 hrs a day and havent had any algae whatsoever. Gotta feed my snails and crabs because there is just no algae to feed on.
You will get it at least once. Once your tank matures some more you will see your tank really change and get dirty much faster. Also after 6 hours of light algae will begin to grow.
Lmao at give me that coral! I do the same thing. I go to the store for one thing but always walk out with a coral.
In freshwater planted tank, I was able to use flag fish, nerite snails, and amano shrimp, but ultimately, removing infected leaves and balancing nourishment/light is key, also, the fish ate my water wisteria.
I know nothing about freshwater so I'll take your word for it. :)
Im new to the channel, but in a more recent video you said you had a rule of not sticking your hands into the tank. At what point did you decide that? :D
Interesting video. I would never add Phosphate rx because of the danger of overdosing. Corals still need tiny amounts of phosphates, so you don't want to remove it all. Hair algae need 0.03ppm or above phosphates to grow. Maintaining that low level with this product would be difficult. Phosphates enter are tanks daily. 0.02-0.04 depending on the level of fish, the type of food, skimming action and flow. So in just 2 days you would have two much phosphate. Phosphates levels above 0.08 could kill S.P.S corals. With this product I don't see how you can dose it just 6 times a year with out phosphates building up in between. Unless you are using the hair algae to keep phosphates low like a refugium. And then getting the snails to keep the algae low, removing the phosphate in the snail waste by skimming. I'm always open to new ideas, and ways of doing things. I use G.F.O to keep phosphates below 0.03, so I have no hair algae!!!. This product would be great for a one time only use to lower phosphates, but I can't see how it works long term.
It knocks them down to zero. When I start to see algae growing in the tank (on the walls, green or brown film algae), if and when it seems like it's getting some momentum I'll break out the test kit to measure. I don't over-react though; I just want to see where the level is at that time. If it's getting up there, I'll go ahead and use Phosphate Rx to bring it back down again. I've been doing it this way for nearly 10 years and my reef looks colorful and healthy. Corals grow regardless, so I'm not really sweating a certain number. GFO never did a thing for me, so using this bottled product was exactly what the doctor ordered. ;)
I like how practical you're.
I have green hair algae and run a very aggressive nutrient export system. Even with light feeding this stuff grows. Its weak but it grows. Clean up crew which I've doubled isnt touching it. Its definitely green hair algae 100% sure.
Well, something is fueling it and your CUC crew is lacking the right critters to consume what remains. What do you have right now? What size tank in gallons? What’s your PO4 measuring?
@@melevsreef Sorry for the late response. It's still an ongoing problem btw. I have a 100 gallon system, my phosphates will read. 02 to .03 on the hanna ulr test. My nitrates have always been low to non detectable. My coral growth is good, but I have tufts of this stuff growing in the rock holes. I've tried blowing detritus away, nopox, rowaphos, waterchanges. I've even removed the rock and scrubbed it off, it grew back even faster. The only thing that looked like it was working a little was vibrant but I stopped it because my tank became extremely clean and I was afraid I was destroying the ecosystem in it.
@@melevsreef I have trochus, asterina, blue hermit crabs, scarlet hermits and I had tried a lawnmower blenny that wouldnt touch it.
I have an ATS but it doesn't seem to be enough. It was originally made for a 29 gallon and I plan on making it bigger. I now have a 55 g. How do you feel about Sea Hares? I purchased two Blue spotted but can't seem to keep them alive. They are like lawn mowers when alive. Any advice with those and how to keep them alive? I am going to try upping my snail numbers like you suggested. I harvest the hair algae like you say but I also use a tooth brush for the hard to reach around my corals sections. I also put a sock on a power head to work as an in tank filter before the water change and during the harvest. I then do a 30% water change to suck out what I can. I am feeling like I must be overfeeding because all my parameters are perfect. I will be honest, I have not checked Phosphates because I have to get a test kit. But the hair still grows. Thanks for your help and I love your videos. :)
I can see your are trying a lot of methods to keep them under control. Getting PO4 levels down, removing decay from the system, ripping out all algae you can by hand and adding an army of hungry new snails - that's the proven method. It's a little extra manual work, but the results are worth the trouble. I don't use brushes because I don't want to release pieces of algae to land elsewhere in the tank only to spread more.
I have some tiny shrimp that seem to love eating hair algey, I'm not sure what kind of shrimp they are.
Also...A 3 day lights out weakens the algae
Thanks for the info, Enjoyed the video and trip to the LFS
Thank you. That was a fun part of making this video.
This helped me a ton. Thank you.
wow. put hand in tank and remove algae. omg that's brilliant. and I watched him put it in the bowl, then sure enough when he tipped the bowl. there was algae in it. thanks for the lesson on object permanence and picking things up. good work
You'd be surprised how many people just want to pour in an elixir and hope it will vanish magically. I just figured showing what I do instead of having them read it in text form might be useful. :)
hair algea will grow if you have to high po4 and no3.you can take the algea away, but even better is to get the source away.most times its overfeeding or a bad skimmer
And model homes stay cleaner if you don't live there and only visit occasionally. I feed my tank all the time, and in the case of this video I intentionally grew the algae for about six to eight weeks so I could discuss it with y'all. Watch my other recent videos showcasing the 400g and the 60g to see what they look like. This frag tank is tied into the exact same system. It lacked a clean up crew.
Vibrant loses it as well! How do you get rid of a wirey sea algae( came on wild corals) and a dense. bushy almost flowery but green looking hedge type alge when you dont have high po4?
Will this allow me to grow coroline algae once I drop the phosphate level and remove most of the green algae I have.
Thanks for explaining it in simple terms
Great Video!! But how do you remove hair algae from the sand bed? I have been pulling clumps of hair algae and sand/gravel from my sand bed for weeks now. I feel like I am pulling out all of that beneficial sand. Is there a way to remove the algae while keeping the sand intact? Thanks for all of the great videos. I am new to reefing and it has been great to have you and the BRS guys to follow along.
Happened to me as well, I think you just need higher flow on the sand to stop that from happening or move around the sand yourself so the same side of the grains aren't always facing the light
Finally someone who knows what they're talking about... not kidding the last two videos included brilliant ideas like.... just use a fork! Orrr get a bunch of shrimp and the guy had a tank full of algae shrimp and one neon tetra
Hope it helped. 😇
I added the product per the recommendations on the bottle and next morning my yellow tang was dead. The manufacturer's website has a warning about yellow tangs but I don't recall seeing one on the bottle.
It is rare, but some people have seen this happen. I have two yellow tangs in my reef since 2011, and they've been through this treatment at least 30 times or more. They never look even slightly distressed. I'm sorry for the loss of your Yellow though. :(
Great video Melevreef I just got Ick and tried to treat the tank with polyplab medic so the tank did not have carbon for 20 days and also Reyes other methods I read about witch nothing worked so long story short the fish are now in the QT tank and the main display has payed from me trying to kill Ick with different medications ,so now that everything is calming down and getting back on track now I'm starting to see green hair algae so this video helped I trust what ever you do lol so thanks
Thanks for the video it was super helpful! I've never really had this problem but now I know how to take care of it if it does arise. However, I've been battling red slime for months now. How would you recommend getting rid of the red slime algae (cyanobacteria)?
Follow the directions I provide on this link. I have RedCyano Rx in stock, ready to ship: www.melevsreef.com/node/62
Great video, helped me out a lot!
I've tried vibrant, physical removal, every snail, urchins, seahares. I hate nano tanks. I cant get my phosphate down with 90% change. All my other tanks are immaculate.
You certainly don't need 1 snail per gallon....not necessary at all
per 10 gallons right?
Oops ... it is 1 per gallon. Wow.
I've had all sorts of hermit crabs (basic blue, scarlet, red, halloween ,electric blue) and snails (turbo, astrea, margarita), none of them eat hair algae. They don't seem to eat red cyano either.
I find hermits prefer hair algae when it is young and soft.
Jason Gabler my banded trochus definitely do seen them munch it on the glass
Thank you. I’m going to give that a try
Hi i have a 6 gallon nano and my live rock has got like a green powder algae and hundreds of what looks like air bubbles do you know of a way to remove this my phosphate is at 0.25 with api test kit i have added a phosphate bag to my filter hope you can help thank you
I need help with hair algea
It's growing in my hair too.
Yeeaa. I wanna see your new build.
Here's the tour, Janet. It's two parts. This first part is the equipment end of things. ua-cam.com/video/XpYwILawr4E/v-deo.html
I just got a dual carbon reactor. I run gfo and
carbon. Will it really do nothing to help prevent or eliminate algae?
+wrmaldonado Carbon helps clarify the water. GFO helps bind up phosphate, but I find the work exceeds the benefit versus Phosphate Rx. I choose this method because it is much easier.
Lol i go to franks from time to time small world
Do you still use the Phosphate RX?
Absolutely.
Wow, learn something new everyday!! Thank you sir.
hey got gha in 38 gallon innovative marine tank reef set up been up and running fir two years but all of a sudden but every think check out ph is 8.4 ammonia is 0 and nitrite is also 0 but nitrate r 40 I also do 7 gallon water change a week and only feed 3 daysa week corals all doing fine running ufv and protine skimmer and 2 spinstreams 5 hydro powerheads 3 inch of sand bed led lights only on for 8 hrs cant seam to fix it any help got good clean up crew 20 crabs and 10 snails 2 emarldgreen crabs 1 sally light foot only have 6 fish in tank now
In the video I explained that you'll need more (new) snails. I'd add at least 20 more snails to your tank, after you've removed the majority of the algae by hand one pinch at a time.
I'd also recommend doing three 50% water changes over a one week period to get the nitrate down. It'll be closer to 5ppm after the third change if you follow my advice.
I have tried this technique. The Phos level was 0.11 and after using the Phosphate Rx, the level went down to 0.03. The algae were not or is not easy to take off the rock. Maybe I don't have green hair algae...but it looks like it, just shorter than the video. I did hire zebra turbos, thanks to my friend who suggest these guys, so I guess I will see that happens.
great video marc but my question is dropping the phos that quick a problem for the coral? putting a lot of stress on them. I know you know better than that but I would like your input on this one. thanks marc.!!!!!!!
Hi David. No, I've not had any problems with Phosphate Rx and my corals. I've been running a mixed reef for many years, and only used that product to lower phosphate when needed. If phosphates are low (.25ppm or less) then removing those would be minimal to the system. However, there have been times when PO4 measured very high and I just had to dose to bring it down. I never saw any damage that I could correlate to dosing. Perhaps that's because I use this product and I'm not mixing up a DIY solution with lanthanum chloride from a pool supplier. I trust Phosphate Rx 100%, and have never once been concerned.
+melevsreef I have a Hair Algea problem, doesn't look green, almost reddish light brown under a blue tint light. I have searched and searched for a solution. My salifert Phosphate kit reads 0 every time. It lives in the sand, and bottom edges of rocks. Seems to like low light as I have not seen any at the top.. YET!! I do water changes, blow rocks, have a skimmer, refugium, and Phosphate reactor. I'm about to try the Phosphate RX, but my question is... If I keep reading zero and I drop it even more won't that be a issue? Everything else is thriving and looking great in the Aquarium. I think I have some dead stuff traded in the sand and was planning on vacuuming the sand to its deepest point, but it is a deep sand bed so will do a little at a time. Tank is 8 months old. I have the stuff in both my tanks. Use a ROI filter and reads ZERO also.
Melve can u also do a vid . On step by step on setting up a calcium reactor . I m still confuse on going about this. Thanks
That's a great idea! Have you read this page over yet? I know it's not a video, but... melevsreef.com/calcium_reactor.html
I did , But a while back, i'll check it out again.
I want to use a Cole-Parmer Masterflex continuous duty peristaltic pump. thanks again. And Love your VIDS they SO DIRECT AND i feel like im there. I just hate reading. Im more of a hands on.I like seeing what im doing . I learn better that way. Jan
Janet Diaz Makes sense. That's one of the reasons I've started doing videos for those that prefer not to read. But if I have a related article, I'll put the link in the video's description for further information.
ok , great. thanks.
The only snails that dont die in a few months are trochus.... i wish there was a video on snails
wane's world wane's world where is keanu reves?
This cleaning project sounds fun :)
- Chuan
Our tanks been overrun by this algae for too long and has murdered the many hundreds of dollars worth of coral. I'm going to look into the phosphorus rx product as our sock filtration doesn't perform as well as dripping
Here's a link. I sell it because I use it myself. :) www.melevsreef.com/catalog/blue-life-usa-phosphate-rx
hey franks my buddy!! Nice vid bro!!
Why not so much blue leg hermits ,what's wrong with them.
joemanta7 They seem to be a tad more destructive than the red legs.
Any thoughts on using a sea hare to get rid of problem algae Mark? I have been thinking of getting one for a while.
have you tried dosing ho2o, 1ml. per 10 gallons a day? it works great and reef safe
Great video!!! I got two questions, hope u dont mind :-)
1. If i doze coral rx but dont manually remove the gha, will they dissappear on their own?
2. I have a 75 and 25 gallon sump, does this mean ill be droping at least 42 drops? Aint that alot?
Thank u so much Mark and happy holidays ,
Coral Rx is a coral dip. You meant Phosphate Rx, right? It won't disappear but it will change color as it starts to die back. However, leaving it in your tank, it will recover and turn green again. Hence my advice to weaken it and then pull it out.
If you consider the inner dimensions of your tank and subtract the displacement of sand and water, then add the water volume of the sump, you'd be treating 75g worth of liquid volume. 40-45 drops is all you need per dosing session.
Happy holidays to you too!
Sorry, ur right phosphate rx. Thanks!
Some of my corals reacted negatively to phosphate rx but knocked my po4 to 0. Now i dont know if the corals reacted negatively to phosphate rx or to the fact that the phosphate went down to 0 fast. If i could only now get these lazy snails to eat the gha. Would u recommend an urchin for this purpose?
Imeeshare Balingue What corals reacted negatively? What was the phosphate level before dosing? Now that PO4 is zero, start pulling the algae off the rockwork manually. It won't just vanish by itself. :)
Woooooooooow.. lol.. ive been searching for something to help me in this fight every where.. never even heard ANYONE mention this product.. Im guessing this works good on glass algae to?? Would you treat, then scrap glass then, do a 25% WC , with sump and jets off? 125g DST 40g refug is what i run. Thanks for any help and this wonderful vid.
Are you saying GHA is growing on the glass too? That's the easiest to remove. Stop the flow, then use a plastic credit card or gift card and scrape upwards to remove it, scooping that into a handy container out of the tank. Repeat until done.
Whats the treatment or process that helps avoid this in the future..? Mainly the back glass behind the rocks is the trouble area.
If you keep your phosphate levels low, and don't run the lighting too long ( as well as make sure sunlight isn't hitting the tank at any point throughout the day ), algae shouldn't be much of an issue. And a well-stocked clean up crew to work on whatever attempts to grow. Scraping the back glass clean once a month is usually best.
Cleanup crew bought yesterday. 200 snails for a 120g display 40g refuge. Phosphate RX on the way. Also lights are about 2-3" from water line so the spectrum doesnt fan out towards the walls as much and focus on rocks more. They dim on at 1pm full spectrum at 3-9 and dim off by 10pm. LED STRIP 10K BLUE AND WHITE. AND MID DAY- A StingRay Finnex 7k daylight LEDs and 620nm Reds and actinic Blues come on for 5hrs. Refugium light are on 18 hrs on algae scrubber and blade grass inspire growth of algae here and take in more nutrients from display tank... Ypur thoughts on this lighting. Thank you so much for your time. Best vidz and information i have found by far. Keep up the GREAT work. :)
Mark, thanks for the video. How does Phosphate RX do against Bryopsis? Does it loosen it from the rocks as well?
When it comes to Bryopsis, I used a different method to get rid of it. Taking away nutrients would be best for that algae, so yes getting rid of Phosphate would be part of it. But blowing it out with a powerhead or turkeybaster to get rid of trapped detritus in the coral of the plant is important - the plant uses it like a tiny DSB to fuel off of.
Can you clarify what type of snails I should use for hair algae control or can I use any snails to eat the algae? I have Malaysian Trumpet snails. I also have Red Cherry Shrimps will they eat the hair algae? Thanks for the video
+Johnny K Hi Johnny. I did a full write up on clean up crew critters here: www.melevsreef.com/cuc Neither of the ones you mentioned are on my list though.
I found vodka dosing worked for the green hair algae removal... I bet that ex is the same thing (a carbon source) .... everything in my tank is always 0 but I’ll still have an algae problem... I’m sure it is not proper flow and over feedin and to much time on the lights....
Phosphate Rx is a flocculant, not a carbon source. It pulls out phosphate quickly, starving the algae of a fuel source. Since you have algae, the test results you see (always 0) are misleading but also quite common. Perhaps you need to beef up your clean up crew with some new hungry snails and hermits.
melevsreef i do need to beef up my clean up crew... Im just not as optimistic because the snails i bought either get made a meal by my one pistol shrimp, or a constant search for tipped over snails... I wish they could get into the harder to get to places... And the reason i havent gotten any crabs yet is the need for new shells when they out grow theirs, which adds to one less snail 😢... What do you think of carbon dosing?
rossauce12 Carbon dosing is used to control Nitrate & Phosphate, but yours measure 0 so you don’t need it.
Tiny hermit crabs, various snails, a tuxedo urchin... all help with algae control. You can read my CUC article on melevsreef.com and decide what to buy. If you lose a few to a pistol shrimp, consider them love food. Any inverted snails need to be righted so they can stay working and not become food or pollution in your tank. It’s just a part of proper husbandry.
Is it necessary to shut down the protein skimmer or carbon reactor for any period of time while treating with PhosphateRx?
No, keep those running. I also made a video for Phosphate Rx you can watch here: ua-cam.com/video/7x8bmqx9NOM/v-deo.html
I got like some brown hair algae growing on some plants. Is that bad?
Not really a bad problem, but it might be ugly to look at.
Thanks for the video. I just cycled a 40g tank and have 3 green chromis. I heard you mention turbo and astrea. Which would you suggest I start with? Thanks!!
aManUnderGrace I would suggest one critter per gallon, so 40 snails, hermits, cucumber, tuxedo urchin, serpent starfish - all these critters add up to 40. There is no limit or rule to adding invertebrates in a tank and the more you have the better your tank will stay clean.
why use this product when you can use a algea scrubber and it does the same thing and adds good nutrients to the tank after it eats the phosphates up
You can go that route as well, if you prefer. I've never wanted to run a turf scrubber, and the occasional treatment in my reef is no big deal.
How often can i dose thos product, and will the gha die off on its own if not manually removed? I ask this because most of gha is coming from nooks and crannies in the rock
As often as testing dictates a need. I've used it every other day when PO4 was reading crazy high (autofeeder went nuts). But usually, I dose it once every 10 weeks or 5x a year.
I have a 20 gallon AIO, I've gone to snail only as I found in a small setup like that crabs waged war on my snails and always killed them (think I had blue legged tho) in starting to learn that snail only possibly isn't the best but some people do do it.... What's your thoughts on that subject??
Also I only have turbos. 10-15 of them but don't touch hair algae at all. Also starting to learn to have a mixed variety of snails, what would you say is the best mix?
+T.J. Merrells I actually just typed up my thoughts in an article I published a few days ago. Here are a bunch of options for you: www.melevsreef.com/cuc Instead of aggressive blue leg hermits, maybe spend more on the Scarlets since they tend to leave snails alone. Hope the article helps.
Will this method also work on red hair algae i got green and red
I have phosphate RX and the algea seems to be dying off but what's the best way to remove it. By hand in a 20 gallon would be ok but I have a 300 gallon with probably 200lbs of live rock. Would take a month. Any other ideas?
Picking at one section daily would be what I would do. Is the entire 300g covered, or is it here and there? Yes, my example looks easy in this video, but I actually did it in a 280g tank myself.
It’s tedious, but you work until you can’t stand it, then step away. Do more the next day. Within a week it will look much better. Do t forget to add a hungry clean up crew to get whatever crumbs you leave behind.
@@melevsreef it's mostly just on the live rock, I've been picking it off and it's getting a lot better. I plan on getting a larger clean up crew. Thanks for the info and pointing towards phosphate RX.
I'm actually trying live oysters i bought from my supermarket. should be good results cause they live off of ammonia, phosphates and nitrates
Let me know how it goes.
sure thing! Will be hard to tell as i put my fish back in my dt after treating for the last 3 months for ich. Hopefully No3 will remain the same with adding around 12 fish to a very established 150gl. tank without a wc.
well the oysters hve been in the 150 now for about 2 months and are doing very well, hopefully that stays the same
Should I remove my macro algae first before using the phosphate rx
No, it should be fine. Mine never wavers.
Will phosphate Rx hurt a planted freshwater system? I know it's the limiting nutrient for aquatic plants
I've never used it in freshwater. I don't know the answer.
Do you recommend a water change after you apply phosphate rx? If so, after how long?
in addition to snails, what do you think about help from a lawn mower blenny, or yellow tang? Thanks!!!
A lawnmower blenny may help, as would a tuxedo or diadema urchin. I wouldn't get your hopes up about a yellow tang though.
I have plenty, hundreds of cone shape nails, and the hairy algae is still not under control, the snails prefer fish food than algae.
Maybe you need to get a different type of snail. Hundreds of the wrong kind won't help.
I think the best way is to use algae scrubber, I have not tried, but from most users reviews are that the algae will grow on the scrubber slowly and no more in the tank, more like migration.
Thanks for the Video!
would this be ok for fresh water?? and would it be ok for bee shrimp??
I don't know.
So two month have gone by. My experience tells me that this product is probably geared for helping with a one-time overdose of phosphates. Something died or you dropped the food container in the tank, etc. PhosphateRx and stuff like it is not the sort of instant solution, as this video advertises, for a chronic phosphate problem. I have concluded that over time my laziness with water changes has allowed my coral-based live rock to absorb a lot of phosphates. The rocks are saturated and now it is being released. In other words, I got away with extra time between water changes, with no algae blooms, because the rock was absorbing the phosphates, and perhaps other things. Now I basically have to be in emergency mode for months, doing daily water changes. I am adding daily PhosphateRx in my sump and/or directly into the protein skimmer, about 1/2 the recommended dose. I've also started to run GFO. I've also done a multi-day blackout and am considering doing a full 24hrs per week. I also obsessively the crap out of the algae.
At the end of 6 months, sometime in January, if I my tank is not free of GHA I'm going to consider getting out of the hobby. This is not what I signed up for.
Hi Jason. Let's talk about this further. My reef usually doesn't go higher than .25ppm Phosphate (Salifert test kit). When I hit that number, I dose Phosphate Rx and overnight the water is cloudy, and the phosphate is exported via my skimmer. The next day, I'll test to make sure, but it's almost always at 0. I dose about 5x a year, or every 10 weeks. That's been my method for the past 10 years.
However, back in 2013, my Eheim autofeeder dumped in a month's worth of food into the tank while I was speaking out of town one weekend. When I came home, I noticed over the next few days I had a significant amount of algae growing on the glass to the point I assumed phosphate was up. When I got up on my stepladder, I saw the Eheim spinning around and around and around, completely empty. That explained why I was seeing algae. So I grabbed my kit, and it measured 3.0ppm which is VERY high. When PO4 hits that point, it saturates the rock and sand. To remove it, I'd have to dose the system repeatedly. I dosed the correct amount for my water volume every other day for about two weeks. Each time it pulled some out, but the number rose again because it was leaching out of the rockwork. However, after two weeks, it was down to 0 and stayed there.
I think you may be in a similar predicament, and just have to treat back to back until it has been exported. If you are concerned about making your tank cloudy, I sell a 10 micron filter sock that will trap it extremely well -- to the point that sock will likely overflow within 2 hours of being installed nice and clean. But your tank won't be cloudy for hours. melevsreef.com/catalog/4-filter-sock-10-micron
You did say you were dosing it at 1/2 strength. I'd dose at the proper amount, and do so every two or three days until you get the numbers you're desiring. There's no reason to throw in the towel yet, it's just a challenge you've got to tackle for the time being.
One more thing you should do. Grab a powerhead like a Maxijet 1200, and plug it into a 6' extension cord. Go through your tank with that powerhead and blast the rockwork and the algae. Get all the detritus in suspension, so a sock and/or your skimmer can remove it. Do this weekly for a month. That will also help get things back on track. I'd suggest regular monthly water changes (25% or more), and stay on top of water parameters (alkalinity, calcium, magnesium, salinity, temperature primarily; phosphate and nitrate secondarily; ammonia & pH if you're curious).
Let me know if you have any other questions.
I also have the Salifert test kit, but I've stopped testing. The numbers lie because the algae is gobbling up the unwanted minerals. The real indicator is the algae, or lack of algae. The results so far, as far as the presence algae goes, is that I am noticing no significant, new colonies of GHA and the originals are growing more slowly. After the blackout I did see a good deal of gray, dead algae. Unfortunately, some of it is very difficult to get to and I fear not being able to pull it off makes this battle that much more difficult as the dying GHA may be dumping the phosphates and N-based compounds it removed back into the system. If I am consistent with water changes, I'll eventually win... or so the theory goes.
I'm not concerned about making the tank cloudy. I figure it just makes the skimmer's job that much easier. FYI, I was also running a homemade in-tank reactor with 2 tbsp of phosban. I just replaced that with a dumped bag of chemipure elite in a phospban 150. My tank is ~10g in the display, with about ~2g in a CPR Aquafuge2 which essentially operates like a sump. I have a Tunze9002 and a wad of chaeto in the fuge. The reactor hangs off the side of the fuge, pulling form the bottom. I run my Kessil 150w for no more than 6 hrs/day. The tank churns with an old MP10 and the output from fuge. A ton of coral, a few inverts and two smallish clowns. It's a nice setup where nothing should've gone wrong, more than capable of handling the bio-load. Except that I got lazy.
I'm not sure I understand your logic of dosing Rx at 100% every ~3 days instead of my 50% every day. The latter would seem to be less invasive with a greater concentration over all, no? Fwiw, I put two drops in the sump surround the skimmer and one drop right into the mouth (where the scum bubbles out). My main point in my reply was to say that PhosphateRx is not this phosphate panacea that magically cures your tank. The cure is way more a matter of consistent, hard work than anything else. I didn't feel your video was conveying that and was more giving the impression that you drop this stuff in and voila! no more algae. Maybe that's just what I wanted to hear :)
As for a the powerhead to clear detritus, my turkey baster works wonders. I use it all the time. I think using a powerhead in my tiny tank would exacerbate the problem by kicking up sand and releasing who-knows-what into the water column. Also I think the pulsing nature of the baster is more effective.
My tank is so small, I'm not really concerned about all of those parameters. Right now I'm doing water changes every other day on average, about 15%. When things were fine I did that once a week... well, I was suppose to and that's where the laziness got me into trouble with po4-saturated rocks and substrate. Otherwise, for such a small tank that's a fine schedule for replacing desired minerals and removing the unwanted ones. Don't you think?
Thanks for your help.
Since it is such a small biotope, your point is valid. And yes, it doesn't magically make algae go away. There's a product called Algae Fix that may do that, but I've never used it.
Have you added any clean up crew critters? A tuxedo urchin, some red legged hermits and some astrea snails should work that stuff right out of the system. I'd put in about 15 critters if I were you. www.melevsreef.com/cuc is my article on that topic. Might as well have a decent population so you don't have to feel like you have to work so hard.
I see no reason to use this at half-power. If you have a 10g tank, I'd use 6 drops per session. 5 if you want to be cautious. :)
I'd like to see your tank looking better in 30 days, not in six months.
Adding to the CUC when there's an environmental problem is a double edged sword, or so it seems to me. And, I don't know if it's just something about my tank, but my CUC never seems to be really effective. I think the seem way more interested in detritus than green salad. I've never seen anything in my tank gravitate to nor actually chow down on GHA. I've tried trochus, margarito & turbo. All have died except for the trocus. All of my hermits recently died too, including a halloween, blue leg, red leg and fighting conch. Chemically, the tank is probably fairly stressful right now. Admittedly, I probably had too many inverts, but i figured if they ate GHA, in my tank they've got a lifetime supply! Fortunately my favorite invert, a boxer crab with anemones intact has survived all this. ANyhow, for fear of introducing even more dead organics, I'm going to leave well enough alone with the one trochus I still have. *Maybe* I'll get another hermit.
OK, I'll try moving from 3 drops to 6 over the next few days and see how it goes. I'd love to see something take a serious bite out of the existing GHA growth other than blackouts.
So what happened? Did you finally solve this in some other way?
Hi
great video
I’m setting up a new salt tank Tuesday how long during the cycle before I have to put cleaning crew in
I would wait a month at least. And during your cycle, don't turn on the lights all day long. If you want them on to look at the tank briefly, that's fine, but if you have them on 8 hours a day or more, you'll just end up with nuisance algae with nothing to consume it.
thank you so much
i've been running gfo since day 1. my tank is 6 months old and i am getting diatoms... will cuc help? what kinds. i use rodi and reef crystals
+First Massage You definitely want a clean up crew. Lots of hungry snails and hermits to keep the tank clean and algae free. Diatoms are food for bacteria though, and that usually doesn't last long.
does the same thing work with a freshwater tank?
+Karen Kline I don't know. I've only kept saltwater systems.
I have fresh water tanks.... And I have a problem with hair alge is it harmful to the fish
It shouldn't be harmful to fish, the algae produces oxygen in the system via photosynthesis. But odds are, it's not pretty to observe.
melevsreef.... Lol it I have java moss so it looks like it spread all over the tank
Perhaps you need some type of snail to help consume some of it. We use a "clean up crew" in our reef tanks to keep algae under control.
Will carbon take the phosphate rx out of the water?
No