Green hair algae

[Mellow]

Hi all,

Having some green hair algae problems on my sand bed. Any recommendations for fish or invertebrates to clear them?

So far, I've been using Rowaphos extensively since tank start up and having 0 nitrate readings. Not sure why they appeared suddenly just 2 weeks ago. It was ok before that. Feedings are done once a week only... Thanks in advance for any suggestion.

[LIM CHYE HUAT]

Hi all,

Having some green hair algae problems on my sand bed. Any recommendations for fish or invertebrates to clear them?

So far, I've been using Rowaphos extensively since tank start up and having 0 nitrate readings. Not sure why they appeared suddenly just 2 weeks ago. It was ok before that. Feedings are done once a week only... Thanks in advance for any suggestion.

i have a similar problem like yours but mine is red slime algae on sand bed. initially i bought a pair of sand shifting golden head goby to disturb the sand ( i lazy to clean sandbed )so algae cannot settle down. it works but the gobies are short lived . so i replace with a hardy sea cucumber, until now no algae on sand bed. the down side is cucumber can be a bit hideous and unsightly to some .

[tineng]

blue legged drawf hermit crab....quite good in removing all sort of algae....including coraline algae!

[Mellow]

Thanks for all the suggestions.

Chye Huat: Been contemplating on sea cucumber but I've got a powerhead very near the sand bed...worried it might get sucked in....hehe. might just do that!

Tineng: Yah, I've bought those blue legged hermit before but they seem to like to crawl over my acros all the time. Didn't like the idea and got rid of them in the end.

So far, I've got 1 emarald crab, 2 sally light foots, about a dozen dwarf hermits, nerite snails and nassaurius snails too but doesn't seem to efficient

How about kole tangs etc???

[sunny03]

heard that UV can stop aglae you can try it

but just on for a few hrs per week

[ozy]

My sally lightfoot and army of ###### shrimps are pretty hardworking in my tank.

[Mellow]

thanks for all the feedback. I'll go get more cleaners.

How about kole tangs? Anyone knows if they are really helpful? Been thinking of getting one for some time to control the algae.

[Godzilla]

get a FR..guarantee clear all your algae problems.

[moxa]

http://saltaquarium.about.com/cs/algaecontrol/a/aa070403.htm

take a look at the above link.

Before outbreak in the pastI use to get a alage blenny to eats it. cheap solution

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Di...y.cfm?pCatId=94

cheers

Moxa

[Dazza]

Sailfin tang does a gd job in my tank. All alage gonzo including hair algae

[lightningstrike]

algae blenny is a pretty good choice.

[Mellow]

ok...thanks to all for the suggestions! appreciated. Will probably try out different solutions to see which will work better. Thanks!

[Kijori]

http://saltaquarium.about.com/cs/algaecontrol/a/aa070403.htm

take a look at the above link.

cheers

Moxa

Read from this link that there is such a thing like a Nitrate Sponge. Where can I find it in Singapore? Does it fit into different sizes filters?

I'm kinda having some PO4 problems but not NO3. I need to get rid of them. If there is no such thing as the Nitrate Sponge here, then what's the best way to effectively remove PO4?

[Ekia]

Read from this link that there is such a thing like a Nitrate Sponge. Where can I find it in Singapore? Does it fit into different sizes filters?

I'm kinda having some PO4 problems but not NO3. I need to get rid of them. If there is no such thing as the Nitrate Sponge here, then what's the best way to effectively remove PO4?

Rowaphos in FR

[Kijori]

I'm new here. What's FR and the other abbreviation you guys use here? Is there a glossary which I can look up?

[lightningstrike]

I'm new here. What's FR and the other abbreviation you guys use here? Is there a glossary which I can look up?

Here it is. but this pc of info is from quite a while back and is not updated.

[Kijori]

thanks... but i still don't get what FR means. it's not listed there.

[lightningstrike]

FR = Fluidised Reactor

[erictck]

i had a VERY bad case of hair algae. All the rocks are covered with hair algae, so much so that at first glance, the whole tank is GREEN in colour. To rectify this menance, this is what i did.

noticed that No3 > 50-100(coulour range).

didn't measure PO4.

this is what i did.

1. remove all bio balls.

2. remove all FILTERs.

3. remove all sponges

4. change 50% of water(over 2 weeks)

4. Bought 1.5 litres of PO4 remover(aquaphos)

5. Put the whole thing into a filter bag and dump it directly under the overflow(to the sump) pipe outlet.

6. Bought 500ml of Reefez Carbon. Did the same thing as no5.

7. Try to pull all the hairalgae from the rocks.

8. Change photoperiod-lightings time(reduced by 3hrs).

9. Starting to use AZ-No3(small amount) last week to eliminate the No3

3 weeks passed.

My observation :

1. No more hair algae

2. All rocks are no longer greenish.

3. powerblue tang starts to eat salad(cos no more algae for him to nip at)

4. I'm begining to see whiter sand bed.

5. No3 is hovering around 20

6. Corals that have been covered with hair algae are starting to bloom again.

Currently, I do not have any FILTER sponge or anything to filter out the leftovers(ditritrus/foods).

Beneath the overflow pipe(where water gushes out), i only have 1 media bag of AquaPhos. I've removed the carbon. On the next compartment, I have 2 skimmers. EuroReef Needle Wheel(rated up to 110G) + ETSS DownDraft(rated up to 400G) skimmer running 24x7. i can see less particles floating around and these 2 skimmers are doing great wonders. EuroReef - BLACK smelly water and ETSS - Brute force, having thick mud covering the reaction chamber.

that's it.

hope this helps.