Rune
New Member
Bangor
Posts: 70 
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Post by Rune on Feb 28, 2014 18:58:51 GMT -5
Does anyone have any suggestions for keeping hair algae down? I scrub the rocks with a toothbrush every week but I'm wondering if there's an easier way. My nitrates and phosphates are both under 5 ppm, so I'm not sure that's the problem, and also I'm only using RO.
Would reducing the length of time the lights are on help? Had some red slime for a while but after cutting back on light it went away. Now the actinics are on for about 10 hours, the 10k for about 5 hours. I have four 24 watt t5 stock bulbs on a 20 long.
Are there any inverts that might help that my longsnout hawkfish wouldn't eat? I have some nerites and a blenny, which help some, but can't seem to keep up with it. Anyone have any advice?
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Post by Derekmillett on Feb 28, 2014 19:20:52 GMT -5
Maybe emerald crabs? I had some hair algae when I set my tank up. I got 4 emerald crabs and a lawnmower blenny. Now not a spec in my tank
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Rune
New Member
Bangor
Posts: 70
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Post by Rune on Feb 28, 2014 19:28:11 GMT -5
That might work...do they ever bother your blenny? I had a banded coral shrimp that liked to grab my poor bicolor blenny so he had to go...
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Post by Derekmillett on Feb 28, 2014 19:29:57 GMT -5
I don't know of this worked or not but I remember that I also boiled some r.o. water, used a small 3ml syringe w needle that I got from cvs and sucked the boiling water into syringe. Then I put the needle right onto the rock that the algae was growing on. Gave it a quick small shot of HOT water. Idk if it helped at all but I figured tthat really hot water at the base of algae would kill it.
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Post by Sean (90 reef, fw rack sys) on Feb 28, 2014 19:44:16 GMT -5
I've always had really good luck with the large mexican turbo grazers when you can find them
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Post by jmerr86 on Feb 28, 2014 19:49:01 GMT -5
I have found that emeralds and lawn mower blennys work until they don't. I one of my tanks I started with crabs and they took care of it un-till it came back months later then they wouldn't touch the stuff so I added a lawnmower blenny and he did his thing and for a long time I was H.A. free but like all good things that came to a end a month or soo ago and nothing would touch it so I moved a powder blue tang into the tank that had done wonders in another tank of mine and guess what he wont touch the stuff nothing will so I pluck and scrub
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Post by Derekmillett on Feb 28, 2014 19:51:18 GMT -5
My emerald crabs haven't messed with anything. I do catch them on a coral occasionally but it's always right after I've fed the tank.
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Post by speedyron on Feb 28, 2014 21:17:30 GMT -5
red Lankia starfish
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Post by foggman on Mar 1, 2014 8:15:08 GMT -5
Your tank is a little small, but rabbit fish love the stuff, just have to be carefull that can eat LPS mine hasn't bothered any corals
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Rune
New Member
Bangor
Posts: 70
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Post by Rune on Mar 1, 2014 9:54:43 GMT -5
so right now I'm thinking about a tuxedo urchin- has anyone has experience with them eating hair algae?
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Post by jess on Mar 1, 2014 9:55:56 GMT -5
I used to only use ro water, since changing to rodi no more hair algae. Even rock I put in with it on disappears. Huge difference
Sent from my HTC ONE
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Post by gotareef on Mar 1, 2014 10:09:20 GMT -5
what are mag levels?
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Rune
New Member
Bangor
Posts: 70
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Post by Rune on Mar 1, 2014 11:00:34 GMT -5
not sure about mag levels- I don't have a mag test, but my salt has magnesium and I do pretty frequent water changes. I'll look into it.
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Post by BriMc on Mar 1, 2014 11:45:43 GMT -5
I threw in a Large clean up crew a month ago consisting of Astrea snails, Tiny blue leg hermits, and a few cerith snails and no more hair algae.
I also agree that unless you are using Sea water RO/DI is a must.
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Post by n00b- Ryan [Poland] on Mar 1, 2014 18:10:30 GMT -5
Are mag levels that closely related to hair algae?.. I'm facing a similar battle and that is one thing I haven't really paid to much attention to.. |
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