all right... ok ok........... ill take this moment to let all of you who told me the importance of r/o water throw your cracks............
k all "i told you so" on the side:
now that im on the r/o bandwagon, my phosphate levels are undetectable with the salifert test kit but no signs of the hair algae receeding. ne ideas on how to get these guys out without weeding. i have cheato in my tank also.
I pulled all of my rock out and scrubbed the HA off over a week ago. It's much better now, granted I see some of it coming back. So I've been scrubbing those areas too, but with a toothbrush in the tank.
I was good for the first week on water changes, did a 20% after pulling the rock and scrubbing. Then the next day I did a 10%. then a few days later I did around 10% again. But I've been slack since and it's been a week since I did that last water change (I know Gwen...bad Scott). I'll be doing another change tonight and scrubbing the HA...then I leave on vacation. So hopefully it's not a lawn when I get back.
It's been a battle for me, I've been using RODI for a few months now. And I was getting "RO" water from LFS for 2 months prior to me getting my own unit.
Granted...it doesn't mean you can't kick it faster than me. :-)
__________________ Tank setup 8-5-05
26 gal bowfront
i have a question...i was in a LFS the other day & their noramally pristine coral tank was literally covered in cyano & HA......even covering most of the corals.....if you were to purchase one of the corals, would you risk transfering the cyano & HA to your tank?...or if your tank isn't prone to that, would it just die-off?
Wendy- Cyano and hair algae aren't one of those things that u either got or ya don't. If u have the food to feed it in your tank, you will get it whether it was there before or not. However, I wouldn't buy anything from a LFS that has a cyano/ha problem- that means their water quality sucks. And a coral with hair algae could mean a dead coral very soon since the HA can grow right over it and suffocate it.
I had HA in my tank(see tank journal), but it is all but gone now. I scrubbed my rocks real good, and them put them back. Once back in the water, I could see a small amount of HA still on the rock. I went to the LFS and got three Trochus snails. They immediately went after the HA that was left. Now I only have a small bit on a powerhead that they haven't "discovered" yet. They are amazing! I will continue to have Trochus snails in my tank and I will probably add another 6 or 7 by the time I am done.
oh no, gwen.....i wasn't planning on buying anything....i was just wondering if you could possibly transfer it from one tank to another.....i didn't think the HA would tranfer, but wasn't sure about the cyano, being that it is a bacteria
If you have the food to keep the HA alive then it would grow in your tank. Same goes with the cyano.
However if you don't have any HA/cyano I'd recommend scrubbing any HA off before putting it in your tank and mostly likely it would melt away. You don't have to scrub the cyano, it easily goes away if the food isn't available in the water column.
Hi Scott
I had the same problem for months i went to a lfs of near where i live its a good one so i trusted the advice and he suggested i purchase a Sea Hare (i think in the US they are called Sea Bunnies dont quote me on that though ) Any way i purchased one.
The next mornig after placing it in my tank one of my rocks which was covered in HA was almost completely clear. Ive had my Sea Hare now for 5 weeks and have no HA in my tank at all best purchase ive made when you have no HA remaining i simply feed with algea wafers which he loves. Hope this Helps
Now that I'm back from SWU, I'll stop by the LFS and see if they've had time to get anything in. Around a week or two ago they had a crash in their coral tanks...same tanks they kept all their inverts in. So maybe they have everything good to go again, and maybe they have stocked the tanks. I'll probably end up ordering something, as I doubt they'll have what I want in stock.
__________________ Tank setup 8-5-05
26 gal bowfront
If you have the food to keep the HA alive then it would grow in your tank. Same goes with the cyano.
However if you don't have any HA/cyano I'd recommend scrubbing any HA off before putting it in your tank and mostly likely it would melt away. You don't have to scrub the cyano, it easily goes away if the food isn't available in the water column.
with all the gel binders, EDTA, glutonates, and phosphates in the foods and liquids that we use in our aquariums, i think there is always food for cyano. what cyano cannot tolerate is high flow and oxygen rich water. but of course, i'm not a scientist, just a hobbyist so don't hold me to it.
I have a dumb question. isnt hair algea a sort of plant, and dont you try to have algea in your fuge? if so than is it beneficial in your tank if you dont have a refug(to reduce nitrate)?
I have a dumb question. isnt hair algea a sort of plant, and dont you try to have algea in your fuge? if so than is it beneficial in your tank if you dont have a refug(to reduce nitrate)?
Hair algae is one of the types of nuisance algaes (bubble algae is another one) that we do not want in our tank. The type of algae we want growing in our sumps/refugiums for nutrient export is a macroalgae like Caulerpa or Chaetomorpha (also known as chaeto, brillo pad algae, or spaghetti algae).
Hair algae tends to grow on anything and everything...including your coral, and it can smother and kill those. And that's not something we want to happen.
I found some Caulerpa growing on a rock in my display, and I pulled all of it out (at least as best I could) and put it in my fuge. I didn't like how it grew and attached to everything. I'm sure it could be harmful to corals by the way it attaches to things.
Chaetomorpha I really like, it really does look like a mess of spaghetti. The nice thing about it...it's free floating, it does not attach itself to anything. Now depending on where it is, it could grow around something but it won't anchor itself to anything. Plus it seems to grow pretty fast with good lighting.
__________________ Tank setup 8-5-05
26 gal bowfront
icon under there name and give them Reputation points
) Any way i purchased one.
