Hair algae

Discussion in 'Algae' started by Pipe_Organ, Dec 12, 2003.

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  1. Phil5613

    Phil5613 Purple Spiny Lobster

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    Wheaton, Illinois
    Back side of flyer or page two
     
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  3. Gresham

    Gresham Great Blue Whale

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    And when they break the bubble, it doesn't release the spores?

    Anytime you ad an herbivour to remove algae, your just making it worse in a way. Fish/invert eats algae then poops nutrients, simply a recycling of the nutrients, not an export. Your not truly combatting the real problem. Adding a quick fix should be advised against as well as your simply masking the problem with a chemical and you haven't adressed the real problem so it'll come back and bite you in the ass in the long run.

    burnt bulbs, replacement water source, water changes, skimmer maintance, tank ph (A big one, if it dips into the high 7's it'll start releasing the phosphates bound up in the calcious objects in your tank (live rock, aragonite sand)), over feeding and souping (adding to many supplements that aren't needed) are things I usually look for when addressing this problem. FWIW, several of my tanks went thru a 2 - 3 year hair algae cycle and MANY people experience the same thing every winter due to closed doors and heaters. Both those factors (doors/heater), coupled with you being indoors more often will increase the rooms co2 levels (drops PH) beyond exceptable levels for your tank.

    Back to watching the coral grow............
     
  4. Pipe_Organ

    Pipe_Organ Spanish Shawl Nudibranch

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    Thanks Phil, and Gresham for the advice. Another thing I was doing was letting direct sunlight in for an hour in the morning. I thought it would do the corals some good not realizing that the full spectrum light would create algae. I guess delayed intelligence is better than not getting it at all.
     
  5. Gresham

    Gresham Great Blue Whale

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    I'm not so sure the sun is your problem, although you may be right. I maintained a heavely stocked tank in a green house for quite some time. The only algae that grew was macro and calcious. No cyano, no hair, and certainly no diatoms.
     
  6. karlas

    karlas Fire Goby

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    i really never like the idea of adding a million snails to a tank. you add them they may eat the alge but when that alge does start to disspear there food source dwindles. you actually end up starving your snails over time. instead of so many snails i think its better to have a small variety since there are different snails that actually do different jobs or eat different alges.
     
  7. Pipe_Organ

    Pipe_Organ Spanish Shawl Nudibranch

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    Hi Karla,

    You're right, I ordered just 5 Trochus snails and I think 6 Turbos. I ordered from Live Aquaria and had to come up with the $30.00 min. I didn't want to order more snails for the reason you stated. I believe too that this whole algae thing is due to my membrane not working up to par. I've noticed the tank improving since that was changed. Now my heater is acting up. I can't get it to warm the tank more than 75 degrees. I'll probably have to mail order a new one. None of the pet stores around here carry anything decent. I browsed your photo gallery and was very impressed with your tank. That is what mine used to look like. Mine is coming around though. Thanks for your help.
     
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  9. Trickman2

    Trickman2 Bristle Worm

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    Working on my hair algae problem. added a refugium with 10 red mangroves and added some red algae and some green brillo algae. Waiting to see the effects.
     
  10. Pipe_Organ

    Pipe_Organ Spanish Shawl Nudibranch

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    Hey Trickman,

    Keep me posted on the refugium. More people are getting in to them. My problem is space or the lack of it. I started growing kelp and red algae in hopes too of taking the nutrients away from the nuisance algae. I'm at home today awaiting the delivery of my Trochus snails...
     
  11. Craig Manoukian

    Craig Manoukian Giant Squid

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    Location:
    Marina del Rey, California
    My 29 gallon long sump/regugium provides the following benefits to my 80 gallon display tank:

    1. Additional water volume for better dilution.
    2. Better gas exchange nitrogen out, oxygen in.
    3. The prefilter feed to the sump creates an unbelievable amount of dissolved oxygen, close to saturation which helps with Alk levels and fish don't have to process as much water, less labored breathing, to get the necessary oxygen.
    4. The macro algeas in the refugium remove nitrates and phosphates thus reducing nuisance algaes.
    5. Incrased pod production provides more natural forage food for tank inhaitants.
    6. Live rock and live sand in the refugium provides additional biofiltration and denitrification.
    7. Prefilter and return pump have added 300 GPH to my tank circulation.

    This is not an exhaustive list, but represents most of the major benefits of a sump/refugium.
     
  12. Pipe_Organ

    Pipe_Organ Spanish Shawl Nudibranch

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    Hi Craig,

    Soooo...your sump IS your refugium?