i've got a hairy coral issue

[nate9]

I have a pretty large starburst polyp colony in my tank that for some reason hair algea likes to grow on. I do not have hair algea almost anywhere else in my tank but there, the one place occupied by my starburst polyp colony. I usually try and pluck off the algea as much as i can but i can never get it all and theres always short little strands left all ove the coral. Usually it doesnt bother me because the coral was doing great but ovr the past couple of days the coral hasnt been coming out and i think it has somehting to do with the hair on it. I was just looking for a way to get the pesky algea off my coral without harming the coral. thank you

[Sk8r]

Easiest way is by establishing a fuge that will just take away all the extra phosphate that is fueling that algae. Easy to do, works immediately, completes job in about 3 months, no more problem.

[CeeGee]

So how exactly does one establish a fuge so that this magic happens?

I am having and have been having a algae issue for quite some time and I am running a BB fuge with some chaeto in it. Over the last year the chaeto has done nothing but die off while the hair algae continues to grow and grow. I have tried all the bulbs that others have said work for them short of adding a halide. I am currently running the chaeto in the dark at all times as I have heard that this "forces" it to feed off the nutrients in the water column as opposed to getting what it needs from light.

I am even running a phosan reactor with rowaphos. The algae has slowed some but continues to rear it's ugly head and grow at a slower pace.

[melev]

CeeGee, what is your water source?

[CeeGee]

RO/DI

0-1 TDS on a hannah meter. When it reads .001 on the meter I replace the DI resin. Reef Crystals salt. I have been battling this crap forever and I am making no headway. I am doing 50% water changes weekly, running chaeto, and ROWA.

I don't overfeed. The HA is a dishwater blonde color not bright green. On the rocks it even looks "ghostly" for lack of a better term. It is the worst on the higher light/higher flow rocks and my Tunze streams.

I think I messed up really badly when I cured my rock. I found this shell that stunk to high heaven when I took it out of the tank before adding my first fish or corals to the tank. That was about 2 years ago. I had a good stretch with no algae and good coral health then BAM! things went to pot and haven't gotten much better if at all in the last year. I have removed the sandbed as it was too shallow for a DSB and deep enough to cause problems. The BB has not helped as I hoped it would.

If you could help us hair algae people it would be great. I am getting ready to transfer my 38 over to a 75 once I get my stand built. I am going to really clean out everything the best I can and scrub all the rock with a wire brush upon the transfer. I would like to get the tank in a little better shape before then though if possible.

My apologies to the OP as I am not trying to highjack this thread. I am right there with you and frustrated as he**.

[airinhere]

CeeGee, you might want to look up dinoflagellates.
Alltogether different beast from hair algae.

nate9, you might want to try using a turkey baster and blowing the detrius off your colony.
they are almost ideally designed to trap detrius in between the polyps
and then as algae grows it makes the design even more efficient at gathering detrius.

Might want to consider addig a little more flow to your system as well.

And dont forget the most effectiuve method of algae removal out there

[otiso777]

nate9, I had a similar problem with hair algae growing between the polyps of my green star polyps. I just increased the flow over this coral and the algae went away. I don't think this coral can have too much flow. It sits right in front of one of my powerheads and grows rapidly.

CeeGee, what are your nitrate levels like? Nitrate is also needed to fuel hair algae. Maybe establishing a deep sand bed in your refugium or setting up an RDSB might help to limit the nutrients in the display.

[CeeGee]

According to my salifert tests I have 0 Nitrates.

Going to look up dinoflagellates.