Hair algae but no measurable issues

haggarse · #1 10/24/2007, 08:37 PM

Hello,

My 75G tank is approx. 4 mos. old and perameters are as follows:

SG - .0123
Ca - 370 (a little low)
dkh - 9
Phosphates - 0
Nitratres - 0
Nitrites - 0
Ammonia - 0
PH - 8.4
Temp 80.5

The issue I am having is dark green hair algae. It is on many of rocks and no longer than a quarter of an inch. I am running a Phosban Reactor with Magnavore PURA PhosLock and tested both the tank water and water coming directly from the reactor and both read 0 phosphates. Any suggestions on what to do or check? I just added 25 Astrea snails & 5 red hermits from Phishy and also am going to switch to Rowa filter media to see if there is any improvement.

Any suggestions? Should I be using Carbon?

Thanks in advance!

Billybeau1 · #2 10/25/2007, 12:13 AM

If you have microalgae, you probably have excessive nutrients like PO4. In rare cases, the PO4 is being consumed as fast as it develops so a test kit won't pick it up.

I suggest getting more aggressive with a GFO type phosphate remover.

bertoni · #3 10/25/2007, 12:42 AM

Moved to New to the Hobby for more views.

The phosphate remover might help. How much food is added per day, and what type?

uscharalph · #4 10/25/2007, 02:58 AM

Like mentioned above, your phosphates would be at 0, since the hair algae itself is consuming them. Looks like just about everyone goes through this stage. i believe I'm almost at the end of this stage. Do you use RO for top-off and RO based for water changes?

MalHavoc · #5 10/25/2007, 07:00 AM

The reason why your nutrients are measuring zero is because the algae is growing and consuming them all.

There seems to be a correlation between higher levels of magnesium and reduced algae growth. There's a thread around somewhere, but it seems as though you can reduce nuisance algae like bryopsis and other forms of hair algae by getting your Mg levels up to about 1600 ppm or so. Perhaps someone else will post the link to the thread I'm talking about.

Piscator · #6 10/25/2007, 07:07 AM

Quote:

[i]

My 75G tank is approx. 4 mos. old and perameters are as follows:

SG - .0123
[/B]

1.023? If so, kinda low.

How long do you leave your lights on daily?

What are you feeding habits? (for the tank that is!)

Best wishes,

Davidb6 · #7 10/25/2007, 07:16 AM

Had the same situation - all reading good, reduced feeding, (watch out for frozen foods) reduced lights, use RO/DI, etc, etc

Increased my mag (slowly) from 1250 to 1400 and the hair algae went away in a few days. If you increase your mag a little (1300) and that works stop there. You will be able to tell the 2nd day.

markandkristen · #8 10/25/2007, 07:26 AM

yep same here i increased my mag to almost 1600. i have a 15 gallon tank for my water top off. so i just put my mag in thier and let it dispense it slowly. took about a week to raise.

Victor1046 · #9 10/25/2007, 07:47 AM

just jumping in here....how did you increase the Mg?

seapug · #10 10/25/2007, 12:56 PM

People have tried many different techniques for jacking up their Mag values to battle bryopsis, but most people (inlcuding me) had the best results using Kent Tech-M. It takes a lot, so get a gallon jug.

steri · #11 10/25/2007, 02:42 PM

If everything else checks out (and it sounds like it is), I think you got good advice regarding using a phosphate remover. I would also wonder what your flow rate is in your tank. It is my understanding that algae grows more if there is more dead space in the tank. I could be wrong, but I swore that was the case. So, what's your flow rate? Any way to add another power head anywhere?

Also, if yo have your lights on for more then say 10-12 hours a day (don't know if you are or not), that could also be contributing to your problem. Just a thought.

Davidb6 · #12 10/25/2007, 04:49 PM

Same here...Kent Tech-M is how I raised my mag.

haggarse · #13 10/25/2007, 06:31 PM

I use a dedicated RO/DI unit for all water including: the initial fill of the tank, water changes and top offs.

Two 54w T5's are run for 11 hours and two 250w MH's are run for six hours a day.

I have never tested Mag nor dosed Mag so that is very helpful and will see how it goes.

I am switching to a GOF phosphate remover (Rowaphos) in my Phosban Reactor per the recommendation of my local store (Phishy Business).

I feed once a day and alternate between frozen and flake food. (Frozen is mysis and lifeline omnivore food).

In summary, I am switching to Rowa, will dose mag and am going to add a small refugium. However I am going to do this slowly so I can attempt and single out the issue.

Thanks for all the help and let me know if there are any more recommendations.

On a side note, a blueprint/pic for a small, inexpensive refugium would be much appreciated.