I am jealous of your pictures, Logzor. Beautiful corals and they all seem healthy after the prolonged AlgaeFix dosing. It seems to me that if a hobbyist is at Witt's-end on trying to control a macroalgae, then it is worth a shot with the AlgaeFix. ;)

This is his tank shot which is nothing compared to his close-ups of the corals.

http://fc06.deviantart.com/fs45/i/20..._by_Logzor.jpg

Jebus Christ! No wonder you want to get out of the hobby. How in the heck did you let it get that bad? I know it didn't happen overnight... :confused:


I hate to sound so negative... :o

Hello i've also posted this over in the reef discussion forum in case you want to follow it over there as well.

Ok, everyone. I've had enough of the HA. I've done everything i can do to get rid of this stuff naturally. I had the tank on Zeo for almost 9 months with no luck..it actually seemed to get worse. So, i ditched the ZEO and decided to go back to fuge/ GFO about a month ago. Still no change. Then someone recommended Algaefix Marine so I decided to purchase a bottle and give it a go.
First off, let me say this. I DO NOT like to dose chemicals into my reef. I have tried everything i can to get rid of the HA. I've manually pulled it, I've reduced feedings, photoperiod, you name it, i feel confident that i've tried it. My Hanna reads .01, which, IME, is pretty darn low.
So, today's the day i start the first dose and i decided to keep anyone who cared, updated on it's progress.
OK, a few tank parameters first:

ALK- 7.5 ( salifert) (a little low but i'm slowly bringing it up. It's at NSW value so i'm not too worried. I hope to bring up to 8-9 ish in the end.)
Cal.- 400(salifert)
Mg.- 1350 ( elos)
PO4- .01 (hanna)
NO3- undetectable(API)

I'll be checking these before every dose, which is every three days. According to the bottle, my recommended dose is 5ml for every 50 gallons. I have approx. 225 gallons total volume so i'll dose 20 ml.( i feel i'd better stay on the safe side and dose a pinch less)
I mainly keep SPS so you can bet i'll be watching CLOSELY for ANY signs of distress. If there is anything you want to add or know, please feel free to post any comments, good or bad. I'd like everyone's opinion on this. thanks!

Heres a few shots of before i dose anything.







I really hope this stuff doesn't affect my SPS!!

OK, well, i couldn't copy and paste the pics so if you want to see them you'll have to go here.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...3#post15115933

hey cnaegler. Congrats on the algaefix try and I think you're gonna be happy.
Let me offer some advice/exp on this.
FOLLOW the dosing instructions! I got antsy and dosed every two days and even every day a coulpe times and it did not take the algae down any quicker. If anything, I would say it had no effect or was detrimental. I cannot say for certin that it caused/contributed to the RTN of an acro, but I did loose an acro during that time.
If you have a filter sock and a length of hose I would prune as much of that algae out as you can after the first dose. I dropped the sock in my sump and rigged the hose to syphon into it to catch the algae. Then I hand picked as much as I possibly could. I had to stop from the hand cramping twice, but i got as much as possible from the tank. 1 day after the first dose, the algae came off much easier than the first time, when I pruned before i dosed.
Thats pretty much it.
I have dosed twice now (my second attempt after a large waterchange to basically start me over at square one) and am seeing fantastic results. I slapped a sponge prefilter on my return and am amazed to see that thing is clogged with algae thats released and drifted off from the rockwork. Dose 3 is (i believe) tomorrow. most report that dose 6 is the moneyshot so here's hoping. As is, my HA is definately thinner and sickly looking. Corals are doing fine and inverts are as rascally as ever.
B

cnaegler,

Nasty looking pest ya got:

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/l...0gallon002.jpg


I would recommend that you remove as much of the pest as possible before dosing AlgaeFix.

Yes Sir, i tried, but the stuff is pretty short and stout (just like the little teapot....LOL) I end up breaking loose any corals from the rocks so i stopped. Thanks for the recommendation to try this stuff...i hope it works for me. Another thing i realized is that i hadn't changed my VHO's in 11 months (man, time flies by) so i'm thinking that they could be contributing to the growth of this pest as well, so i ordered new bulbs...should be replaced this friday.

After several doses of AlgaeFix, many hobbyists notice that their pest was much easier to remove. You might wait a few doses and see if it is easier to remove. :)

I'll try again this weekend after 3rd dose. Thanks!

Any pictures of your problem? It may take a 4th, 5th or 6th dose even. But this depends on how bad it REALLY is, and the size of the tank.

I have a small theory, that smaller tanks can achieve faster results because there's less water, even though your following the directions. Small tank = likely small pests / more controllable, thus eliminating them rather quickly.

In my instance, a tiny patch of HA and lots of diatoms were shut down completely after my 2nd dose.

I am now dosing the recommended "weekly" dosing, for me is 1ml. I was using 3ml, every 3 days. 14g tank.

Yes sir,
It's in a 180.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showt...33#post15115933

Just goes to "archives" and nothing comes up.


Can you take a more recent shot of the probelm(s) and problem areas?



Every time you do a WC, try and get as much of the problem pest off or into the water column, so you can siphon it out and replace with RODI/light salty walter.

Hmmmm. i guess it does. I have the same thread over in reef discussion. Let's see if this link works...

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...readid=1647637

Oh, yeah, you asked about the API stuff.


"I" personally would add anything else into you know you've got that stuff under control.

Has anyone noticed if their coraline algae growth has stopped since dosing marine algaefix?

I feel that mine has slowed down a great deal and was wondering if anyone else has had similar observations.

Is it advisable to continue dosing Vodka while trying this product..

iFisch - its easy to be critical when you don't know the whole story and I am not going to go through that whole story here...you might be able to search all my posts and put it all together. It took/takes about three days for the HA or what ever the hell it is to grow 3 inches in my tank. At any rate the whole history of this tank is enough to make me sick considering how much money and time I wasted trying every method out there to deal with the algae issue...

I have been lucky enough to get some free rock but of very poor quality, came from a fish only tank with just an eel that died but the rock has been recuring for about three month so maybe its not so bad...I am not going to spend another dime on this tank at this time. Since I have nothing to loose I am going to strip the tank and start over. It will be tricky to do the switch without infesting the new rock - not sure how to go about that yet and I hate the thought of throwing away some of my corals...oh well

Thanks again for all the suggestions and helpful advice. I will check back in a few weeks after the switch.

Can we hear about some success stories on Tanks over 300 gallons with moderate GHA problems?

How would the AlgaeFix effect a caron dosing Denitifier??

your dead live rock might suprise you. I got some from a guy that would up having a coral on it. It was in his tank for 2 years with NO flourescent lighting and it was pretty bare. next thing I know, i got a nice head of purple and green galaxia.

My coralline growth has actually improved since dosing algaefix. Might be because I raised my calcium levels immediately before beginning the algaefix regimen.

What I have also noticed is that my mushrroms are not as happy as they were before I started.

Of this there is no doubt.

Logzor,

I responded to your post regarding the algaefix and coralline algae also:

IME, AlgaeFix will effect macroalgae when dosed for a prolonged period of time. after about 13 doses, it killed my chaeto. Other hobbyists have reported similar effects with AlgaeFix on other macros. This can be a bonus if you are fighting a macroalgae pest, but one should be aware about this if they are not.

The manufacturer states that AlgaeFix will not kill macros, but will slow their growth. I would agree with this except with prolonged dosing after around 9-10 doses.

You would be the first to claim problems with coralline algae and AlgaeFix. I am not sure if the AlgaeFix is the cause of your problem or if it may be other factors such as lighting, competition with other coralline that does not grow as fast or as tall looking. I did not see any visible adverse reactions with my coralline algae after dosing AlgaeFix for two months. In fact, my coralline is a nuisance.

Many hobbyists have continued dosing carbon sources and reported no adverse effects in combination with AlgaeFix.

rhunter513,

I understand your frustrations. Keep us posted on your future results. ;)