I have two Tunze 6025 powerheads and a MaxiJet 1200 in the display (53 gallons). Would you think that would be enough to disperse the AlgaeFix with the return turned off ? (return pump is a Eheim 1262). The two Tunzes are on opposite sides of the tank (31" wide) facing each other, and the MaxiJet 1200 is at the bottom of the tank behind the rocks, facing diaganally up towards the surface of the water. The surface of the water really churns. :)
I was planning on pouring the AlgaeFix (1 tsp) directly in front of one of the Tunzes. Or do you think it would be better to leave the return pump on, and just turn off the skimmer for an hour after dosing?

Pam

FWIW, most of the hobbyists simply add the AF as recommended per the label to high flow areas to allow it to mix properly. If the AlgaeFix is going to kill your specie of algae then it works. If it does not work on your specie I would not continue dosing too much longer then 10 doses.

I don't believe there is a need to turn off skimmers or pumps. The exception would be to cut off the GAC and GFO during dosing per Randy's comments that these materials can absorb the product.

Just to re cap, here is some more algae I just collected from my algae trough. This grew since I last posted a picture. Of course there is much more than pictured but I like to leave algae in there to help me purify the water.
OK have fun

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/h.../urchin014.jpg

I am currently reading this thread and am through pg14. I will be reading the rest....however, I have been dealing with GHA for over a year now. I have done everything imaginable. I have been through 4 bottles of algefix with no luck. I think I might have some strange swine-flu strain of this crap.
I have an 85gal right now and my new 150 will be delivered next month. I plan on bleaching everything in my current system in plans for re-using some of the stuff in the new tank. Rocks, filters and the 85gal tank will become the sump.
Some question I have concerning the GHA:
Cooking the rocks: Does this kill the spores? Seems kinda pointless to cook the rocks if the spores that are imbedded in the porous rocks will just germinate when they get the proper lighting. You can take care of the current “trees” that are there but does it also kill the seeds/spores? (Reminds me of the "seed vault" in the arctic. Google it to see what I mean)
What is the time from germination to the time GHA can Re-seed (Spore)? This brings up the question of re-dosing frequency. Dosing has to occur at a rate less than the germinate-to-re-seed time frame of the pest. I.E. if a pest has a germinate to re-seed time of 48 hours and we dose algefix every 72 hours then the pest will, in theory, never be eliminated from the system. I understand each pest will have different times frames but I have not seen this issue addressed in the first 15 pages of the thread.
I have taken out all my rocks twice and cleaned them of the GHA. The first time i used a brush. This time (two weeks ago) i used a 1600 PSI pressure washer. Yes I am breaking out the big guns. Napalm is my next step. All my PO4 and NO3 have always read 0. Right now I see zero GHA in my tank...obviously because I blasted them off the rocks with the pressure washer. For my second trick...I dosed algefix again today. I have to search through my photos of the last year or so and see if I can come up with some pictures worthy of posting to ID this stuff. It looks just like all the other GHA stuff in this thread though. Unfortunately what I am doing I won’t see the fruits of the labor since this tank will be broken down in about 2 weeks to prepare for the new 150. But as much pain as this stuff has caused me….i am gonna keep beating on it till the last moment. I am still fighting this so that if/when it occurs in the future I already know how I can deal with it.

tralynne,

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Sorry to hear about this pest problem you have. :(

Unfortunately AlgaeFix does not kill all algae as you have experienced. FWIW, I have experienced the same problem with my pest (Derbesia, I believe). The AlgaeFix did not control this pest either. It has taken me over a year to finally get the Derbesia under control. It is still present in my tank, but well under control. What the factors were that actually controlled it, I am not sure, since I implemented so many. The siphoning algae are particularly hard to control, since they heal themselves so easily. They do look very similar to many of the easily controlled algae. ;)

In my tank the phosphates are reading lower than I can measure using a Hach PO-19 kit. This is important in gaining control of algae. My nitrates were high at 50 ppm when I finally gained control, so I don't think the nitrates have a lot to do with it. Go figure. The largest impact on controlling this algal pest seemed to be the combination of reducing my feeding to once every three days and the low phosphates. I did remove several fish which were large feeders also. I stopped dosing vinegar (carbon sources) completely. Now I have been dosing sugar to gain control of the nitrates without incurring algae growth. Perhaps once my nitrate level is down to a zero reading, it may have impact on the remaining Derbesia in my tank. We will see. My nitrate is currently around 20 ppm with no effect. :)

If you are going to start over, I would soak your rock in bleach to kill both the vegetative stage and hopefully the spores. Cooking rock will not work in eradicating the pest. Soaking any equipment that came into contact with your pest would be advisable, including hoses that the water runs through. I would repeat the bleach soaking several times and clean off the pest in between.

I'm a week into using AlgaeFix. Tonight will be dose #3. Last night was the first time I had to clean my glass in the past 5 days. I normally need to clean it every other day, but after 5 days, I was just starting to see a little algae on the glass. I'd say about the amount of algae on the glass after 5 days, was what I'd normally see 36 hours after cleaning the glass. So...I took that as a good sign, because if it's keeping algae off the glass, it's doing something to the algae on the rocks. I scrubbed about 95% of the GHA off my overflow 24 hours after my first dose of AlgaeFix and suctioned as much of it as I could into a filter sock in my sump. So far, it doesn't appear to be growing back on the overflow. Right now, the tips of all the GHA in my tank looks singed. I took a turkey baster last night to blow off the rocks, and I noticed some of the longer GHA blowing right off the rock. Normally it's attached really well to the rock, so that's a GREAT sign !! I also manually pulled some of the longer GHA last night. So far, so good and I don't see any stress to any of my fish, corals (LPS and some zoos) and inverts (Crocea Clam, huge Sabae Anemone, Sandsifting starfish, Pistol Shrimp, Tuxedo Urchin, Queen Conch, Nacarrius, Cerith, Astrea and Bumblebee snails, scarlett crabs).
Pam

Pam,

Sounds good. :)

I have been battling GHA in my 35 Hex for the better part of 9 months, I run a sump, skimmer, GFO, GAC, Purigen, and a 8" Deep Sand Bed in a bucket. At the very worst my tank looked like the amazon rainforest. I will try to post some pictures of the worst and current pictures as well tommarrow. When I do water changes I pull and siphon out what I can reach. I started using the algaefix about 6 weeks ago, so i'm about 18 or so doses in. Although the GHA has reduced in its density it is still a plague that refuses to be destroyed. All of my rocks both in my display and in my sump have some degree of coverage, the shell of my clam, my shells on my crabs and snails all have GHA growth on them. I don't know if I have to have more patience for this process, I've read others success after 5-8 doses. I'm thinking about tearing down the whole system and restarting with fresh sand and fresh rocks and cooking the rocks I currently have for future reintroduction into the tank.

SinlessHarbor,

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If AlgaeFix has not worked at this point for you, then it will probably not achieve control your algal pest. If you decide to start over, I would use the acid/bleach treatment on your rock, sand and equipment. Cooking rock will not kill algal pests.

To recap what you should be doing to try and gain control of your pest:

There are a lot of hobbyists in your same position. Reducing your nitrate and phosphate levels to a zero reading will help in getting rid of many type of

algae pests. IME, reducing nitrate and phosphate levels too low can kill or cause problems for many types of coral. Running GAC & GFO will all help in

reducing the growth of these type of pests. In many cases they will not eradicate the pest. Vodka dosing will help reduce the nitrate and phosphate

levels also, but will not necessarily eradicate the pest either.

A common problem is being able to identify your pest to a catagory correctly: true algae, cyano, dino, bacteria & other assorted pests that look similar.

In many cases a micro look at your pest is best to properly ID it to one of these catagories.

IMHO, if you are faced with an algal type pest problem, it is best to implement an algae pest control program strategy:


1) Wet skimming with a good quality skimmer. Clean your skimmer cup at least once per week.

2) Reduce your nitrates and phosphates to a zero reading using the hobby grade test kits. See Randy's articles regarding this:

Phosphate and the Reef Aquarium
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-09/rhf/index.php

Nitrate in the Reef Aquarium
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issu...t2003/chem.htm

3) Proper lighting. I find that the higher wavelength bulbs are less conducive to algae growth. I now run 20,000 K bulbs from using 10,000 K bulbs.

4) Proper day length is a good thing also. I would not run your lights for more than 12 hrs total. Keep in mind that light entering from a window nearby

is added to this figure.

5) Running GAC is a good practice in my book. It will help reduce the total dissolved organic carbons in your tank water and this is a food source.

6) Proper 30% per month total water changes will help export the DOC as well as some of the pests in the water column. It will help maintain the

micro-nutrients as well.

7) Physical removal of the pest by hand, scrubbing and siphoning is important as well. If the amount of pest in your aquarium is overwhelming, perhaps

dealing with one section at a time is a better idea.

8) Proper water circulation in your tank to prevent dead zones. When dealing with cyanobacteria pests increasing the flow where it grows seems to help.

9) Use RODI water for all top-off, salt mixing, additive mixes... etc.

10) Dosing iron may have benefits for macro-algae, but if you are experiencing algae pest problems than I would stop dosing it as it can add to the

problem in many cases.

11) If you are dosing other supplements such as vitamins, amino acids, or others that contain a mix of supplements other than the basic alk., calcium and

magnesium, I would stop these until you gain control of your pest. This includes many of the store bought products with unknown ingredients. Dosing Vodka

or sugar to reduce your nitrates and phosphates would be an exception in my opinion.

12) Proper feeding habits. This can be the number one problem when trying to reduce your nitrate and phosphate levels. Use low phosphate fish foods.

13) IMHO, lighted refugiums may be a problem when trying to deal with an algae type pest problem. They are wonderful when it comes to reducing nitrates

and phosphates. However, the light over most refugiums is conducive to the microalgae type pests. If the refugium becomes infested with a microalgae

pest, I would clean it throughly of all pests as best as possible, remove the macro and turn off the lights until you gain control of your pest. Re-using

the same macroalgae later may serve as a source for re-infestation of your pest.

14) Adding fish and other creatures that will eat your algae pest will help.

15) There are other items that can be added to this list if others care too share and some of the items listed may be disputed.

I do currently run my skimmer on the wetter side, I'm running a 150W 14K MH going to switch to a 20K soon. I run my MH on display and PC on my sump 7 hours a day and blue leds on display 9 hours a day 2 hours prior, during, and 2 hours after MH cycle. Since my tank is a hex I get pretty good flow from my 2 Korolia 1's. I only use RODI water, and I do 5 gallon water changes every 5 days.

I have been toying with the idea of getting a turbo twist UV sterilizer to kill the spores in the water since the algaefix dosn't kill the spores.

I know a guy that swears he has stomatella snails that devour hair algae, even though I've heard that they don't eat it. I think he's crazy cause he's going to take one of my GHA covered rocks and put it in his system to prove to me that it will be GHA free in a few weeks, if that works hopefully I can populate my tank with his super snails and rid my system of this plague.

Does the AlgaeFix make it easier to remove the algae from your rock?

Yes it does.

Since the AlgaeFix it having an effect on the algae, then I would take advantage of this and remove the algae by whatever means possible from all your rock, sand bed and glass. I would also get all the dead algae and debris out of your tank. This stuff will brake down and provide a food source for more algae growth.

Another thing to help control the algae, would be to decrease your light output by 1/2. Perhaps encouraging bacterial populations to replace algae populations by dosing a carbon source while decreasing your light output may be helpful.

can i get a (or a few) reccomendations on good Marine Pest book...Algae books. Ones that i can use for ID'ing purposes would be great.

Of all the books I have on algae, macroalgae and algal pests, I use this book the most:

Caribbean Reef Plants
http://www.amazon.com/Caribbean-Plan.../dp/0967890101

Tralynne,

I just noticed you are new to RC. :)

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Update on my 55G: I've stopped maintenance dosing AF Marine for the past month, and some GHA has grown back onto the LR. The main reason why I stopped is due to adverse effects on my coral population, which is largely LPS and Actinodiscus (mushrooms).

I'm trying to use a revers photoperiod driven fuge to export N/P, and a purigen bag to further purify the water. Since I have a grip on it, i'm starting vodka to see if it's as effective as maintenance dosing AF. I'm going to give it a month, and if it doesn't improve, then back to AF marine.

Let us know how it works out for you. Dosing a carbon source makes sense to try and stimulate a bacterial population to replace the algal population.

Were you dosing AF once per week?

5th dose of AlgaeFix last night. I'd say about 50% of the GHA is gone...possibly more. Very happy with the results so far and fish, coral and inverts don't seem affected at all. I've only had to clean my glass once in the past 12 days and normally, if I don't clean it every other day, it's gets pretty bad by the 3rd day! Pam

Pam,

Gad to hear the AF is working for you. Keep us posted. ;)

I have a dense low red turf aglae problem. It looks and feels like the soft side of velcro but dark red (maroon). I don't have pics but it looks exactly as described. Will algaefix have a impact on this type of algae? Sorry if this question has already been asked.

Chads120,

Your description fits one of the Rhodophyta algae. I don't believe that AlgaeFix will work on them. Perhaps it will work if you continue dosing it for a longer period of time, say in excess of 10 doses. After 10 doses AlgaeFix has been seen to kill some macroalgae. Care needs to be taken if you dose AlgaeFix longer than 10 doses, since some hobbyists have noted problems with their coral.

Controlling the Rhodophyta is usually accomplished by using organisms that will eat them, along with a lot of elbow grease used to scrub them, pick them and remove them any other way possible. Staying on top of removing them is the most effective way of controlling them I have heard of.

i have tried a few ways of getting rid of hair algae with no success, so after reading this thread on and off for a while i tried some algae fix marine at half strength on a 2 foot cube, mixed reef.

well all i can say is that it was an absolute disaster,the hair algae weakened and would pull out but the impact on livestock was devastating.

the first sign of trouble was the death of the entire cuc,trochus,turbos and hermits,at this stage i stopped dosing and started water changes,the next thing was an explosion of red cyano which i have never had before,as fast as it was removed it had smothered and killed acans,lobos and a duncan,the final straw was 2 clams one after the other

weeks later after many water changes the deaths have stopped,i still get cyano outbreaks and have to clean green algae of the glass twice a day,and the hair algae has returned

the reason for posting my experience is to inform people that if something seems to good to be true it usually is and to warn you all that this stuff even at half doses can have devastating effects on a mixed reef,it certainly upsets the chemical balance of the whole system even after stopping its use for weeks.

Sorry to hear that rdm. I had a similar experience. It did kill my HA and my cheato, next was most of my CUC, then my SPS, then some LPS. I had a bad case of cyano for about a month. Luckily none of the fish died. My "tank of death" lasted about 6 months. I would try adding frags once a month but they would die. The only good thing was that all my HA was killed and has not come back. For the last 2 months I have been adding frags and they have been doing well so I think my tank is back.

I would like to echo that caution should be used. I was using about 3/4 dose and had horrible results.

Chads, I had that red capet all over my tank and I found red hermits absolutely love to eat it.

A few posts back, someone was upgrading from an 85 to a 150 and was going to bleach or boil his rock to kill the algae so he wouldn't have it in the 150. Isn't hair algae always present when conditions are ripe for it? I don't know how it gets in there, but it seems like a fools errand if you think you can keep it out by quarantine.

I had looked into getting a sea cucumber, but had decided that from the results other hobbyists seem to have with them (usually they end up dieing due to starvation), I would not.

This is a good article regarding Sea Cucumbers:

AQUARIUM INVERTEBRATES by ROB TOONEN, Ph.D.
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issu...003/invert.htm

From this article:

"In general, the chemicals which appear to protect the sea cucumbers from being eaten are saponins (soap-like compounds) which are derived from triterpenoids (Ponomarenko et al. 2001; Stonik and Elyakov 1988). These chemicals usually work well to discourage many generalist predators, and unfortunately are also likely to seriously impact, and potentially even wipe out all their tankmates in a reef aquarium (the so-called ‘cuke-nuke’)."

Sorry to hear about your disaster R.D.M. :( I just finished my 11th dose of AlgaeFix. I'm doing one more dose tomorrow, then switch to a weekly maintenance dose. It had absolutely no negative effects on my fish, Coral, CUC,
Clam, or my large Sabae Anemone. I put in my first SPS frag, a Setosa, and I was hoping that it wouldn't affect that frag, and it hasn't. Good PE on the Setosa. The rest of my corals are LPS with a couple zoos. It has definitely made a big dent in my GHA, but for the first time ever, I have some Cyano. It's not bad, but I decided to do a 3 days lights out this weekend before it gets worse. I still have a good amount of GHA, but definitely a lot less than before using AlgaeFix. I'm overdue replacing my Phosban, but I was waiting to change it out until I finished the dosing of AlgaeFix. I'm going to change it out tomorrow or Tuesday, so hopefully the GHA will continue to decline. AlgaeFix obviously does something to battle Algae, because my glass was getting pretty bad if I didn't clean it every other day. Now, while dosing the Algae fix, the glass is just barely getting dirty by the 5th day after cleaning.

Pammy,

Great to hear your results. :)

It is not uncommon that cyano appears after using AlgaeFix. One possible reason may be the increased amount of dead and dieing algae which serves to feed the cyano.

Can you use AF in conjunction with Vodka and MB7?

I can't think of any reason as to why not. :)

highlander, its probably in your post somewhere, just wondering what kind of sps you have, Im thinking about using the AF but afraid of loosing expensive corals. I see others post horror stories, I wonder why it works good for some and bad for others. I see you have a high number of post, so your not new to this, some that post bad results have low number of post, (are they working with a new tank) are they new to RC or new to the hobby???? Not trying to discredit anyone, just trying to make an informed desision.

On a local site I posted about AF, and one reply was that AF takes the oxygen out of the water, that's how it kills the algae, any idea if this is correct? It doesn't seem possible cause that would kill fish and corals.

thanks jeremy

Jeremy,

I believe that AlgaeFix should be used as a last resort to control algae, especially if you have a lot of expensive organisms in your tank. I do not have expensive sps in my tank. ;)

There have been some hobbyists who have posted in this thread that have lost some coral and other organisms while dosing AlgaeFix. I dosed AlgaeFix for quite an extended period of time without loosing any coral. AlgaeFix does not work well on all algal species.

From my readings AlgaeFix kills algae in simple terms by causing a hole in their cell membrane allowing the contents of the cell to leak out. Many algae such as the siphoning algae, have superior methods of repairing their cell membrane and are not effected as much. The chemical ingredient in AlgaeFix, at least at higher concentrations, will indiscriminately kill all micro-organisms. Some of my concerns while using AlgaeFix, would be any effects that it may have on the symbiotic algae within coral tissues. These symbiotic algae within the coral tissues are somewhat protected. AlgaeFix does brake down quickly, with in 24 hrs. I would assume that AlgaeFix may have effects on bacteria and other micro-organisms in a reef system. The issues at hand while using AlgaeFix are very complex and many unknown possibilities exist. In conclusion, AlgaeFix is a product that is potentially dangerous in a reef system.

For those hobbyists who do decide to try AlgaeFix, there is a concern regarding the dead and dieing algae once AlgaeFix kills algae in a reef system. These dead and dieing algae will be broken down by other organisms (bacteria & cyano) and their contents will be released into the water column, which may cause blooms and lack of oxygen. Is is important to remove the dead & dieing algae as well as the living algae.


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


FWIW, this is what I normally post regarding fighting algae:

There are a lot of hobbyists in your same position. Reducing your nitrate and phosphate levels to a zero reading will help in getting rid of many type of algae pests. IME, reducing nitrate and phosphate levels too low can kill or cause problems for many types of coral. Running GAC & GFO will all help in reducing the growth of these type of pests. In many cases they will not eradicate the pest. Vodka dosing will help reduce the nitrate and phosphate levels also, but will not necessarily eradicate the pest either.

A common problem is being able to identify your pest to a catagory correctly: true algae, cyano, dino, bacteria & other assorted pests that look similar. In many cases a micro look at your pest is best to properly ID it to one of these catagories.

IMHO, if you are faced with an algal type pest problem, it is best to implement an algae pest control program strategy:


1) Wet skimming with a good quality skimmer. Clean your skimmer cup at least once per week.

2) Reduce your nitrates and phosphates to a zero reading using the hobby grade test kits. See Randy's articles regarding this:

Phosphate and the Reef Aquarium
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-09/rhf/index.php

Nitrate in the Reef Aquarium
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issu...t2003/chem.htm

3) Proper lighting. I find that the higher wavelength bulbs are less conducive to algae growth. I now run 20,000 K bulbs from using 10,000 K bulbs.

4) Proper day length is a good thing also. I would not run your lights for more than 12 hrs total. Keep in mind that light entering from a window nearby is added to this figure.

5) Running GAC is a good practice in my book. It will help reduce the total dissolved organic carbons in your tank water and this is a food source.

6) Proper 30% per month total water changes will help export the DOC as well as some of the pests in the water column. It will help maintain the micro-nutrients as well.

7) Physical removal of the pest by hand, scrubbing and siphoning is important as well. If the amount of pest in your aquarium is overwhelming, perhaps dealing with one section at a time is a better idea.

8) Proper water circulation in your tank to prevent dead zones. When dealing with cyanobacteria pests increasing the flow where it grows seems to help.

9) Use RODI water for all top-off, salt mixing, additive mixes... etc.

10) Dosing iron may have benefits for macro-algae, but if you are experiencing algae pest problems than I would stop dosing it as it can add to the problem in many cases.

11) If you are dosing other supplements such as vitamins, amino acids, or others that contain a mix of supplements other than the basic alk., calcium and magnesium, I would stop these until you gain control of your pest. This includes many of the store bought products with unknown ingredients. Dosing Vodka or sugar to reduce your nitrates and phosphates would be an exception in my opinion.

12) Proper feeding habits. This can be the number one problem when trying to reduce your nitrate and phosphate levels. Use low phosphate fish foods.

13) IMHO, lighted refugiums may be a problem when trying to deal with an algae type pest problem. They are wonderful when it comes to reducing nitrates and phosphates. However, the light over most refugiums is conducive to the microalgae type pests. If the refugium becomes infested with a microalgae pest, I would clean it throughly of all pests as best as possible, remove the macro and turn off the lights until you gain control of your pest. Re-using the same macroalgae later may serve as a source for re-infestation of your pest.

14) Adding fish and other creatures that will eat your algae pest will help.

15) There are other items that can be added to this list if others care too share and some of the items listed may be disputed.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________ _______


If after you have tried all these procedures and you are still loosing the battle, I would recommend that you initiate the use of AlgaeFix Marine based on the reports I have seen in this thread:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...8#post16056708

I hate to see anyone give up on this hobby due to algae type pest problems.

thank you very much for the info, most of the things on your list Ive already done, there are a few things I can try before using the AF.
This is my SPS tank, so that why I'm so leery about using something like this, I do have a lighted fuge, that might be were the algae is getting feed from. Thanks again, a lot of great info.
jeremy

Your welcome.

Good luck ;)

I had a bad hair algae outbreak that was consuming my zoo frags. I dosed this stuff and it was entirely gone in less than a week. This stuff worked great. Did not affect skimmer or chaeto. Will definitely use again. Probably not a solution to the problem, but certainly an effective treatment

Hi Jeremystotts, I am one of the few that used AF and lost alot of corals, especially sps and zoos. If you dose, check your corals as often as you can. Good luck!

thanks, If you don't mind me asking how old was your tank when you dosed, just trying to get as much info as possible before I decide to use it. Ive only been doing reef for a couple years, I'm still asking a lot of questions.
jeremy

I upgraded 1 1/2 year ago from 55g to 100g, but the sand and the rock were in my 55g for about 3 - 4 years. Follow Highlandreefer advise and dont take things for granted! If you a lot of corals, try other methods before AF. AF should be use as "last resource". Good luck!

my pops tank has a serious HA problem and we've tried everything. The lights out for 3 days trick works but eventually it comes back. He mainly has softies with a few lps. Ive been thinking that maybe going lights out and having all of the algea clear off the rocks and then starting to dose AF might be a good solution to his problem.

from all of the efforts to combat this HA prob ive concluded the rock was the main culprit of the HA.

what do you think of my plan?

There are several advantages to your plan. Eliminating the algae to start with, will reduce the amount of dieing algae produced by the treatment, which will mean less nutrients entering back into your water column. The extra nutrients added can induce further algae growth.

Less algae to kill, may mean the AlgaeFix will be more effective.

Having your system sort to speak good to go ahead of time, will provide a less conducive environment for algae growth. This would include no algae in your system (at least minimal amounts), low phosphate, low nitrate, low dissolved organic matter in your water column, low suspended organic material, clean rock of bacteria other debris, Clean sand surface & reduced lighting. ;)

Im still trying other things, I have started using AF on a smaller tank I have that has my cheaper stuff in it to see how it acts.
thanks for the response

Let us know your results. Always interested in postive or negative results. ;)

I did 12 doses of AlgaeFix every 3 days as recommended, and Sunday was my first weekly maintenance dose. I'd say about 70% of the GHA in my tank is gone, and most of what remains, is dying. I did also have a small patch of red bubble algae (small patch, of large red bubbles) and just found a bubble stuck to a powerhead, and siphoned out another bubble I found floating around when I did my last water change, so it seems that the AlgaeFix is working on the red bubble algae as well. I did get a little Cyano for the first time ever in my tank after using the AlgaeFix for about 11 doses, so I shut off my lights for 3 days, about 9 days ago, and don't see a trace of the Cyano now. I didn't see any negative effects at all on any of my fish, coral or inverts. Below is a list of what I have in my tank for livestock. I took the first 4 pictures below of my tank, right before I started dosing AlgaeFix, and I took the last 5 pictures last night, after 12 doses of AlgaeFix (every 3 days) and my first weekly maintenance dose.
I'm not sure why some people have had losses with AlgaeFix, and others like myself saw absolutely no effects. I wonder what is different?? I do still have some GHA in my tank, which you can see if you compare the 4th and 5th pictures taken of the same spot, but you can see I'm well on my way to eradicating it all. I think this product could save a lot of people from quitting the hobby. Obviously, you have to take steps to permanently fix the problem and lower nutrients, nitrates, phosphates etc in your tank, but some people do everything they can think of to do that, and still can't get rid of problem algae, so for me, this was a way to get ahead of the problem. One more thing to note, the new Setosa SPS frag I got, was added while dosing AlgaeFix, and 3weeks later, the frag is still doing well, has good PE and is growing. :)

Current livestock in my tank, no effects at all from AlgaeFix:

Large Sabae Anemone
Crocea Clam
Sandsifting Starfish
Tuxedo Urchin
Pistol Shrimp
Fighting Conch
2 Scarlett Crabs
Nacarrius, Bumblebee, Astrea and Cerith Snails
Fish (Splendid Goby, Flame Hawkfish, 2 Occellaris clowns, Royal Gramma, Bartletts Anthias, Six Line Wrasse)
Coral (mostly LPS including a Dendro, Duncan, Sun Coral, Frogspawn and Hammer, a couple of zoos and 1 new SPS Setosa frag).


Pictures of my tank right before I started dosing AlgaeFix on November 5, 2009:

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/a...eFix11-5-1.jpg

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/a...eFix11-5-2.jpg

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/a...eFix11-5-4.jpg

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/a...Fix11-5-20.jpg


Pictures of my tank after 12 doses of AlgaeFix and 1st weekly maintenance dose - December 21, 2009.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/a...1-12-21-09.jpg

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/a...3-12-21-09.jpg

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/a...4-12-21-09.jpg

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/a...5-12-21-09.jpg

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/a...-Dec212009.jpg

Yeah. :thumbsup:

:dance::dance::dance:

Pam,

Great pictures and documentation for other hobbyists that may be interested in trying AlgaeFix. :D

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A few things I have noticed regarding some negative effects from using AlgaeFix:

1) Low salinity (lower than 1.024) and AlgaeFix do not mix and will result in problems. For this reason, I would recommend that any hobbyist that decides to try AlgaeFix use an accurate method of measuring salinity (not hydrometers) like a properly calibrate refractometer. In addition, I would recommend that any hobbyist who decides to try AlgaeFix has a good understanding of all the other water parameters before trying it and uses good quality test kits. For example, a very low alk (below 7.0 dKH and perhaps a very high alk above 12.0 dKH), may result in negative effects. Low phosphate levels and low nitrate levels will no doubt be important too. ;)

2) If a hobbyist is going to try AlgaeFix, I would recommend removing any sea cucumbers from the tank first. There have been several hobbyists who have had negative results with this combination. :(

3) Any hobbyist who decides to try AlgaeFix should avoid dosing it per the instructions for more than 10-12 doses, as some hobbyists have noticed problems after dosing it every three days for that long.

4) Finally, before using AlgaeFix make sure of your water volume so that it is not overdosed. Follow and understand the directions completely before dosing it.

Interesting info Cliff. My salinity is always between 1.025 and 1.026 (calibrate refractometer using pinpoint salinity calibration solution).
Glad to help other hobbyists in some small way. Your contributions to this thread were an enormous help to me, and I'm sure a lot of others. I read this thread for a long time before trying AlgaeFix, while the GHA in my tank gradually got worse and worse. I wanted to use it only as a last resort and try traditional methods of getting rid of the GHA first, but as you can see by my overflow, it was getting out of control. I really didn't want to resort to chemicals. I'm amazed at how such a small dose every 3 days, could work so well. I figured with rock and sand displacement, my 60 gallon total volume was closer to 50 gallons, so I went with 5ml/1tsp every 3 days based on 50 gallons.

I have read thru most of this thread tonight and really appreciate all the time that has went into the post so far. I have tried everything to get rid of HA. I am palnning on pulling most of my rock out this weekend and scrubbing it. My question is did anyone try the AlgeaFix FW? The reason I ask is my local Petsmart sells the freshwater version and I would like to start dosing after cleaning the rock. I think Cliff had said earlier the active ingrediants werw the same. Would the FW version be safe? Thanks

My recommendation would be to use the AlgaeFix for Marine to be absolutely safe. The manufacturer may have other ingredients in it that we are not aware of, like Boomer had mentioned for perhaps buffering for example. You can buy it online. ;)

I spoke to the manufacture about 6 months ago, they said they are exactly the same. The only difference is the freshwater does not have the list of marine algae it will kill.

"Nick there is no difference between the Algaefix and Marine Algaefix. The products are the same the Marine simply tells you what algae can be treated.

If you have any other questions or wish to discuss this further, please email back or give us a call at 1-800-847-0659.

Best Regards,

Nathan Fekula
Technical Service and Research
Mars Fishcare"

Thanks for the information Nathan. :)

It's nice to hear this from the manufacturer's representative. ;)

Any other information regarding your product that you may be able to provide is certainly welcome on my part. IMHO, AlgaeFix is a nice tool to have in the never ending battle of algae control in the reef aquarium. The more one understands exactly how this product works in the reef aquarium, the more beneficial it is in making decisions on how to best utilize it. Hats off to Mars for having this product approved by EPA. :thumbsup: