Your welcome. ;)

DevilBoy,

One thing about AF is that it does not work on algae species (like mine :lol:)

Anybody ever try this stuff on Red Turf algae?

I siphoned out two baseball sized clumps of HA during my water change today. :)

Luther,

I have read similar responses to red turf algae as this hobbyist below. Naturally, all red turf algae is not the same genus or species, so I can not conclude that AF would not work in your situation. I don't know if you tried the mag. method for control or not? I do know that AF works on some macroalgae but it takes at least 10 doses. :(

http://forums.saltwaterfish.com/vb/s....php?p=3219177

This is one hobbyists response regarding your question:

From it:

"Hmmmmm.....sounds like turf algae. I'm fighting this problem as well. Believe me, it is a fight. This particularly pernicious stuff clings to the rock. There's no way of removing it completely by hand or by scrubbing. It breaks off at the base, and the tiniest thread will regrow the colony. It will grow over the stony bases of corals and smother them if left unchecked. It survives under very little light, and seems to be able to soak up the tiniest amount of phosphate and use it to explode into larger colonies.

Have I scared ya? Good, 'cause it's scary stuff. Here's a list of things I've done, what effectiveness, and what I still want to do. Hopefully someone can use this as a preventative before their personal battles get as out of hand as mine has.

First, you should know that mine started showing up at about 6 months of bulb age. Small patches came in here and there, that's it. And I ignored it. The small patches grew quickly, and I replaced the lights at around 9 months. I didn't see any reduction in the algae, despite weekly 20% water changes. At some point this stuff seems to reach a critical mass, and it EXPLODES everywhere in your tank. Everywhere I looked I saw reddish hues floating in the currents. I tried removing the rocks and scrubbing by hand. I'd get the rocks down to about an 8th of an inch, but I could never get it completely off.

I've added a foxface (wanted one anyway). I heard that tangs are hit-and-miss with this algae, but the foxface might be more helpful. This turned out to be helpful, as the 'Face now keeps the algae at least trimmed to a short level on the rocks.

I tried API's Marine Algaefix. This stuff is reef safe (supposedly), but it did nothing at all for the red turf algae. Didn't make a single dent.

I heard that mexican turbo snails are 50/50 on this stuff. The ones I had existing in the tank weren't doing a thing. I got 4 more, and for some reason the new ones started eating it. It's almost as if the algae wasn't recognized as food to the snails that were present as it grew, but the new snails mowed right in to it. Trouble is, I think you'd need 20-30 snails to make a true dent. And AGAIN, snails don't eat it down completely! So don't consider this a permanent fix. It will come back.

Finally, I've been running phosgard and purigen pillows in the sump under the filter floss. I change it out once a month. Since I've added the phosgard and purigen I've notice an additional recession of the red turf, and increased coralline growth in the places the algae receded.

Whew. Long post, but your comment reminded me that this needed to be printed. So, you can see the steps I've taken to get rid of this nasty crap. I'm seeing some turnaround, but not enough. The next step for me is going to be a GFO reactor to remove a much greater amount of phosphate. I may also have to consider a DIY Nitrate reactor, but we'll see.

The bad news is this stuff is NOT like hair algae. I don't think lawnmower blennies are going to do much good for you here, and I don't have any experience with sea hares so I can't comment on them. The rabbitfish family seems to be pretty effective at keeping it mown down, but it's still very visible.

If the stuff is just in spots right now, I would go ahead and get more turbos. Keep picking them up and putting them over the patches. Consider a foxface or a rabbitfish, and see where your sources of phosphates are coming from. Mine was from the RODI water I bought from my LFS. Yup. I've since learned that many LFS RODI units are sub-par only because they're used so often. I tested my topoff water one day when I brought it home and discovered it had been the source of my phosphates all along. You may also want to consder adding phosgard or a GFO reactor to your system. Good Luck!"

Thanks HighlandReefer, guess it doesn't look good. I do have a bottle and I might try it anyway. But first I will wait, because I recently started upping my Vinegar dosage and I want to see if this helps. If I do decide to try it I will keep you updated.

Your welcome.

If you find a solution, let us know. It appears that red turf type algaes are difficult to control at best, which is the case for many other types of algae as well. :(

it is quite selective in what types of algae it will kill .some day some way they will develop a much more broader spectrum type that will eliminate many kinds of algae .but for now it does wonders on the hair algae and it pretty much stops there .no po4,very low nutrient import will always help with any kind that i have come across .

Again. Thanks for all the great info guys. Here are some progress pics.

Day 1 Dose 1
(shot with my iphone, gf had d-slr)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...ix/2-17-10.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...ic22-17-10.jpg

Dose 4
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...-tankjpg_2.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...27-tankjpg.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...-tankjpg_1.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...ankjpg_2-2.jpg

Nice. :)

What is that calcerous algae growing on your rock? AF did not seem to cause a problem with it?

it does not hurt the Coraline algae in any way and that is a good thing

Well, one week later I don't think this is going to work. I moved several mushrooms beside/touching the derbesia and I even cut one up and placed it on some of the patches. On one patch I even placed some epoxy over the cut mushroom completely covering the mushroom and patch. Last night I saw the derbesia growing out from under the epoxy. I thought cutting the mushroom up would have a better chance of effecting the derbesia. I was surprised that algae could live this long with no light. I did a 25% water change at the start of this test last Wednesday and have fed very little during the week. My nitrates and phosphates are both near 0 and the weed has grown more than ever. I am at a loss.

I have thought about possibly using bleach as a contact killer for algae on rock taken out of the tank. The bleach would have to be swabbed on using a cotton swab carefully onto the algae only and not the coral while out of the tank (letting the rock dry of as much water as possible). Removing the algae before trying this would be more effective IMHO. This is the procedure used in gardening to kill perennial weeds and not killing desirable plants (of course non-selective herbicides are used instead of bleach). After allowing the bleach to stay on for as long as possible, one would have to carefully rinse the bleach off using salt water, not allowing the water to get onto the coral. If only a small amount of bleach is swabbed on, my hopes would be that the bacteria inside the rock would not be killed. I would imagine that peroxide could be used as well, but perhaps (pure bleach) swabbed on carefully may be more effective. :)

Are you talking about the algae with white at the bottom and green at the top? I have some in my aquarium and I was told by an LFS that had some that it is the macro algae codium.

Cut up muchrooms may be spending more of their energy recovering then secreating the toxic chemicals as defence mechanisms. :D

The calcerous algae in the above picture (Crisisback) which apear like green worms growing straigh up and unbranced is what I am refering too. They don't look like a codium to me (I don't believe codium in calcerous). :)

I have looked through some books and can't find this algae in them. :(

They do look intersting and don't appear to be a pest.

I have them (hitchiking on live rock) they are neomaris annulata also called sea sausage. According to melev's reef they are a calcium-based macro algae. Here is a link: www.melevsreef.com/id/annulata.jpg

Thanks for the link. I love the way they look. :)

I would think their growth is slow enough as to not be too much of a pest?

http://www.melevsreef.com/id/annulata.jpg

In my experience, not a pest at all. I only have a few at a time, maybe at most 6-8, right now I only have one. I think they are very cool...

So, they do not survive and populate well in a reef aquarium?

I'm not sure if I would say that, but they seem to come and go with the population fluctuating for no obvious reason. I believe I have had them in various quantities for at least two years. At times I have had none, at other times just a few. They grow very slowly.

I suspect that like many macroalgae they would do better with a bit more nitrate and phosphate then found in many tanks. ;)

I think an urchin would mow down that codium looking stuff. I have a few sprouts here and there but I've found that near-pristine water conditions (0.0ppm nitrate, near 0.03ppm phosphate) really slows that stuff down.



Cliff, I saw your comment on spot-burning derbesia with bleach, and it's interesting. You might consider using calcium hypochlorite powder instead and having a nice batch of sodium thiosulfate handy for a post-nuke rinse. The powder would sit in one spot a lot easier than the bleach. You could load up a small spray bottle with clean tank water and dribble your corals to keep them wet during the process.


I've considered buying a small pencil torch or Bernz-o-matic for this also.....

calcium hypochlorite powder, that's interesting as well. ;)

Just did 4th dose today...

I should see some results soon right?

Maybe the green hair algae I have is the one this product doesnt kill?

When or what dose count should I declare a loss and stop dosing?

thanks
Joe

I have been battling hair algae for over a year, I thought it was my phosphates but my test kit showed them at 0 ppm but still the hair algae grew. I finally read about ROWA PHOS PHOSPHATE REMOVAL MEDIA under the reviews on an aquaurium supplier's site. I just ordered this stuff and will give it a shot. I figure my testkit for Phosphate is just garbage and high Phosphates are the cause of my hair algae.

Most seem to start to see results around the 5th or 6th dose. If you don't see results by the 10th dose, I would say that AF is not going to work.

IF you can post a focused pic, it may help to ID your pest. ;)

dose 4 this morning. less ha than before, no deaths or issues. still plenty of algae

OK thanks! here is a photo of the algae....

http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u...orld/Algae.jpg

5th dose this morning
original
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y39...s/DSCN4969.jpg
today
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y39...s/DSCN5009.jpg
orig
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y39...s/DSCN4974.jpg
today, same general area
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y39...s/DSCN5014.jpg
orig
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y39...s/DSCN4970.jpg
now
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y39...s/dscn5011.jpg
the pics are crappy, but i have lost about 40-50% of the ha i had. plus i moved the clams, so that looks really different

I can't say for sure which hair algae it is, but I hope that AF will help control it. FWIW, it is nice to have pictures of the algae pest that hobbyists try AF on to help others compare their pest to.

Thanks for posting the pic. :)

just did the 4th dose. definitely looking like less aglea. Still have algea however its reducing. so far so good.

Adding 8th dose tonight. I'd say 50% of the algea is gone, but some is stubborn. It's not fading and is still well attached to the LR. Is this typical? Also, is it better to dose after the lights go out, or does it matter?

i don't know about the light issue but is it hair algae that is attached to your live rock and giving you a problem ?the algae fix killed my HA but did leave a couple of different kinds of algae but my resident tang mad pretty quick work of that . i have another tank that has no tang and it still has a couple spots of short stubby very coarse algae and it wont die rather it needs to be eaten by hopefully a tang .

"Also, is it better to dose after the lights go out, or does it matter?"

It should not matter. I would dose the AF after a water change or do not do a water change for at least 24 hrs after dosing AF. AF will brake down within 24 hrs. ;)

Used this product about a month ago to combat HA. Wiped it out in about a week. I would also remove carbon if your running it, as I felt it slowed down the effects of the AlgaeFix, much more drastic results after taking it out.

Good Luck.

much less ha today. 6th dose tomorrow should do itfor me, i hope.

9th dose today. Noticed some cyano.

HighlandReefer,

I've read quite a lot of this thread but didn't find advice on stopping vinegar and Special Blend dosing.

I dose both vinegar and a bacteria called Special Blend to help lower phosphate .48 last time I checked with my Hanna meter.

Should I suspend the vinegar and SB dosing while using the AF? Or is it okay to continue. I would like to continue if at all possible.

Thanks for all the good info.

There have been a few hobbyists who have continued dosing vodka while using the AF and still achieved control. I would add the bacteria 24 hrs after an AF dose.

Hello,
I started using algaefix on 12 March. I have done 3 doses and all that has happen is the rate of growth has slowed down. I did a water change on 19 March and scrape the rock to remove as much algae as possible. I have removed the carbon and turned off the skimmer. Does it take more than 3 doses to start seeing some sort of results.

You're probably looking at another couple of doses to really kill it all. Even then I'd probably go with another does or 2 just to be safe. And I'd keep the skimmer going.

Looks like I'm next. Despite weekly water changes, I developed hair algae 12/09. I'm certain it's coming from phosphates bound in the live rock. I rinse food, feed sparingly, and use RO/DI. I will do a 3 day lights out first, scrub, siphon, and water change before I dose. Wish me luck!

thanks for the reply.

I've read through a decent amount of this thread but I don't know if I've missed it or what but I just have a quick question. Has it been established that this could work for Dinos? Or you could give me what page its on if I've missed it I'll hit it up and read more into it.

There is nothing in this thread regarding dinos. Dinos are not on the AF label.

Im on my 6th dose and havent really noticed a huge difference. I have been running carbon though, should I remove it??

Thanks, Just didn't know if anyone had tried it or not.

wont even hurt dinos
yes stop using your carbon for the first few doses . the way i did it was to dose on day one and then on day three added carbon ,day four remove carbon and re dose as instructed . the directions want you to add re dose every third dat but i used carbon on that day and then dosed on the fourth . i know that this is not the way directed but i wanted to somewhat continue the carbon usage in my aquarium .

I tried it and did not see results until about three weeks. After the hair algea was gone I stopped dosing and havent see it come back.

Do snails starve when treating with algaefix?